Chris Dreja, co-founder and longtime member of the influential British rock band The Yardbirds, died in late September at age 79 after years of health problems. His death was confirmed by his sister-in-law Muriel Levy on social media and former bandmate Jimmy Page on Instagram.
Levy announced the news on Threads, expressing deep sadness and noting that Dreja had passed away after battling health issues for several years. She shared condolences with her sister Kate, who had cared for him during his illness, and his daughter Jackie.
Page posted on Instagram Thursday, writing: “I hadn’t seen him in a while, and I wish I had. RIP Chris.” The Led Zeppelin guitarist also shared a Yardbirds song featuring Dreja on bass.
Born Christopher Walenty Dreja on November 11, 1945, in Surrey, England, to Polish immigrant parents, Dreja grew up in Kingston Upon Thames. He was introduced to music through his brother, who was a classmate of original Yardbirds guitarist Anthony “Top” Topham in a pre-college art program.
In 1963, Dreja and Topham formed the Metropolitan Blues Quartet with singer Keith Relf, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty. The group soon renamed themselves The Yardbirds. Topham departed weeks later and was replaced by Eric Clapton, whose fiery playing elevated the band’s reputation on the London club circuit.
The Yardbirds became legendary for featuring three of rock’s most celebrated guitarists in succession. After Clapton left in 1965 due to creative differences over the band’s more commercial direction, Jeff Beck joined as lead guitarist. When Samwell-Smith departed in mid-1966, Page initially joined on bass before Dreja switched from rhythm guitar to bass, allowing Page to move to lead guitar alongside Beck.
This short-lived Beck-Page lineup recorded only three songs, most notably the innovative single “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago” and a version of “Stroll On” featured in Michelangelo Antonioni’s film “Blow Up.” The band appeared in the movie performing at a rock club, with Beck smashing his guitar at the performance’s climax.
During the band’s commercial peak, The Yardbirds scored multiple hits including “For Your Love,” “Heart Full of Soul,” “Evil Hearted You,” “Shapes of Things,” and “Over Under Sideways Down.” Dreja co-wrote many of the band’s songs and created the cover artwork for their 1966 self-titled album, also known as “Roger the Engineer.”
The original Yardbirds disbanded in July 1968, with Page forming what would become Led Zeppelin. Dreja was invited to join the new band but declined, choosing instead to pursue his passion for photography. He shot the back cover photograph of Led Zeppelin’s debut album in 1969.
As a photographer, Dreja captured striking images of 1960s America while touring with The Yardbirds and later photographed notable figures including Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, the Righteous Brothers, and Ike and Tina Turner. His photographic work spanned over 30 years as his primary profession.
Dreja returned to music in the 1980s, co-founding Box of Frogs with former Yardbirds members McCarty and Samwell-Smith. The group released two albums before disbanding in 1986. In 1992, Dreja and McCarty revived The Yardbirds and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that same year.
The reformed Yardbirds released “Birdland” in 2002, featuring guest appearances from Queen’s Brian May and Guns N’ Roses’ Slash. Dreja continued performing with the band until suffering a series of strokes in 2012 and 2013, which forced his retirement from music. He was replaced by original member Topham, who died in 2023.
Dreja’s death leaves McCarty and Samwell-Smith as the sole surviving original Yardbirds members. The band’s influence on rock music extended far beyond their commercial success, with their innovative “rave-ups” – extended instrumental sections that built and receded in intensity – helping establish the template for psychedelic and progressive rock improvisation that would flourish in the late 1960s.
