Welcome to the Deep Dive. This is where we take,
well, stacks of sources really, pull out the
key bits of information and give you the ultimate
shortcut to getting up to speed. Today we're
really immersing ourselves in the extraordinary
career, nearly seven decades, of John Mayall,
the English musician, songwriter, producer, who
sadly passed away recently in 2024, aged 90.
It's a massive story. And our mission really
is to unpack the sources that detail this life.
I mean, a life so central to rock history that,
well. He's rightly called the godfather of the
British blues. Yeah, that title feels absolutely
earned. And it's validated. You know, he was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
just this year, 2024, specifically in the musical
influence category. That category is key. Right.
It's not just about hits. It's about impact.
Exactly. It acknowledges his role as this like
fundamental pillar holding up the whole structure
of British blues and rock. Absolutely. And when
you look at that legacy, the main thing we need
to explore, I think, is how Mayall functioned.
He wasn't like a typical band leader just focused
on his own fame. He was more like a human centrifuge,
a constant deliberate catalyst for talent. And
his main vehicle for that was John Mayall and
the Blues Breakers. Yes. And while. The story
often zooms in on the superstars he launched,
and we'll definitely get to them. We have to
start with his own talent. He was a master musician
himself. Oh, for sure. Great singer -songwriter.
And he played multiple instruments, right? Seamlessly
moving between keyboards, guitar, and that harmonica
sound, which is so iconic. So for you, the listener,
really understanding Mayall and the Blues Breakers.
Well, it's the essential shortcut. It's grasping
the foundation for the whole British blues rock
scene, how it formed and then, you know, exploded
globally. That frames it perfectly. OK, so let's
start right at the beginning. Let's look at the
blueprint for the man himself. John Brumwell
Mayall, born in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1933.
Right. Grew up just south of Manchester in Cheadle
Home. And it's important, I think, that his dad,
Murray Mayall, was a guitarist, played locally
in pubs. So music was just. there in the background
from the start. Yeah, that home environment kind
of set the stage. But his real musical spark,
it seems, came from America. Long before the
British invasion made American music trendy over
here. Right, he was ahead of the curve. Definitely.
From early on, Mayall was just drawn to the sound
of American blues. He specifically mentioned
people like Lead Belly. Bell legend. And the
Boogie Woogie Piano Guys, Albert Ammons, Pinetop
Smith, and even some early jazz guitar. Like
Eddie Lang. Interesting mix. And the crucial
thing here, he was completely self -taught. Yeah.
Painstakingly figured out piano, guitar, harmonica
all by himself. That self -reliance, that drive,
it absolutely defined how he ran his bands later.
You can see that thread running through. Now,
his early life had this interesting detour. It
delayed his music career a bit. National service,
the military. Right, including time in Korea.
And here's a great bit of trivia. He actually
bought his first electric guitar while he was
on leave in Japan. So that direct link between
being abroad and starting his electric journey,
it's right there. But it wasn't straight into
music after that, was it? No, not immediately.
He came back to England, enrolled at Manchester
College of Art, a prestigious place. And he actually
worked as a professional art designer after graduating.
Which isn't just a side note, is it? No, not
at all. The sources point out how he used those
design skills throughout his career. He designed
loads of his own album covers. Which again speaks
to that desire for creative control, right, over
the whole package. Exactly. Total artistic vision.
He did start playing semi -professionally fairly
early, though, using that art college network.
Back in 56, while still studying, he formed the
Powerhouse Four. Right. By 1962, he was deep
in the local R &B scene with a band called the
Blues Syndicate. They played the all -nighters
at the Twisted Wheel Club in Manchester. Legendary
venue. Ah, the Twisted Wheel. Yeah, but the real
turning point, the moment that changed everything,
was 1963. Alexis Corner. Alexis Corner, often
called the father of British blues himself. He
saw mail. Saw the potential and basically persuaded
him, look, you need to move to London. You need
to do this full time. A big leap of faith. Huge.
Yeah. And Corner didn't just advise him. He helped
him out. Found him gigs. Introduced him to that
really tight knit circle of London musicians.
Yeah. The ones who were about to change everything.
So Mayaw makes the move. Forms the band. Now
officially called the Blues Breakers. Starts
playing gigs in London. Places like the Marquee
Club. Late 63. And the initial lineup was pretty
solid. You had John McVie on bass. Future Fleetwood
Mac. Yeah. And Huey Flint on drums. And they
were building credibility fast. I mean, they
backed John Lee Hooker on his British tour in
64. That's a massive endorsement right there.
Backing Hooker. But it wasn't all smooth sailing.
