"Over Under Sideways Down" is a 1966 song by English
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
group
the Yardbirds
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samwell ...
. A composition credited to all members of the group, it combines elements of
blues rock
Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
and
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
.
It was first released as a single in May 1966 as a follow-up to "
Shapes of Things
"Shapes of Things" is a song by the English rock group the Yardbirds. With its Eastern-sounding, feedback-laden guitar solo and anti-war/pro-environmental lyrics, several music writers have identified it as the first popular psychedelic rock ...
" and in July was included on group's
self-titled UK album (commonly known as ''Roger the Engineer'' and ''Over Under Sideways Down'' in the US and elsewhere).
Composition and recording
According to Yardbirds drummer
Jim McCarty
James Stanley McCarty (born 25 July 1943) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only member of the band to featur ...
, the basic outline for "Over Under Sideways Down" was inspired by
Bill Haley and His Comets
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
' "
Rock Around the Clock
"Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...
". The group had heard Haley's song on the radio after a gig and considered adapting it in their own style. At a later recording session, guitarist
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
started by playing the song's bassline and the group were soon working out an arrangement. Beck then switched to lead guitar and came up with the intro. McCarty recalled:
Although McCarty felt that all of the group contributed to the lyrics, producer
Simon Napier-Bell
Simon Robert Napier-Bell (born 22 April 1939) is an English record producer, music manager, author and journalist. At different times, he has managed artists as diverse as the Yardbirds, John's Children, Marc Bolan, Japan, London, Ultravox, Bon ...
attributed them to singer
Keith Relf
William Keith Relf (22 March 194312 May 1976) was an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player for rock band the Yardbirds. He then formed the band Renaissance with his sister Jane Relf, The Yardbirds ex-drummer Jim ...
. He also claims that Relf's original verse "Over under sideways down, That's the best way I have found" was changed to "Over under sideways down, Backwards forwards square and round", because
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in the US following on 13 June. The B-side, the instrumental "Jeff's Boogie", is credited to Beck, however, it has been described as "a near copy of
's 'Guitar Boogie'". The single became the Yardbirds' fifth single to reach the UK top 10 chart, where it peaked at number10; in the US, it reached number13.
In July 1966, the song was released on ''Yardbirds'', the group's first studio album in the UK and in August on the US edition titled after the song. As one of the group's most popular pieces, "Over Under Sideways Down" it is included on many anthologies, such as ''
'' (2001). A live performance with Beck's replacement,
magazine ranked "Over Under Sideways Down" at number 23 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.