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John Mayall

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John Mayall
For the photographer, see John Jabez Edwin Mayall.

John Mayall, OBE (born November 29 1933) is a pioneering English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His musical career spans over fifty years but the most notable episode in it occurred during the late '60s. He was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and has been influential in the careers of many instrumentalists, including Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, Johnny Almond, and Jon Mark.

Biography

Mayall is the son of Murray Mayall, a guitarist and jazz music enthusiast. From an early age, he was drawn to the sounds of American blues players such as Leadbelly, Albert Ammons, Pinetop Smith, and Eddie Lang, and taught himself to play the piano, guitars, and harmonica.

Mayall attended art college and then had three years of national service with the British Army in Korea. In 1956, he started playing blues with semi-professional bands named "The Powerhouse Four" and, later, "The Blues Syndicate". Under the influence of Alexis Korner, he moved to London and formed "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers".

The band was always something of a training ground for blues musicians, and went through several changes of personnel, before the arrival of Eric Clapton, with whom they achieved their first commercial success. After Clapton left to form Cream, the Bluesbreakers took on a succession of other notable musicians, including Peter Green, John McVie, Kal David, and Mick Taylor. Eric Clapton is quoted as saying, "John Mayall has actually run an incredibly great school for musicians."

In the early 1970s, Mayall achieved commercial success in the United States and moved to Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. There, he was influential in the developing careers of musicians such as Blue Mitchell, Red Holloway, Larry Taylor, and Harvey Mandel.

Mayall has continued to play and tour, ever since, including reforming the Bluesbreakers in 1982.

In 2005, he was awarded an OBE in the Honours List.

Discography

Original John Mayall Albums

Unofficial, Limited editions & Bootlegs

  • 1990 Crocodile Walk
  • 1984 Blues Alive (RCA/Columbia)
  • 199? Bulldogs For Sale (bootleg)
  • 199? Beano's Boys (bootleg)
  • 1999 Mayapollis Blues (bootleg)
  • 1999 Horny Blues The first 5 years
  • 2000 Time Capsule (Private Stash) Limited release (J.Mayall's private archive 57-62)
  • 2001 UK Tour 2K (Private Stash) Limited release
  • 2001 Boogie Woogie Man (Private Stash) Limited release
  • 2003 No Days Off (Private Stash) Limited release

DVD

  • 2003 70th Birthday Concert (Eagle) live '03 CD & DVD
  • 2004 Live at Iowa State University DVD live'87
  • 2004 Cookin' Down Under DVD (Private Stash) Limited release
  • 2004 The Godfather of British Blues/Turning Point DVD (Eagle)
  • 2005 Rolling with the Blues (Recall) live'72-82 2CD+DVD
  • 2007 Live at the Bottom Line, New York 1992

John Mayall's Sidemen

A comprehensive list of musicians who have recorded and/or toured with John Mayall.

File:JohnMayall1.jpg
Paul Butterfield with John Mayall, 1967

A few notable names

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