Those early days were tough financially. Oh,
yeah. The sources talk about this key moment
of commercial failure. Looked like it might derail
the whole thing. The DECA contract. Exactly.
They got a deal with DECA, recorded a live album
at Klux Klik in December 64, released a single,
Crocodile Walk, and both just bombed. Didn't
connect with anyone. Ouch. Yeah. DECA terminated
the contract. It was a real low point. Mayall
could have just packed it in then. But instead,
he changed things up. And thank goodness he did.
Because that setback basically leads us right
into the definitive era. April 1965. Everything
changes. Roger Dean is out on guitar. And in
comes Eric Clapton, fresh from the Yardbirds.
And as one source puts it, Mayo's career suddenly
enters its decisive phase. This is where we really
need to look at Mayo's unique role. He wasn't
just hiring good players. He was maybe consciously,
maybe not, setting up this kind of... world -class
finishing school for blues rock guitarists. That's
a great way to put it. This period, mid to late
60s, it was the perfect environment for these
young guys. They could just soak up deep American
blues, hone their skills, all anchored by Mayall's
incredible knowledge of the music. He knew it
inside out. Okay, let's dive into those legendary
lineups then. Starting with Clapton, 65 to 66.
This is what gave Mayall his big commercial break,
finally. What made that partnership work so well?
Freedom, I think. For Clapton, anyway. You gotta
remember, he'd been in the Yardbirds, right?
Playing R &B, but under pressure to make pop
singles. He felt stifled. Yeah, he famously hated
For Your Love. Exactly. May all basically...
Gave him a license to just play pure, hardcore
Chicago blues. No compromises. They cut a couple
of tracks for a single, I'm Your Witch Doctor.
Great track. Then Clapton did this weird runner
-off to Grease for a bit. The infamous glands
period. Yeah, where Peter Green actually filled
in temporarily. But Clapton came back in November
65, and that iconic lineup clicked into place.
And the result was the album that everyone points
to, Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, the Beano
album. It's almost mythical how quickly they
recorded it. Three days. At Decca Studios. With
horns on some tracks, too. There's three days.
And it wasn't just a hit. It went to number six
in the UK charts. It was a landmark. Technically,
artistically, it changed the game. Because of
Clapton's guitar sound? Absolutely. Contemporary
magazines like Beat Instrumental were raving
about it, describing his playing as having, quote,
audacious aggressiveness and molten fluidity.
Molten fluidity. Love that. But here's the technical
bit. The sound itself was revolutionary. Clapton
was using a Gibson Les Paul, a high output guitar
plugged into a Marshall JTM 45 amp, cranked up,
pushing it right to the edge of distortion. British
bands just weren't doing that then. And Mayall
encouraged it. Totally. Apparently he even turned
his own vocals down in the mix sometimes just
to let Clapton's raw screaming tone cut through.
Wow. That is a sound that launched a thousand
copycats. It was deep blues too. Covers like
Otis Rush's All Your Love, Freddie King's Hideaway.
Yeah, pure Chicago stuff. But also their own
songs, like the Mayall Clapton original Double
Crossing Time. And crucially, it's the album
where Clapton first sang lead vocals on Robert
Johnson's Ramblin' on My Mind. A pivotal record.
But the pattern starts immediately, doesn't it?
The talent incubator loses its star pupil. Right
on cue. July 1966, the music papers break the
news. Clapton's leaving. He's forming Cream with
Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Who he'd apparently
met after a Mayall gig. Yeah, the sources say
Clapton was a bit embarrassed because he hadn't
actually told Mayall directly first. But think
about it. Mayall didn't just provide the training
ground for Cream. He basically gave them the
blueprint. The whole heavy blues rock trio idea.
So how did Mayall handle this, this constant
cycle of finding genius, polishing it, and then
watching it walk out the door? Did the press
see him as a mentor or just someone getting overshadowed?
That's a really good question. And the sources
suggest, well, it was complex. Mayall himself
never seemed to panic. He treated it like, OK,
this is how it works. We need fresh blood. But
it must have been frustrating, surely. You'd
think so. The press definitely recognized his
role as a talent scout. That's where the Godfather
nickname came from. But yeah, there was always
that undercurrent. His side men were becoming
bigger stars than he was. So what was his immediate
reaction to Clapton leaving? Classic Mayall.
Yeah. No drama. He just went out and found the
next guitar genius, Peter Green, convinced him
to come back. The same Peter Green who'd briefly
filled in during that Grease trip. Incredible.
So now we're into the Peter Green era, 66 to
67. Almost as productive as the Clapton time,
wasn't it? They laid down a lot of tracks. Around
40 recorded tracks, yeah. The key album here
is A Hard Road, released February 67. Different
vibe from Clapton. Oh, totally. Clapton was all
fire and aggression. Green. Yeah. He had this
incredibly refined, soulful touch, more melodic.
