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John Mayall

John Mayall - vocal, harmonica, organ, piano, guitar,

John Mayall was born 29th of November 1933 in Macclesfield, a small English village near the industrial hub of Manchester—a far cry at that time from the black American blues culture we are familiar with today. The eldest of three from humble working class origins, and in the shadow of WWII, this skinny English lad grew up listening to his guitarist father's extensive jazz record collection and felt drawn to the blues. Strongly influenced by such greats as Leadbelly, Albert Ammons, Pinetop Smith, and Eddie Lang, from the age of 13 he taught himself to play and develop his own style with the aid of a neighbor's piano, borrowed guitars, and secondhand harmonicas.

John Mayall's first brush with fame, however, was not for his music. As a teenager, he decided to move out of the house, and, showing the signature eccentricities and artistic qualities that have added to his legendary status, he moved into his backyard treehouse. This gained him notoriety enough to receive newspaper attention. Even more so, since, upon returning from a stint in Korea, he brought his first wife Pamela to live with him there.

From an art college training, to three years with the British Army in Korea, to a successful career in graphic design, his blues singing and playing took a back seat until he reached the age of 30. From 1956 until 1962, John was performing publicly on a part-time basis fronting The Powerhouse Four and, later on, The Blues Syndicate. It was then that Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated pioneered what was to become known as The British Blues Boom of the Late 60's. Alexis was quick to encourage and help John make his move to London where he soon secured enough club work to be able to turn professional under the name John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. After a couple of years and a constant turnover of musicians, he met his soulmate in Eric Clapton, who had quit the Yardbirds in favor of playing the blues. This historic union culminated in the first hit album for the Bluesbreakers and resulted in worldwide legendary status.

After Clapton and Jack Bruce left the band to form Cream, a succession of great musicians defined their artistic roots under John's leadership, and he became as well known for discovering new talent as for his hard- hitting interpretations of the fierce Chicago-style blues he'd grown up listening to. As sidemen left to form their own groups, others took their places. Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood became Fleetwood Mac. Andy Fraser formed Free, and Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones. As Eric Clapton has stated, "John Mayall has actually run an incredibly great school for musicians."

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5
Album Review

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers: Live In 1967 - Volume Three

Read "Live In 1967 - Volume Three" reviewed by Doug Collette


Perhaps it is just the cumulative effect of what this title represents as the third and last release in a series of similarly- designated editions, but a dramatic sense of history arises from mere perusal of the artwork adorning John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers' Live in 1967 -Volume Three. The black and white graphic design is the antithesis of the kaleidoscopic color schemes permeating the psychedelia of the era. More significantly, however, it is a direct corollary to ...

14
Album Review

John Mayall: The Sun Is Shining Down

Read "The Sun Is Shining Down" reviewed by Scott Gudell


British blues master John Mayall can still turn out a rich collection of originals and covers six decades, and approximately sixty albums, after his first songs were released in the early 1960s. Add the fact that he still has a knack for enlisting top guitarists--this time Mayall spotlights Mississippi born/Chicago bred Melvin Taylor among others--and it is a Brit-led blues bash at its best. Often considered the Godfather of British Blues, Mayall said during a 1980s interview that ...

Album Review

John Mayall: The First Generation 1965-1974

Read "The First Generation 1965-1974" reviewed by Maurizio Comandini


Se gli inglesi hanno soprannominato “The Godfather of the British Blues" l'imperturbabile John Mayall una ragione ci sarà... La malavita non c'entra nulla, per fortuna, ma c'entra tantissimo la buona musica e la capacità di organizzarla partendo da zero, o quasi. John Mayall è nato a Macclesfield, il 29 novembre del 1933. Siamo nello Cheshire, meno di trenta chilometri a sud di Manchester. Il padre è un chitarrista dilettante, appassionato di jazz e di blues e ...

8
Extended Analysis

The Sun Is Shining Down

Read "The Sun Is Shining Down" reviewed by Doug Collette


Having announced he will be limiting his touring in the future, John Mayall doesn't seem to have lessened his engagement with recording. On the contrary, for The Sun Is Shining Down, 'The Godfather of British Blues' surrounds himself with a roster of high-profile contributors, all of whom play to their respective strengths and sound inspired collaborating with a genuine musical icon. Equally importantly, this fifth Forty Below Records studio outing (out of some forty overall) radiates a sense of deep ...

