The rock world is mourning the loss of Chris Dreja, the influential guitarist best known for his work with The Yardbirds and for capturing some of the earliest images of Led Zeppelin. Dreja passed away this week at the age of 79, leaving behind a legacy that straddles both the sonic and visual history of British rock.
Born in 1946 in Surrey, England, Dreja rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as a rhythm guitarist for The Yardbirds, a band whose roster reads like a who’s who of rock guitar legends — Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page all spent time in its lineup. Dreja’s steady rhythm playing and understated style helped ground the group’s experimental fusion of blues, rock, and psychedelia, shaping the sound of an era.
But Dreja’s story didn’t end with The Yardbirds’ dissolution. When the band broke up in 1968, Jimmy Page was tasked with forming a new group to fulfill their remaining tour dates — a project that would eventually become Led Zeppelin. Page initially invited Dreja to join the new band as bassist. Dreja declined, choosing instead to pursue his passion for photography — a decision that would unexpectedly intertwine his career with Zeppelin’s legacy once more.
As a photographer, Dreja went on to shoot one of Led Zeppelin’s first official band portraits, a now-iconic image that captured Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham on the cusp of superstardom. That photograph remains one of the most enduring images from the dawn of Zeppelin’s career, symbolizing both the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in rock history.
Fellow musicians and fans have paid tribute to Dreja’s dual contributions to music and visual art. Jimmy Page described him as “a crucial part of the Yardbirds’ sound and spirit” and “a man whose eye for imagery helped tell the story of Led Zeppelin before a note was ever played.”
While Chris Dreja never became the global rock star his former bandmates did, his influence can be felt in two of the most important acts of the 20th century — first as a guitarist who helped define the Yardbirds’ innovative style, and later as the photographer who immortalized Led Zeppelin’s birth.