It was all about tone and feel, not just volume.
The band also did this really important EP with
the American blues harp player, Paul Butterfield.
Ah, Butterfield Blues Band, huge influence. Exactly.
For people maybe not familiar, Butterfield was
massive in the U .S. scene, taking acoustic blues
and making it electric, amplified for that Chicago
sound. So collaborating with him really showed
Mayall wasn't just copying American blues. He
was a peer, part of that transatlantic conversation.
Right. But then history repeats itself. Like
clockwork. Soon after A Hard Road comes out,
Peter Green leaves, and he takes John McVie with
him on bass. And McFleetwood on drums. Who had
only been a blues breaker for a few weeks. Shows
Mayall's eye for rhythm section, though. And
together they form Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac.
Unbelievable, isn't it? That's two of the biggest,
most influential bands of the late 60s, Cream
and Fleetwood Mac, both born directly out of
Mayall's band within about a year. It's an unparalleled
record. Finding that level of talent twice in
a row, what did Mayall do this time? What's really
interesting is his reaction to losing Green.
Instead of immediately hunting for another guitar
hero, he did something very different. He made
a personal statement. May 1967, he goes into
the studio and records an album called The Blues
Alone. In one day. One day. And he played most
of it himself. Pretty much everything. All the
tracks are just him, except Keith Hartley played
drums on about half of them. Wow. It was like
he was saying to the industry, to the audience,
OK, the stars leave, but I'm still here. The
music continues. I am the core. It showed he
could carry it himself if needed. A powerful
move. Which then leads us, naturally, to the
next guitar prodigy. Oh. Mick Taylor. 1967 to
69. Taylor was just a kid, right? Yeah. Yeah,
barely out of school. Mayall found him through
a musician's wanted ad in the Melody Maker. Simple
as that. Amazing. And Mayall, still experimenting,
put together a slightly bigger band this time.
A six -piece. Including saxophones for the first
time. They recorded the album Crusade in July
67. How did Taylor compare to Clapton and Green?
Different again. Taylor had this incredibly fluid
melodic style, very smooth, and he was a fantastic
slide player. The band toured like crazy through
67, lots of time abroad. And this led to another
one of Mayall's really unique projects, the live
album Diary of a Band, Vols 1 and 2. Ah, yeah,
this story is wild. He recorded it all himself,
on the road. Over 60 hours of live tape. on a
portable recorder in the late 60s, remember?
And then he personally edited the whole thing
down himself. That's insane dedication. The art
school designer turned tape editor. It really
shows that self -reliance again, doesn't it?
Most bands would have engineers for that. Mail
just did it. Meanwhile, the bass spot was still
a bit unstable. Right, the revolving door. Paul
Williams, Keith Tillman. Then a 15 -year -old
Andy Frazier, who quickly left to form Free.
Another huge band. Exactly. Before Tony Reeves
finally settled in. But that instability didn't
seem to hurt them commercially. They had another
hit album, right? Bare Wires in 68? Yeah, that
one hit number six in the UK too. It was a solid
lineup by then with drummer John Heisman and
Tony Reeves. But you know it's coming. The cycle
continues. Taylor leaves. Yep. June 1969. After
almost two intense years with Mayall. Learning
the ropes, touring the world. Mick Taylor gets
the call to replace Brian Jones in The Rolling
Stones. Good grief. Cream, Fleetwood Mac, free
The Rolling Stones is just staggering. Mayall
was basically the premier lead training academy
for British rock royalty. Couldn't put it better
myself. He was the central hub. But okay, so
we've covered his massive impact on the British
scene. This is where the story takes a really
sharp left turn. Right. He rips up the playbook
completely. Instead of looking for the next guitar
god to fit the Blues Breakers mold, he just...
walks away from it, abandons the electric British
blues sound he helped pioneer. And moves to L
.A. Moves to Los Angeles. It wasn't just changing
countries. It felt like a complete rejection
of that high -volume rock scene his former students
were now dominating. So what was the new plan?
A totally new format, lower volume, acoustic
instruments, and the really radical part, no
drummer. No drummer. Why? Was that a reaction
against the kind of stadium rock bombast? I think
that's a big part of it. The sources suggest
it was partly rejection of that loudness. Yeah.
Maybe also an homage to the acoustic roots guys
he loved, like Lead Belly. But updated. Interesting.
More intimate, maybe. Definitely. Less clutter.
