John Mayall, the British blues musician whose influential band, the Bluesbreakers, was a training ground for stars like Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood, has died at the age of 90.
A statement on Mayall’s Instagram page announced his death on Tuesday, saying the musician died Monday at his home in California. “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,” the post said.
Mayall is credited with helping to develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s. The Bluesbreakers at various times included legendary musicians such as Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, later of Cream; Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac; Mick Taylor, who played five years with the Rolling Stones; Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor of Canned Heat; and Jon Mark and John Almond, who went on to form the Mark-Almond Band.
Despite his protestations that he was not a talent scout, Mayall played for the love of the music he had first heard on his father’s 78-rpm records. “I’m a band leader and I know what I want to play in my band — who can be good friends of mine,” Mayall said in an interview with the Southern Vermont Review. “It’s definitely a family. It’s a small kind of thing really.”
Although he never achieved the fame of his illustrious alumni, Mayall continued performing into his late 80s, passionately delivering his version of Chicago blues. “I’ve never had a hit record, I never won a Grammy Award, and Rolling Stone has never done a piece about me,” he said in an interview with the Santa Barbara Independent in 2013. “I’m still an underground performer.”
Known for his blues harmonica and keyboard playing, Mayall received a Grammy nomination for “Wake Up Call,” which featured guest artists Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Mick Taylor, and Albert Collins. He received a second nomination in 2022 for his album “The Sun Is Shining Down.” In 2005, he was honored with an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).
Mayall was selected for the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class, and his 1966 album “Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton” is considered one of the best British blues albums.
Born on Nov. 29, 1933, in Macclesfield, near Manchester, Mayall once said, “The only reason I was born in Macclesfield was because my father was a drinker, and that’s where his favorite pub was.” His father played guitar and banjo, and his records of boogie-woogie piano captivated his teenage son.
Mayall learned to play the piano one hand at a time — a year on the left hand, a year on the right — to avoid getting tangled up. He also played guitar and harmonica, performing with a distinctive, strained-sounding voice. Aided only by drummer Keef Hartley, Mayall played all the other instruments for his 1967 album, “Blues Alone.”
Though often called the “father of British blues,” Mayall moved to London in 1962 to soak up the nascent blues scene led by Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies. The Bluesbreakers featured a fluid community of musicians who drifted in and out of various bands. Clapton, who joined the Bluesbreakers in 1965, shared Mayall’s passion for Chicago blues and remembered Mayall’s incredible collection of records.
Mayall tolerated Clapton’s waywardness: Clapton left and returned to the band before departing for good in 1966 to form Cream with Bruce, which rocketed to commercial success, leaving Mayall far behind. Clapton later confessed in a BBC documentary that he had “used [Mayall’s] hospitality, used his band and his reputation to launch my own career.”
Mayall’s encouragement extended to other musicians, urging them to sing, write songs, and perform freely. Mick Taylor, who succeeded Peter Green in the Bluesbreakers, valued the freedom Mayall provided to his soloists.
In 1968, Mayall released “Blues from Laurel Canyon,” signaling a permanent move to the United States. The following year, he released “The Turning Point,” featuring an acoustic lineup that included Mark and Almond. “Room to Move,” a song from that album, became a frequent audience favorite in his later career.
Despite personal and professional challenges, including struggles with alcohol in the 1970s, Mayall continued touring and performing over 100 shows a year. He reformed the Bluesbreakers in 1982 but retired the name in 2008. In 2013, he led the John Mayall Band.
Mayall and his second wife, Maggie, divorced in 2011 after 30 years of marriage. They had two sons.
John Mayall’s enduring legacy in the world of blues music and his influence on countless musicians will be remembered and celebrated for years to come.
