Anthony "Top" Topham, the founding guitarist of The Yardbirds, has passed away at the age of 75, only two weeks after Jeff Beck, his successor in the groundbreaking blues band, died.
According to his spokesman, Topham died peacefully surrounded by his family on Monday after a battle with dementia.
In London in May of 1963, the musician, who later acquired the name Sanderson Rasjid after joining the Subud spiritual movement, helped organize the pioneering rhythm and blues band. As lead guitarist, he was supplanted by Eric Clapton, then Jeff Beck, and lastly Jimmy Page prior to the group's commercial triumph.
Topham's passing comes two weeks after that of bandmate Jeff Beck, who died on January 10 at the age of 78 after abruptly acquiring meningitis.
Topham's representative issued a statement.
Topham's music career is quite colorful. Initially, he quit the band to focus on his art studies, but he subsequently said he didn't regret his decision since the band drifted away from blues music.
In an interview, he stated that at 15 just at the time, three or four years younger than the others, his parents would not have permitted him to play music five or six evenings a week, despite the fact that he was already bringing home double what his father earned. Later on, he did not regret leaving because they had drifted away from his preferred blues music. Even if he had continued to become a professional, he believed he would have eventually quit for the same reasons Eric did.
Topham later played guitar for Christine McVie, Dustin Bennett, and Peter Green, the creator of Fleetwood Mac. As a member of Blue Horizon, he released a solo album titled Ascension Heights before declining health forced him to forsake music once more.
However, he performed sporadically with the Yardbirds in the 2000s and rejoined the group between 2013 and 2015. In his later years, he was also an interior designer, muralist, and fine artist. His passing occurs two weeks after that of bandmate Beck, who died of bacterial meningitis. The rock legend, recognized as one of the best guitarists of all time, had just completed a transatlantic tour with Johnny Depp to promote their debut album, "18," a few weeks earlier.
The Yardbirds and Beck were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and 2009, respectively. He was awarded six Grammys for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, one for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and one for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
