The Yardbirds cofounder Chris Dreja dies at 79

Chris Dreja, a cofounder and long-serving member of the British rock band The Yardbirds, has died at the age of 79, his family announced on October 2. His sister-in-law, Muriel Levy, posted on Threads that Dreja "has passed away after years of health problems" and said she shared the grief with Dreja's sister Kate, who cared for him, and his daughter Jackie. No further details about the date or specific cause of death were provided.

Dreja helped form the group in London in 1963 and was a member through the band’s original run, first as rhythm guitarist and later as bassist. He and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The Hall of Fame credited The Yardbirds with pioneering techniques in feedback and distortion that informed later developments in psychedelic rock, progressive rock, and punk.

The Yardbirds rose to prominence in the mid 1960s and featured a succession of lead guitarists who became major figures in rock history, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. The band scored commercial and critical success with singles and albums including For Your Love, Heart Full of Soul, Shapes of Things, Over Under Sideways Down and the 1966...