It’s a rare occurrence to have one legendary guitarist pass through the ranks of your band, let alone two. But three? C’mon, what are the chances?

Welcome to The Yardbirds!

And what’s a yardbird? Well, it’s the nickname of genius jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker, which is the most likely origin of the band’s name given that the other options are a chicken, a hobo, or a soldier tasked with menial jobs. Those last few aren’t exactly super cool.

The band formed in London in 1963, and immediately became super cool by playing the hippest hard-edged blues and R&B at the underground music scene’s sweatiest and most rockin’ club. 18-year-old Eric “Slowhand” Clapton played a preternatural lead guitar for the group, and graffiti soon appeared in London proclaiming “Clapton Is God.” Problems arose, however, when the rest of The Yardbirds wanted to expand their sound beyond the blues into a slightly more commercial vein with a song called “For Your Love,” while Clapton wanted nothing to do with anything outside of a pure blues box. So he left to find himself another box.

Rather than fold or become a bland pop band, The Yardbirds instead filled Clapton’s spot with a guitarist whose only goal was to push the boundaries and soon helped usher in the psychedelic rock era. Jeff Beck recorded a series of groundbreaking singles with the group which utilized fuzz, distortion, and Eastern influences which profoundly affected every UK rock guitarist who heard and absorbed his sound.

When the band’s bassist quit, they drafted super session player Jimmy Page to take over the instrument, and when Beck departed the group during a US tour, Page took over as lead guitarist. After a couple of years the band broke up, but Page and one of the original members decided to form The New Yardbirds. Robert Plant was hired as lead vocalist and he brought in drummer John Bonham; Page prevailed upon fellow session musician John Paul Jones to play bass; and the lone original member soon left. The newly formed quartet toured briefly as The New Yardbirds before renaming themselves Led Zeppelin and taking over the world.

Come tomorrow, may I be bolder than today? Here’s all you need to know:

Heart Full Of Soul: The Best of The Yardbirds On vinyl, a lean and mean power-packed punch with maximum impact. All the hits and influential songs one could ever need from every phase of the band, from blues and R&B to psychedelic and hard rock. On CD or streaming, the title more than doubles the number of songs, slightly lessening the overall impact but providing a wider picture, filling in the gaps with key album tracks, early live versions, and B-sides. Heart Full Of Soul is excellent, but any single-disc Best Of or Greatest you might run across will suffice if you want to hear the origins of Clapton, Beck, and Page.