Chris Dreja

Chris Dreja is the kind of musician I find quietly heroic. As the steady rhythm guitarist and bassist of The Yardbirds, he held the band together while Clapton, Beck, and Page passed through, providing the constant that let those legends shine. There is real character in that role. Even more striking is how he walked away when the music ended and reinvented himself as a professional photographer rather than chasing faded fame. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction confirms his place in history. Learning he passed in 2025 saddened me, but his unshowy, foundational craftsmanship is exactly what I treasure.

Name (English)

Chris Dreja

Name (Japanese)

クリス・ドレヤ

Reading

くりす・どれや

Born

November 11, 1945 (age 80)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Rooster

Origin

Surbiton, United Kingdom

Occupation

guitarist / songwriter

• Official sitehttp://www.chrisdreja.com/
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris%20Dreja
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%89%E3%83%AC%E3%83%A4
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2330684

Tags

• guitarist
• songwriter

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.