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Extended Analysis

The First Generation 1965-1974

Read "The First Generation 1965-1974" reviewed by John Kelman


What do guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Jon Mark, Harvey Mandel and Freddy Robinson, reed/woodwind multi-instrumentalists John Almond, Ray Warleigh, Alan Skidmore, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Red Holloway and Ernie Watts, bassists John McVie, Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser, Tony Reeves, Stephen Thompson and Larry Taylor, drummers Mick Fleetwood, Keef Hartley, Aynsley Dunbar, Jon Hiseman and Collin Allen, trumpeters Henry Lowther and Blue Mitchell, and violinist Don “Sugarcane" Harris all share in common? They are but a few of the notable ...

8
Book Review

Blues From Laurel Canyon: My Life As A Bluesman

Read "Blues From Laurel Canyon: My Life As A Bluesman" reviewed by Doug Collette


Blues From Laurel Canyon: My Life As A Bluesman John Mayall with Joel McIver 336 Pages ISBN: #978-1785581786 Omnibus Press 2019 Blues From Laurel Canyon seems an odd assignation of a name for John Mayall's memoir, if only because that main title doesn't quite correspond to its subtitle My Life As A Bluesman. But in his very introduction to these three-hundred thirty-six pages, 'The Godfather of British Blues' clarifies the point, if only ...

3
Album Review

John Mayall: Nobody Told Me

Read "Nobody Told Me" reviewed by Doug Collette


Over the course of some fifty-plus years, the bands of John Mayall have served as a proving ground for some estimable guitarists. Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Peter Green are just the most famous axemen who've aided and abetted “The Godfather of British Blues." Yet, in all that extended time, he has never before had a female lead guitarist in any lineups until the enlistment of Texas wunderkind Carolyn Wonderland on Nobody Told Me. In keeping with other ...

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112

Recording

John Mayall: Unbreakable

John Mayall: Unbreakable

Source: JamBase

By: Jarrod Dicker

John Mayall “I think we are keeping it alive," John Mayall murmurs in a rather sanguine tone responding to my query about the impending death of the blues. “It's not only that though, it's inspiring kids and musicians, who seem to be taking to their instruments a lot earlier than they used to do. It just shows the power of the music. It keeps going from ...

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Recording

John Mayall to Release "Tough" September 15th

John Mayall to Release "Tough" September 15th

Source: Universal Music Group

EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT IS PROUD TO PRESENT JOHN MAYALL’S “TOUGH"

New Studio Album By The Blues Master – His 57th To Date New York, NY--Over the years, Eagle Rock Entertainment has developed a strong relationship with legendary blues master John Mayall. On September 15, 2009, through their wholly-owned Eagle Records subsidiary, Mayall’s dynamic and masterful new piece of work: Tough (Pre-book order date August 21, MSRP $13.98) will be released. On this, his self-produced 57th studio ...

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Recording

John Mayall:Live at the Marquee 1969

John Mayall:Live at the Marquee 1969

Source: JamBase

John Mayall is an often overlooked and misunderstood musical figure who began his career in the 1960s. Remembered by many casual fans as simply the namesake for the band that helped launch the careers of guitarists Peter Green and Mick Taylor and provided a safe haven for Eric Clapton while he escaped from the limiting pop-sound that The Yardbirds had moved towards. But Mayall was much more than just a stopover for blues hungry musicians on their way to bigger ...

154

Recording

John Mayall Live '69 Reissues

John Mayall Live '69 Reissues

Source: All About Jazz

Two Vintage John Mayall Sets: Live at Marquee & The Masters Available June 3

Eagle Rock Entertainment will re-release two of British blues superstar John Mayall's vintage live albums on June 3.

The Masters is a two-disc set, originally released in 1999, culled from a British show 30 years earlier, that also features music from the original film soundtrack of The Turning Point, a “rockumentary" on Mayall which chronicles his adventurous decision to go acousticwithout drums!shortly after guitarist Mick Taylor ...

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Performance / Tour

Paddy Milner & The Big Sounds support John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Paddy Milner & The Big Sounds support John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Source: All About Jazz

His debut album “Walking With Eggshells" went to No.1 on the FNAC jazz/blues chart, he's recorded a new arrangement of the James Bond theme with screen music legend Monty Norman and now Paddy Milner and his Big Sounds band have been chosen by Blues legends John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers to support them on the German leg of their 2006 Tour. The tour takes in Augsburg (March 2nd), Heidenheim (March 3rd), Karlsruhe ( March 4th), Stuttgart (March 5th), Bonn (March ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Live In 1967 - Volume...

Forty Below Records
2023

buy

The Sun Is Shining...

Forty Below Records
2022

buy

Nobody Told Me

Forty Below Records
2019

buy

John Mayall's...

Forty Below Records
2015

buy

John Mayall: A...

Forty Below Records
2014

buy

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