John Mayall became the “godfather of British blues” by pioneering blues rock and unwittingly nurturing the careers of future Hall of Fame musicians.
Mayall helped expose blues music to a wider audience in the UK and his band became a launching pad for Eric Clapton, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Jack Bruce, and Aynsley Dunbar, among others.
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Born in Cheshire, England, Mayall was a self-taught musician, drawn to American blues and jazz. He moved to London in the early ’60s and began recruiting players for what became the Bluesbreakers. His band subsequently changed the course of rock music.
The legendary musician died this month at his home in California at age 90. To celebrate the life and work of Mayall, here are four must-hear tracks from his groundbreaking group.
“Oh, Pretty Woman” from Crusade (1967)
Crusade isn’t as popular as the Bluesbreakers’ first two albums, but it features the first recordings of a then-18-year-old Mick Taylor. John McVie remained on bass though he’d soon depart to join Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac.
Green named his new band after his favorite rhythm section: drummer Mick Fleetwood and bassist John McVie. Initially, McVie was hesitant to leave the security of his paid gig with the Bluesbreakers. However, dissatisfied with Mayall’s turn toward jazz, McVie eventually left to join Fleetwood Mac.
In 1969, Mayall and Ian Stewart recommended Taylor to Mick Jagger following Brian Jones’ exit from The Rolling Stones. Taylor was just 20 years old when he joined the Stones. Listening to “Oh, Pretty Woman,” it’s obvious how the young guitarist impressed Jagger.
“Hideaway” from Blues Breakers (1966)
Clapton and Mayall covered “Hideaway,” an instrumental first recorded by Freddie King in 1960. King wrote the song with Sonny Thompson. Though Clapton is now famous for playing a Fender Stratocaster, he used a Gibson Les Paul on his debut with the Bluesbreakers. He’d later perfect the overdriven psych-fuzz with his power trio Cream.
“Hideaway” also features an excerpt from Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk.” In King’s original, King added a different Mancini musical quote, the theme song to Peter Gunn. Clapton’s playing on “Hideaway” is positively furious.
“The Supernatural” from A Hard Road (1967)
Peter Green replaced Eric Clapton for the second album attributed to John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Drummer Aynsley Dunbar is credited on the album with Hughie Flint as Mayall’s group continued its revolving door of musicians.
“The Supernatural” is a Green original instrumental that foreshadows the band he’d soon found, Fleetwood Mac. You can hear the iconic seeds of “Black Magic Woman,” first recorded by Fleetwood Mac and later made famous by Carlos Santana.
“All Your Love” from Blues Breakers (1966)
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers’ 1966 debut put Eric Clapton on the map. The group’s Otis Rush cover became a touchstone recording for guitar-centered blues rock and helped kickstart Clapton’s trajectory to god-like status in the UK’s burgeoning blues revivalist scene. Mayall and Clapton were joined by bassist John McVie and drummer Hughie Flint.
Rush’s original is a Chicago blues standard, first produced by Willie Dixon. This music shaped Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Peter Green. It also laid the foundations for Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Cream.
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