Y is for… Yardbirds

The Yardbirds were - okay, ‘are’ as they are still on the go - a great British blues band of the '60s. Oh, and they also happened to feature three of the greatest British guitarists of all time: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Blues purist Eric bailed in 1965 when he saw that the band was moving away from its blues roots into pop rock fare like For Your Love. The earlier Eric-filled lineup played some fantastic blues.

Here’s a rare clip of the band performing Louise with Eric playing lead on a Fender Telecaster. It does not suck.

Y is also for… Yodeling

Yep, just like in rock ‘n’ roll, folk, country - and Switzerland - there have been frequent outbreaks of yodeling in blues music. The best known example is Tampa Red’s Worried Devil Blues. You can download it on iTunes. If you want.