British Blues pioneer John Mayall has passed away at the age of 90. Mayall was the core member of the band John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers which saw various legendary British musicians join before going on to have success in their own bands including Peter Green and Eric Clapton.
Mayall’s family announced his passing via Facebook yesterday (July 23) writing: “It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by loving family. Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors. John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.”
John Mayall was a singer, songwriter and multi- instrumentalist and is often referred to as ‘The Godfather of British Blues’. He formed the group John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers in 1963 which helped him transform the British blues rock secene.
Throughout the 1960s The Bluesbreakers saw a number of British rock superstars have stints in the group before they reached stardom. This included Eric Clapton, Peter Green who formed Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor who later joined The Rolling Stones, Mick Fleetwood, and Jack Bruce, who became the singer and bassist for Cream.
Mayall was born in Macclesfield in 1933 and before becoming a renowned musician he partook in 3 years of National Service for the army where he toured Korea, before studying at the Manchester College of art.
Mayall moved to London in 1963 to form the Bluesbreakers where he recruited John Mcvie for for the earliest lineup of the group which featured on the band’s debut single ‘Crawling Up a Hill’. After leaving The Yardbirds Eric Clapton joined the band in 1965 after they released their first album. Clapton breifly left the band when he was replaced by Peter Green. Clapton then returned to the band and Green was dismissed by Mayall. With Clapton they recorded the 1966 album ‘Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton’ which reached the top ten in the UK album charts.
Clapton then left the band again to form Cream with Jack Bruce who was also briefly a member of the Bluesbreakers. Mayall persuaded Peter Green to re-join the band and they then recorded the album A Hard Road. After Peter Green left the band to form Fleetwood Mac he was replaced by 18-year-old Mick Taylor.
During the 1970s Mayall stopped releasing music with The Bluesbreakers and moved to America. Here he moved away from blues to experiment with jazz, funk and rock. He collaborated with the likes of Paul Butterfield, Patti Smith, and members of Canned Heat.
In 2005, Mayall was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire). He was also due to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the ceremony in Cleveland, USA in October this year.
Mayall’s career spanned over 60 years and saw him release over 30 studio albums as a member of The Bluesbreakers and as a solo artist, with his last album being 2022’s ‘The Sun Is Shining Down’.
(1/3) In Memoriam: 2024 Inductee John Mayall was the godfather of British blues. As a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and bandleader, Mayall displayed a talent for mentoring gifted young musicians, many of whom he recruited for his groundbreaking band the Bluesbreakers. pic.twitter.com/6qXhj6LVk7
— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) July 23, 2024
