Keith Relf ✝

William Keith Relf (22 March 1943 – 14 May 1976) was an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player for the Yardbirds.\n', ' Relf started playing in bands around the summer of 1956 as a singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. His blues harp was a key part of the Yardbirds\' sound and success, according to many, and his vocals may have been as important a contribution to the band, as that of their three lead guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page—who were augmented by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, guitarist/bassist Chris Dreja, and drummer Jim McCarty.\n', ' Relf co-wrote many of the original Yardbirds songs ("Shapes of Things", "I Ain\'t Done Wrong", "Over Under Sideways Down", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"), later showing a leaning towards acoustic/folk music as the sixties unfolded ("Only the Black Rose"). He also sang an early version of "Dazed and Confused" in live Yardbirds concerts, a song later recorded by the band\'s successor group Led Zeppelin.\n', '