When the young art students who rediscovered rhythm & blues in the early Sixties began forming their own highly successful blues bands, there were those who suggested that, in the process, the original pioneers of the music were being either exploited or neglected. It's true that the Rolling Stones and their adherents were taking an "obscure" form of black American music and turning it into a more commercial entity. But the end result benefited everyone in the long term. It meant that for the first time a much wider young white audience would appreciate the works of such artists as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. And as the net was spread wider, even older and less well known performers were given a new lease of life. One such beneficiary was the legendary Sonny Boy Williamson, rediscovered by a new generation thanks to his involvement with one of the most enthusiastic young R&B bands of the day.

When Sonny Boy met The Yardbirds, it would be hard to envisage a greater social and cultural clash. Here was an elderly Black American, poorly educated but worldly wise, teamed up with a bunch of eager young well-spoken white kids, from relatively well-off backgrounds. And yet they got on like a house on fire. The band were in awe of him, while Sonny Boy called them 'my boys.' In fact, he enjoyed his time with The Yardbirds so much he was in tears when he eventually had to leave them and return to the States.

The historic pairing which resulted in this unique 'live' album, recorded at the Craw Daddy Club, Richmond in December 1963, was all the result of the enthusiastic manoeuvrings of the band's larger-than-life manager, Giorgio Gomelsky. He was the original European Union man - a multi- lingual Russian émigré with a Swiss passport who came to Britain to make movies and ended up practically running the British blues and rock scene.

An inspiring, talkative man, Giorgio was a great jazz and blues fan. In the summer of 1962 he began promoting traditional Jazz sessions and booked bands to perform at the Craw-Daddy Club, held at the Station Hotel, Richmond, Surrey. Trad jazz had reached its peak and people were ready to embrace the far more exciting and earthy electric guitar based blues music known as R&B, rapidly being rediscovered from imported records. R&B had the advantage of being much hipper than white rock'n'roll and so appealed to those who yearned for authenticity rather than commerciality. The R&B revival began in Britain with bands like Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and the Cyril Davies All Stars. Next came the Rolling Stones and Pretty Things. Giorgio booked The Stones for a residency at the Craw-Daddy Club, but as soon as they gained national chart success with their debut single 'Come On' (in June 1963) they moved on and Giorgio urgently needed a replacement. He found one in The Yardbirds, who quickly became just as popular an attraction as the Stones, attracting fans with their rave up style, high-energy R&B.

He offered to become their manager and treated the youngsters almost like his own sons, . such was the bond between them. After all, The Yardbirds had only just left art school and were pretty green about the ways of the world. Giorgio , took them under his wing and launched them on an exciting career which would take them on many adventures.

The group was born out of the Metropolis Blues Quartet, run by singer and harmonica player Keith Relf. The original line up consisted of Keith together with Anthony 'Top Topham (guitar), Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar), Paul Samwell-Smith (bass) and Jim McCarty (drums). Keith came up with the name 'Yardbirds' from his readings of beatnik writer Jack Kerouac. A 'yardbird' was a bum who hung around railroad yards in search of a free train ride. The Yardbirds began playing in 1963 at such venues as Eel Pie Island on the river Thames and at Studio 51 in London's Soho. When The Yardbirds heard that the Stones had left the Crawdaddy, they approached Giorgio for a gig. He came to see them rehearse, was blown away and immediately booked the band for his club. Once he saw how well they were faring with the fans, he signed them to a management contract. As work began to build up the group found themselves playing six nights a week. They had to give up their day jobs and go professional. Top Topham's parents were against this idea, and so he left to be replaced by Eric Clapton on lead guitar. Eric, of course, already had a reputation as the finest local blues guitar player, and his presence transformed the band.

Although they were playing further afield, the Crawdaddy remained their home base, where the fans would develop their own bizarre dance routines to the band's increasingly wild and frenetic performances. Meanwhile, in October, 1963, Giorgio became involved in promoting a major event sponsored by the National Jazz Federation. It was the American Negro Blues Festival, held at Fairfield Hall, Croydon and featuring Muddy Waters, Otis Spann and Sonny Boy Williamson.

