Levy also shared on Threads that Dreja had battled “years of health problems,” and praised his wife, Kate, for caring for him throughout his illness.

Though the Yardbirds never reached the commercial heights of some of their peers, their influence on rock is immeasurable.

They not only delivered hits like “For Your Love,” “Heart Full of Soul,” “Evil Hearted You” and “Shapes of Things” — they also launched the careers of three of rock’s most iconic guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.

Born Christopher Walenty Dreja in 1945, Dreja co-founded the band in 1963.

The Yardbirds started out as a raw, blues-driven band with those famous “rave-up” jam sessions that just tore the roof off. But they didn’t stop there. They stretched into pop, dabbled in psychedelia, and kicked off the kind of heavy, guitar-driven sound that would shape early hard rock.