John Mayall: Pioneer of British blues dies aged 90
Jagger Pays Tribute To Blues Legend John Mayall
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Mayall giving a live performance on stage in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood in New York City, in the year 1979.
Renowned blues artist John Mayall, known for his groundbreaking band the Bluesbreakers which helped launch the careers of musicians like Eric Clapton, has passed away at the age of 90.
The person who writes songs passed away at his residence in California on Monday with his family by his side.
Mick Jagger, the frontman of the Rolling Stones, praised him as a "trailblazer in British blues", leading the tributes along with other musicians.
According to a post on Mayall's Instagram, John's health problems have finally brought an end to his extensive career as a tour performer, bringing a sense of peace to one of the world's most legendary road warriors.
John Mayall dedicated 90 years of hard work to teaching, motivating, and delighting us.
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Mayall was born in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire on 29th November 1933.
His dad, Murray, was really good at playing guitar and loved jazz music, and Mayall soon found himself fascinated by the music of the blues artists from the Mississippi Delta.
During his teenage years, he finished a George Formby Ukulele course on his own, and also learned how to play the piano by himself.
He completed his mandatory military service in the Army, serving in Korea, before attending Manchester College of Art.
Mayall became known for being a bit quirky, as he built a large treehouse in his grandparents' backyard and lived there with his fiancée, Pamela.
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He started appearing regularly at blues gigs in London
He also purchased an electric guitar and started performing with different bands in his area. This hobby continued even after he got a job at a local art studio.
In 1956, he established the Powerhouse Four, gaining recognition at nearby dance events.
In 1962, he became a member of a group called Blues Syndicate. This band was inspired by Alexis Korner, whose Blues Incorporated was leading the way for the British blues revival of the 1960s.
Korner convinced Mayall to relocate to London and pursue music as a career. He also connected Mayall with important people in the London club scene and assisted him in booking performances.
In 1963, Mayall's group, now known as the Bluesbreakers, started playing concerts regularly at the Marquee Club. This spot helped launch the careers of many well-known bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Who.
A clever entrepreneur, Mayall would frequently linger outside the venue calculating the number of audience members in order to make sure he got his fair cut of the ticket revenue.
Mayall had a talent for recognizing skilled musicians and his band included John McVie on the bass, who would go on to be a founding member of Fleetwood Mac.
His first album, titled "John Mayall plays John Mayall," came out in 1965. It was recorded live at an R&B club in West Hampstead. However, the album didn't do well and his contract with Decca ended soon after.
When Eric Clapton joined the Bluesbreakers, everything changed.
At that moment, he enlisted Eric Clapton, who had recently left the Yardbirds due to their shift away from blues towards a more mainstream sound.
Clapton's involvement in Mayall's band, which was already well-known, brought more attention to the group.
But the constant coming and going of musicians started to become a problem for the Bluesbreakers.
Clapton unexpectedly traveled to Greece for three months in August 1965 without telling anyone, leaving Mayall to figure out how to replace him as the guitarist.
In October, his problems got worse when bass player John McVie was let go due to his excessive drinking. Jack Bruce took his place.
Mayall eventually discovered a guitarist in Peter Green, but his time with the Bluesbreakers was short-lived as Eric Clapton returned and Green was promptly let go.
Jack Bruce left because he was unhappy with his pay, which led to John McVie being brought back to work with Mayall.
In March 1966, Decca agreed to sign the Bluesbreakers again and they made Mayall's first studio album.
Ready to take advantage of the fame of his skilled guitar player, the record was named Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.
Later on, fans started calling it The Beano Album because of the comic book Eric Clapton is seen reading on the cover of the record.
The album received a positive response, making it to the top six on the charts and giving Mayall the success he had been hoping for.
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The "Beano record" was the moment when Mayall first gained widespread recognition.
The album was still doing well when Clapton said he was leaving to start a new band called Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
Mayall convinced a hesitant Peter Green to rejoin the group, and Green played guitar on Mayall's next record, Hard Road, which came out in 1967.
This would end up being Green's sole appearance on a Bluesbreakers record, with the album cover showcasing a portrait of the band created by Mayall.
The group's members kept changing as some musicians left to pursue other opportunities and Mayall found new talent.
in 1967. Some other musicians who were part of the band that year included Mick Fleetwood, Aynsley Dunbar, Mick Taylor, and Keef Hartley. However, most of them had left the band by the time Mayall came out with his solo album, The Blues Alone.
Eric Clapton once said that John Mayall has created a fantastic training ground for musicians.
Mayall was very strict about the quality of his band members and didn't hesitate to let go of anyone who didn't meet his high standards.
His departure from playing blues music in the late 1970s did not go well.
In 1968, the music group started a tour in the United States that included a performance at the famous Fillmore West in San Francisco with Jimi Hendrix.
After the debut of Blues from Laurel Canyon in April 1969, Mayall decided to move away from using the Bluesbreakers name. His new band tried out playing music without drums.
Mayall's new band recorded the acoustic album, The Turning Point, at the famous Fillmore East in New York. This album was so successful that it earned Mayall his only gold record.
In the 1970s, Mayall relocated to the United States and started creating bands with American musicians.
He strayed from the traditional electric blues that had brought him fame, and started playing around with funky, pop, and jazzy styles instead.
He kept performing in the United Kingdom, frequently supporting American blues icons like John Lee Hooker and Sonny Boy Williamson.
In 1979, a fire broke out at his residence in Laurel Canyon, causing him to lose his original recordings, personal journals, and many of his career keepsakes.
The popularity of blues music had decreased in the UK, but in 1982, Mayall decided it was the perfect time to reunite the Bluesbreakers.
John McVie and Mick Taylor returned to play with their former leader for a brief period, and the positive response from the audience motivated Mayall to form a stable lineup for the band.
Mayall kept performing live and making music during the 1990s, and when Texas guitarist Buddy Whittington joined the band in 1993, it brought a fresh sound to their music.
Eric Clapton was a past member of the Bluesbreakers band who performed at John Mayall's 70th birthday concert.
In 2003, Mayall marked his 70th birthday with a performance in Liverpool, where he reunited with some of his past band members, such as Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor.
In his long career of seventy years, John Mayall put out over 50 albums, featuring top musicians in a variety of band formations.
He didn't become massively successful in terms of making money, but his commitment to preserving the blues genre had a significant impact on the rise of rock music in the 1960s and 1970s.
Mayall was recognized for his role in inspiring a revival of blues music among white musicians in England, earning him the title of the "godfather of British blues" from many observers.
In 2014, Mayall explained to the Guardian that the music scene in America was divided along racial lines, while in Europe and England, audiences were starting to appreciate black blues music that was not as popular in America.
Following their 1966 record with guitarist Clapton, the Bluesbreakers garnered praise from music reviewers as one of the top blues bands in the world.
He told the Guardian that he was able to find some very talented individuals, selecting band members based on the exact sound he wanted to achieve.
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In 1966, the Bluesbreakers consisted of John Mayall, Hughie Flint, Eric Clapton, and John McVie, lined up from one side to the other.
He was awarded the title of OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2005.
Mayall is no longer with us, but he is survived by his six children, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, according to the statement released by his family.
"He is also supported by love from his former wives, Pamela and Maggie, his loyal secretary, Jane, and his circle of close friends," the statement further stated.
The Mayall family is extremely grateful to all of his fans and the many band members who have supported and loved them over the past sixty years.
Mayall shown in a photo taken in 2019 while he was singing in Malaga, Spain.
