Searches for Over Under Sideways Down Yardbirds usually lead to one question.
How did a Bill Haley boogie beat turn into rock's first raga flavored riff.
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The Studio Jam That Became a Raga Riff
All five Yardbirds share the writing credit.
Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, and Paul Samwell-Smith built the song together in the studio.
Nobody walked in with a finished track, McCarty said.
He traced the boogie beat to Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock."
He had heard it on a late night radio show hosted by Mike Raven.
Beck built his opening riff on top of that beat.
He pulled in Middle Eastern scales the group had been absorbing that year.
Producer Simon Napier-Bell suggested the "over, under, sideways, down" hook itself.
Jim McCarty on Where the Riff Came From
"We started off with a boogie bass that Jeff played," McCarty said of the session.
He added a heavy off-beat on drums, plus tinkling on the rims.
Beck's finished intro still caught his own bandmates off guard.
McCarty called it an instantly recognizable peel that took the group by surprise.
The Session and the Lyrics
The Yardbirds finished the track on April 19 and 20, 1966, at Advision Studios.
Keith Relf sang lead and Jim McCarty played drums.
Chris Dreja played rhythm guitar and Paul Samwell-Smith played bass.
Relf wrote most of the words.
McCarty described the theme as the good time, slightly decadent side of being young in 1966.
The lyrics move through cars, girls, laughing, drinking, and smoking.
One line reportedly changed over concern it could draw BBC censorship, from "that's the best way I have found" to "backwards forwards square and round."
What the Lyrics Are Actually About
The title hook has no fixed meaning beyond its rhythm, more chant than statement.
McCarty traced its origin to a bandmate riffing on current events.
He said the idea came from "the state of things at the moment, it's all over the place."
Some listeners at the time read the wordplay as sly innuendo.
Over Under Sideways Down Yardbirds Chart Run and Legacy
Columbia released the single in the UK on May 27, 1966.
It was backed with the Beck instrumental "Jeff's Boogie."
Epic issued it in the US on June 8, 1966.
It reached number 10 in the UK, the band's fifth UK top 10 hit.
It also hit number 5 in Canada.
In the US it entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 82 on June 19, 1966.
It peaked at number 13 that August after eleven weeks on the chart.
It matched that number 13 peak in New Zealand.
The song leads the album released under the same title in the US.
The UK's self-titled Yardbirds LP is better known to fans as "Roger the Engineer."
Rolling Stone later ranked it number 23 on its list of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time.
Paul Samwell-Smith left the band that June, and Jimmy Page joined soon after.
FAQ
Who wrote Over Under Sideways Down?
All five Yardbirds are credited: Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, Jeff Beck, Keith Relf, and Paul Samwell-Smith.
The song grew out of a studio jam rather than a single writer bringing in finished lyrics and chords.
What inspired the riff on Over Under Sideways Down?
Drummer Jim McCarty traced the boogie beat back to Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock."
Jeff Beck built the instantly recognizable intro on top of it, drawing on Middle Eastern scales the band had been absorbing that year.
What is Over Under Sideways Down about?
McCarty described it as the good time, slightly decadent side of being young in the mid 1960s.
The title hook itself came from producer Simon Napier-Bell and works more as rhythm than literal meaning.
How high did Over Under Sideways Down chart?
It reached number 10 in the UK and number 5 in Canada.
In the US it peaked at number 13, matching its number 13 peak in New Zealand.
What album is Over Under Sideways Down on?
It leads the album released in the US and internationally under the same title.
The UK version was self-titled Yardbirds, though fans usually call it "Roger the Engineer."
Over Under Sideways Down followed Heart Full of Soul and For Your Love as a third fuzz and raga era Yardbirds single.
Its Middle Eastern scaled riff also puts it at the edge of psychedelic rock, a sound the band helped launch inside the British Invasion.
Read the group's full lineup history on the The Yardbirds artist page.
Over Under Sideways Down Yardbirds fans still spin it as one of Jeff Beck's boldest studio moments from 1966.
Back to the 1960smusic.net homepage to explore every genre of the decade.