The latter artist decided to stay in England for a further six months. After the festival had finished, he moved in with Giorgio and his wife . Enid, who was shocked one day to find Old Sonny Boy plucking a live chicken in the bath! During his stay he was backed by The Animals as well as the Yardbirds and he was recorded 'live' with both bands. However, the most memorable nights came when The Yardbirds teamed up with Sonny Boy at their regular gig at The Craw-Daddy. The singer created a huge impression on the band. Six foot tall and somewhat cantankerous, he carried a brief case in which he kept his harmonicas and a bottle of whisky. In order to fit in with English society, he bought himself a Savile Row suit complete with bowler hat and umbrella. This outfit that caused a sensation when he turned up at such scruffy venues as the Marquee Club in Soho complete with young girlfriends in tow.

Sonny Boy Williamson's origins seemed shrouded in mystery, but musicologists have established his real name was Alex Ford and that he was born on December 5, 1899 in Glendora, Mississippi, USA. He is referred to by blues experts as 'Sonny Boy II'. having taken his stage name fit from another harmonica player. John Lee 'Sonny Boy' Williamson at sometime in the 1930's. Yet rift, he was actually much older than John Lee, who was born in 1914.

Just to complicate matters still further, he took his stepfather's name and also became known as 'Rice Miller.' Certainly 'Sonny Boy Williamson' has the right ring to it for a harp player and The Yardbirds were thrilled to bits to have the . chance to play with a real, authentic blues man. They were also dazed and confused when it turned out that their organised kind of existence did not entirely match up with the Sonny Boy world view.

Chris Dreja recalls that while rehearsals at the Craw-Daddy went well, by the time the gigs started in the evening, the Scotch whisky concealed in the harmonica case had done its job. Everything they'd learned at rehearsals was forgotten.

"We spent a very cold afternoon in the club working out stops, breaks, numbers and tempos. Then we recorded that night with Sonny Boy getting more and more pissed. When we got on stage it was nothing like the rehearsal, so none of the songs on the album have the band starting or finishing at the same time."'

It was the same experience for the Animals when they played with Sonny Boy at the Club A Go Go in Newcastle. At least the visiting celebrity didn't try to play the drums with the Yardbirds, as he did on the Animals gig. "How we got the album together I don't know," says Chris. "I guess it was because Sonny Boy was so good."

The tall, stooping singer and harmonica player with hooded eyes and goatee beard was a striking spectacle who delighted audiences with his charismatic presence and showmanship. All the tracks heard here are Sonny Boy compositions, which include two versions of 'Take It Easy Baby' and an alternate take of 'Western Arizona' previously unavailable on CD. It may have been chilly during rehearsals, but it was a hot couple of nights at the Craw-Daddy on December 8 and 9, 1963 when the boys got stuck into backing their guest star. Not only did Giorgio capture the sets with Sonny Boy, the Yardbirds' own set was taped and eventually released on an album as recently as 1982.

'The Yardbirds Live At The Craw-Daddy with Sonny Boy Williamson' would have been the band's first album, but it wasn't officially released until it came out on the Fontana label in January, 1966. This came after the first official release by the band, 'Five Live Yardbirds' (1964), recorded at the Marquee and also now available on Repertoire Records.

Sonny Boy taught his young back up musicians a great deal about improvisation, feel and emotion. In turn, he enjoyed being feted and honoured in a way he had not experienced for years in his own country. He travelled far and wide throughout Europe and even found his way to Poland and Denmark. He was very upset when his visa expired and he finally had to leave Britain and his new found friends. Meanwhile only a month after these Craw-Daddy sessions, The Yardbirds began recording in a proper studio and began the process that would see them become one of the most popular and successful groups of the Sixties, as well as being the launch pad for that extraordinary triumvirate of guitarists: Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page.

Sadly, Sonny Boy Williamson died in his sleep on May 25, 1965. He never experienced the huge commercial success of some of his contemporaries in the blues world, but thanks to Giorgio Gomelsky, The Yardbirds and their loyal fans, he certainly enjoyed his Indian summer back in '63.

CD Booklet Notes by Chris Welch, London, England, 1999