Sonny Boy Williamson & the Yardbirds is a live album by Chicago blues veteran Sonny Boy Williamson II backed by English rock band the Yardbirds. It was recorded at the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond, Surrey on December 8, 1963. However, the performances were not released until early 1966, after a string of Top 40 hits by the Yardbirds. Williamson sings and/or plays the harmonica on all of the songs. Although they are in a supporting role, the album also presents some of the earliest recordings by the Yardbirds, whose members included Eric Clapton on lead guitar. Numerous reissues have appeared over the years, sometimes with additional tracks recorded around the same time. Background German music impresarios Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau organized the first annual American Folk Blues Festival in 1962. They arranged for several well-known American blues artists to perform in concert in several European cities. Sonny Boy Williamson participated during the second festival tour in 1963 and his performances are identified as some of the most memorable of the festival. At the conclusion of the festival, he returned to England for a more extensive club tour. The Yardbirds' manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, who promoted some of the early American Folk Blues Festivals in England, persuaded Lippmann to attend one of the group's shows (by another account, Williamson also saw one of their performances). A deal was struck and the Yardbirds backed Williamson for several English dates between December 1963 and February 1964. Part of the arrangement included that Lippmann and Rau record some live performances (as they had done for the festival tour) and finance a solo studio demo by the group. At their first meeting, Clapton wanted to impress Williamson with his familiarity with American blues and asked "Isn't your real name Rice Miller?" (the Yardbirds had been performing "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", which is often attributed to John Lee Williamson, also known as "Sonny Boy Williamson I"; "Rice Miller" is one of several names associated with "Sonny Boy Williamson II"). According to Clapton, Williamson "slowly pulled out a small penknife and glared at me. It went downhill from there". Williamson and the group rehearsed for their upcoming club performances and prepared a set list. Yardbirds' rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja recalled: Recording December 7, 1963 at the Star Hotel, Croydon Gomelsky indicates that two songs were recorded; however, Yardbirds' chronicler Gregg Russo notes that this was a rehearsal