Forced subtlety. And the musicians he chose reflected
this shift. This was the start of the Mark Allman
period, 69 into 70. John Mark on acoustic guitar,
Johnny Allman on flute and sax. Yeah, and Allman's
a familiar name. He played baritone sax way back
on the Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton album.
Shows Mayall liked bringing back people he trusted.
Right. And this new acoustic band, they debut
in the U .S. at the Newport Jazz Festival. That's
a pretty big stage. Huge platform. And the live
album from that time, The Turning Point, recorded
at the Fillmore East, plus the studio album,
Empty Rooms. They really defined this quieter,
very different chapter. A clean break. But he
didn't stick with just acoustic for long, did
he? He kept evolving. No, he kept that no drummer
idea for a bit longer, but started blending in
electric instruments again, pushing towards more
of a jazz fusion sound. He brought in American
players. Okay, who were the key guys in this
phase, the USA Union period? Right, he recruited
two guys from Canned Heat, Harvey Mandel on guitar
and Larry Taylor on bass. Canned Heat, wow, proper
blues rock royalty. And the amazing electric
violinist Don Sugarcane Harris, who played with
Frank Zappa. as mothers of invention. That's
quite a lineup. Different. Yeah, and they made
the albums USA Union and Memories. And what's
fascinating is on USA Union, Mayall apparently
made Harvey Mandel, who was known for his feedback
and sustained techniques play, without relying
on those signature sounds. So even when he's
collaborating with these American heavyweights,
Mayall is still firmly in charge, setting the
musical direction. Absolutely. He was the architect.
Yeah. He wanted their talent, but within the
specific structure he was building at that moment.
The benevolent dictator of the blues, maybe?
Ah, I like that. But then, after all this experimentation,
he does something huge in 1971. The Back to the
Roots Project. Ah, yes. This was massive. A big
double album, kind of looking back, bringing
together loads of his most famous collaborators.
Sounds like the ultimate class reunion. It really
was. It cemented his position as the guy who
connected everyone. You had Eric Clapton back,
Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, Sugarcane Harris,
Johnny Allman, Keith Hartley, Jerry McGee on
guitar too. Wow. British 60s meets American 70s.
Exactly. A real melting pot. And Mayo worked
tirelessly on it. Wrote all the songs, played
harmonica, guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion.
He was all over it. The London sessions with
Clapton and Taylor were apparently quite something.
Some of Clapton's last recordings before he really
went into his shell after the Domino's Layla
sessions fizzled out. So after that huge reunion
album, the sources seem to suggest Mayall had
kind of done his main job for the British scene.
And he settles into life in L .A. full time.
This kicks off his American phase through the
70s, which often gets overlooked. Yeah, it does
get glossed over. But it was like. Fifteen years
of constant work. He recorded for different American
labels, kept changing his style. A lot of the
music from that decade brought in jazz, funk,
even pop elements. He even used female vocalists,
which was a big shift for his sound. Any key
albums from that time we should know? Well, there
was Jazz Blues Fusion in 72. which does what
it says on the tin. The latest edition in 74
featured the great jazz sax player Red Holloway.
He was really exploring. So he wasn't just trading
on his godfather of British blues reputation.
He was actively engaging with what was happening
in the U .S. scene. Definitely. Always moving,
always experimenting. Although there was one
interesting exception towards the end of the
70s, an album called The Last of the British
Blues in 78. Ah, the title says it all. Yeah,
it was a live album and it was a deliberate brief
return to that earlier electric blues rock sound.
Yeah. Almost like closing a chapter or acknowledging
where he came from before moving on again. Now,
before we leave the 70s, we have to mention that
awful event in 1979, the fire. Oh, the Laurel
Canyon Brush Fire. Devastating. It just destroyed
his house. And the loss. It wasn't just the house,
was it? No, it was incredible personally and
historically. The sources list what he lost.
2 ,000 hours of video movies he'd collected,
priceless 16th century antiques, and 25 years
of his personal diaries. His 25 years, just gone.
Think about that. All his notes, thoughts, experiences
covering the move to London, the Blues Breakers
lineups, Clapton, Green, Taylor, the move to
America. Everything from 54 to 79, wiped out.
It's unimaginable. So much history lost. It really
highlights how much we rely on the music itself
and interviews to piece his story together. Okay.
Moving into the later years, we see Mayall kind
of consolidate things and finally start getting
the recognition he deserved right, starting with
bringing back the Blaze Breakers name. Well,
there was a brief reunion tour first in 82. That
got Mick Taylor, John McVie, and drummer Colin
Allen back together for a couple of years. That
sort of paved the way. Then in 1984, the Blues
Breakers name was officially back, properly restored
after, what, nearly 15 years on the shelf. And
the new lineup was interesting. Two lead guitars.
