Chris Dreja , founding guitarist of The Yardbirds , died this Thursday, October 2nd, at the age of 79. The information was released on social media by his sister-in-law, Muriel Levy .
The musician, the only one to play on all of The Yardbirds' releases, died due to unspecified health problems. Check out the note left by Muriel Levy:
"It is with deep sadness that I announce that my brother-in-law Chris Dreja, former member of the legendary band The Yardbirds, rhythm guitarist and bassist, has passed away after years of health problems. I share the pain with my sister Kate, who cared for him all these years, and with his daughter Jackie. May he rest in peace."
Chris Dreja founded The Yardbirds in 1965, with vocalist Keith Relf , guitarist Top Topham , bassist Paul Samwell-Smith , and drummer Jim McCarty . He played alongside Eric Clapton (who replaced Topham within a few months), Jeff Beck (who replaced Clapton in 1965), and Jimmy Page , who initially joined the group to play bass in 1966. He remained in the band until its breakup in 1968.
Led Zeppelin was born when Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones played Scandinavian dates as the New Yardbirds in September 1968. Chris Dreja was also a photographer; he took the band photo that appeared on the back cover of Led Zeppelin I and later photographed
the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Righteous Brothers , Andy Warhol and many others.
READ ALSO: Led Zeppelin revisits The New Yardbirds in the second episode of the historical series.
