Keith Relf | |
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 Relf in January 1966 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | William Keith Relf (1943-03-22)22 March 1943 Richmond, England |
| Died | 12 May 1976(1976-05-12) (aged 33) Hounslow, Greater London, England |
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| Years active | 1956–1976 |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | keithrelf |
William Keith Relf (22 March 1943 – 12 May 1976) was an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player forrock bandthe Yardbirds. He then formed the bandRenaissance with his sisterJane Relf, the Yardbirds ex-drummerJim McCarty and ex–The Nashville Teens keyboardistJohn Hawken.
Relf was born in the Richmond Institution on 22 March 1943 to Mary Elsie Vickers and William Arthur Percy Relf.[1] Keith had a sisterJane. His father was a builder, while his mother was a housewife.[2]
Relf started playing in bands around the summer of 1956 as a singer, guitarist, and harmonica player.[3] He was in a band withPaul Samwell-Smith called The Metropolitan Blues Quartet. They metChris Dreja,Jim McCarty andTop Topham and backedCyril Davies at Kingston Art School, which led to the forming ofThe Yardbirds in 1963,[4][5] the name which was apparently first chosen by Relf according to McCarty which he likely chose fromJack Kerouac's novelOn the Road, where it referred to railroad yardhobos.[6]
Relf co-wrote many of the original Yardbirds songs ("Shapes of Things", "I Ain't Done Wrong", "Over Under Sideways Down", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"), later showing a leaning towards acoustic/folk music as the sixties unfolded ("Only the Black Rose").[7] He also sang an early version of "Dazed and Confused" in live Yardbirds concerts, after hearing musicianJake Holmes perform the song, which was later recorded by the band's successor groupLed Zeppelin.[8]
His debut solo single, "Mr. Zero", peaked at No. 50 in theUK Singles Chart in May 1966.[9]
After the Yardbirds broke up in July 1968, Relf formed theacousticduo Together, with fellow YardbirdJim McCarty, followed immediately byRenaissance (which also featured his sisterJane Relf).[10] After leaving Renaissance in 1970, he started producing other artists:Steamhammer, folk rock bandHunter Muskett, the acousticworld music groupAmber, psychedelic band Saturnalia,[11] and blues rock bandMedicine Head (with whom he also played bass guitar).[12]
In 1974, he formed progressive/rock groupArmageddon. Their self-titled debut,Armageddon, was recorded in England and released in the United States onA&M Records. The album's original liner notes used the term "supergroup"; their personnel (besides Relf) included drummerBobby Caldwell (previously a member ofCaptain Beyond andJohnny Winter's band), guitaristMartin Pugh (fromSteamhammer,The Rod Stewart Album, and later of7th Order),[13] and bassistLouis Cennamo (also formerly of Renaissance and Steamhammer).[14]
Following the breakup of Armageddon, Relf and Cennamo reassembled the original line-up of Renaissance, now under the nameIllusion because a new line-up of Renaissance was still using the original name.[15] Relf's final recordings before his death were a series of demos by Illusion.[15] Illusion went on to record a series of albums after Relf died, with Cennamo later commenting, "In some way, we did so as a tribute to Keith."[16]
Relf was a lifelong chronic asthmatic and nearly died on three occasions as a child during a badasthma attack.[17][18][19] His respiratory problems led to him losing a lung; in 1964, Relf passed out during the Yardbirds' first U.S. tour after a lung collapsed, resulting in the lung being removed.[20][21][18][19][22] In his last years he developedemphysema.[18]
In 1966, he married April Liversidge. They had two sons, Danny and Jason.[23]
On 12 May 1976, Relf died in the basement of his home at age 33 fromelectrocution while playing an electric guitar. He was discovered by his son Daniel.[19] He may have been taking medications such astheophylline, commonly used to treat respiratory diseases at the time, and these drugs may have led totachycardia and/orarrhythmia which possibly contributed to his inability to survive theelectric shock.[24][25] His death was announced two days later on 14 May, which is sometimes erroneously listed as the date of his death.[26]
He was buried inRichmond Cemetery.[27]
Relf's posthumous 1992Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with the Yardbirds was represented by his widow April, and sons Danny and Jason ("Jay").[28]
Most of Relf'srecordings 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.[29]
A further single appeared in 1989:
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