Walter Trout and Coco Montoya. Yeah, that twin
guitar attack defined the band through the 80s
and into the early 90s, when Buddy Whittington
eventually took over as the sole lead guitarist.
It felt like Male was consciously going back
to that high -energy electric sound he'd left
behind in 69. He'd done the experimenting, now
it was back to the core brand, maybe. Perhaps.
And this historical importance really started
to get cemented with some big anniversary projects.
For his 40th anniversary as a pro in 2001, there
was the album Along for the Ride. Credited to
John Mayall and friends. Exactly. It was a real
celebration. 20 guests, old blues breakers side
by side with people like Gary Moore, Steve Miller,
Otis Rush, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. Wow, quite
the guest list. A statement of respect across
generations. Totally. And that continued. For
his 70th birthday in 2003, he put on that big
Unite for UNICEF concert in Liverpool. That must
have been incredible. Didn't Clapton and Mick
Taylor both play? They did. Clapton, Taylor,
and the jazz legend Chris Barber. We're special
guests. Imagine that. Two of his most famous
guitar protégés on stage with him. Peter Green
couldn't make it, sadly, but still. What a moment.
Captured on DVD, too, thankfully. Yeah, that
moment is preserved. But Mayall, ever the pragmatist,
eventually decided to retire the Blues Breaker's
name again in 2008. Why was that? He said he
needed to simplify things, reduce the workload,
and maybe wanted the freedom to work with different
musicians without the weight of expectation that
came with the Blues Breakers tag. Makes sense.
So he started touring just under his own name,
with a really solid, consistent backing band.
Often Greg Rezab on bass, Jay Downport on drums,
but let him just focus on playing. And even late
in his career, he was still finding new talent,
wasn't he? Bringing in Carolyn Wonderland on
guitar. Yeah, in 2018. His first female lead
guitarist. He was 85 years old and still shaking
things up, looking for the best players, challenging
norms. This says a lot about him. It really does.
And this later period from around 2013 onwards
was important for his recorded legacy too, wasn't
it? Working with 40 Below Records. Yes, that
collaboration with producer Eric Korner was key.
It resulted in four new studio albums, like Talk
About That, which had Joe Walsh guesting. Nice.
But just as importantly, that label did the vital
work of properly remastering and releasing those
old live recordings. from the crucial mid -60s
period. Yeah. The live in 1967 volumes. Ah, finally
getting good quality recordings of the Peter
Green era out there. Exactly. Making sure that
sound, the sound that launched Fleetwood Mac,
was properly documented and available. And alongside
the music, the official honors started rolling
in, too. He got an OBE in 2005. Officer of the
Board of the British Empire, yep. And then, as
we said right at the start, the ultimate nod.
induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 2024. Musical influence category. A long time
coming, many would say. Perhaps, but fitting.
He passed away peacefully at home in California,
July 22nd, 2024. 90 years old. lived an incredibly
full life dedicated to the blues, married twice,
six kids, six grandkids. His second wife, Maggie,
was a blues singer herself and helped manage
him. Music was just woven into the fabric of
his entire life. He's interred at Hollywood Forever
Cemetery. So looking back over this immense career,
nearly 70 years, from playing R &B in Manchester
clubs to global tours in his 80s, Mayall's legacy
is just unique, isn't it? It really is. His importance
isn't just his own music, though, with over 40
studio albums. That's a massive body of work
in itself. Right. But it's also maybe even more
so his unbelievable knack for spotting, nurturing
and then launching generation defining talent.
He was the connector, the central point for that
whole British blues rock family tree. Exactly.
A constant force in a scene that was constantly
changing, often because of the people he'd found
and trained and his own adaptability. Incredible.
From art school to electric blues pioneer, then
that radical acoustic shift in L .A., then jazz
fusion. He was never content to just stand still,
always chasing a new sound. Which brings us to
a really interesting final thought, I think.
We know he provided the platform for Cream for
Fleetwood Mac. He was the finishing school for
Clapton Green, Taylor. We've established that.
But given his own constant drive for change,
his move to the U .S. to experiment for over
a decade with sounds way beyond tradition. additional
blues. Where does his deepest influence actually
lie? Is it more in the megastars he launched
onto the world stage? Or is it in his own relentless,
decades -long personal quest for new sounds,
pushing the boundaries of blues itself? That's
a great question. Was he the launchpad or the
lifelong explorer? Yeah. Or somehow both? Something
for you to think about next time you hear a classic
Clapton lick or a Fleetwood Mac track or even
one of Mayo's own incredibly diverse recordings.
Where did that energy ultimately make the biggest
waves?