William Keith Relf (22 March 194312 May 1976) was an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player for rock band the Yardbirds. He then formed the band

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

with his sister

Jane Relf Jane Relf (born 7 March 1947) is a British singer, best known as the original vocalist for the progressive rock band Renaissance. She is the younger sister of Keith Relf of the Yardbirds. Renaissance In January 1969 Keith Relf and Jim McCa ...

, The Yardbirds ex-drummer

Jim McCarty James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only member of the band to featu ...

and ex-

The Nashville Teens The Nashville Teens are a British rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single " Tobacco Road", a top 10 UK hit and a top 20 hit in the United States. Early membership Art Sharp (born Arthur Sharp, 26 May ...

keyboardist John Hawken.

Early life

Relf was born in the Richmond Institution on 22 March 1943 to Mary Elsie Relf (née Vickers) and William Arthur Percy Relf. Keith had a sister Jane. His father was a builder, while his mother stayed at home.

Musical career

Relf started playing in bands around the summer of 1956 as a singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. His blues harp and vocals were as key to the Yardbirds' sound and success as were the group's three superstar lead guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Relf co-wrote many of the original Yardbirds songs ("

Shapes of Things "Shapes of Things" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. With its Eastern-sounding, feedback-laden guitar solo and anti-war/pro-environmental lyrics, several music writers have identified it as the first popular psychedelic rock ...

", "I Ain't Done Wrong", "

Over Under Sideways Down "Over Under Sideways Down" is a 1966 song by English rock group the Yardbirds. A composition credited to all members of the group, it combines elements of blues rock and psychedelic rock. It was first released as a single in May 1966 as a follow- ...

", " 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, after hearing musician

Jake Holmes Jake Holmes (born December 28, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and jingle writer who began a recording career in the 1960s. Holmes is the author of the song " Dazed and Confused", later reworked by Led Zeppelin. Holmes also composed the ...

perform the song, which was later recorded by the band's successor group

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

. His debut solo single, " Mr. Zero", peaked at No. 50 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in May 1966. After the Yardbirds broke up in July 1968, Relf formed the acoustic duo Together, with fellow Yardbird

, followed immediately by

(which also featured his sister

). After leaving Renaissance in 1970, he started producing other artists: Steamhammer, folk-rock band Hunter Muskett, the acoustic world music group

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...

, psychedelic band Saturnalia, and blues-rock band

Medicine Head Medicine Head were a British blues rock band – initially a duo – active in the 1970s. Their biggest single success was in 1973 with " One and One Is One", which reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart. The group recorded six original albums ...

(with whom he also played bass guitar). In 1974, he formed progressive/rock group

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

. Their self-titled debut, ''

'', was recorded in England and released in the United States on

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. The album's original liner notes used the term " supergroup"; their personnel (besides Relf) included drummer

Bobby Caldwell Robert Hunter Caldwell (born August 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He released several albums spanning R&B, soul, jazz and adult contemporary. He is known for his soulful and versatile vocals. Caldwell released the ...

(previously a member of Captain Beyond and

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

's band), guitarist

Martin Pugh Martin John Pugh is a British guitarist who came to prominence after joining blues-rock band Steamhammer in 1968, staying with that band through 5 years and 4 albums. The debut Steamhammer album, also known as '' Steamhammer'', was released ...

(from Steamhammer, '' The Rod Stewart Album'', and later of 7th Order), and bassist Louis Cennamo (also formerly of Renaissance and Steamhammer).

Personal life and death

In 1966, he married April Liversidge. They had two sons, Danny and Jason. Relf died in the basement of his home in 1976 at age 33 from electrocution while playing an electric guitar. He had had several health problems throughout his life, including emphysema and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

. He may have been taking the medications commonly used to treat those diseases at the time, and these may have contributed to his inability to survive the electric shock. At the time, it is said that Relf was in the process of putting back together the original

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band

line-up, which would eventually be called

Illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may oc ...

. He was buried in

Richmond Cemetery Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. The cemetery opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Act of Parliament the previous year. The cemetery has been expande ...

. Though most sources mistakenly list 14 May as Relf's date of death (the day that many newspapers ran the story); on the official death certificate, he was declared dead on 12 May at West Middlesex Hospital.

Legacy

Relf's posthumous 1992 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with the Yardbirds was represented by his widow April, and sons Danny and Jay.

Solo singles discography

Most of Relf's recordings were released under the name of the group he was in at the time. However, an early attempt was made to establish him as a solo musician, and two singles came out under his own name in 1966. * " Mr. Zero" / "Knowing" – UK Columbia DB7920 / U.S. Epic 10044 (May 1966) ::

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

written by

Bob Lind Robert Neale Lind (born November 25, 1942) is an American folk-music singer-lyricist, who helped define the 1960s folk rock movement in the U.S. and UK. Lind is well known for his transatlantic hit record, "Elusive Butterfly", which reached num ...

* "Shapes in My Mind" / "Blue Sands" – UK Columbia DB8084 / US Epic 10110 (November 1966) :: B-side is an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

credited to Relf, but actually performed by the Outsiders (not to be confused with the US band, the Outsiders, who performed "Time Won't Let Me"). The US single featured the same version as the UK single; US promotional copies (on red vinyl) featured a complete re-edit of the song. A further single appeared in 1989: * "Together Now" / "All The Fallen Angels" – MCCM 89 002 (1989) ::US release only. The A-side was originally recorded in 1968 by Together. The B-side was recorded on 2 May 1976, ten days before Relf's death.

References

External links

Keith Relf web page

The Yardbirds official website
*
Keith Relf biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Relf, Keith 1943 births 1976 deaths 20th-century English singers Alumni of Kingston University English rock singers English blues singers English male singer-songwriters English rock musicians English blues musicians Blues singer-songwriters Electric blues musicians Blues rock musicians British blues (genre) musicians British rhythm and blues boom musicians British harmonica players Blues harmonica players People from Richmond, London Singers from London The Yardbirds members Accidental deaths by electrocution Accidental deaths in London Burials at Richmond Cemetery English baritones Maracas players Armageddon (British band) members Renaissance (band) members 20th-century British male singers