John Mayall is 81 years old today An English blues singer, guitarist, organist and songwriter, Mayall’s musical career spans over fifty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band which has included some of the most famous blues and blues rock musicians. They include Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Jack Bruce, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don Sugarcane Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar, Hughie Flint, Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser, Johnny Almond, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya and Buddy Whittington. Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, Mayalls father was Murray Mayall, a guitarist and jazz music enthusiast. From an early age, John was drawn to the sounds of American blues players such as Lead Belly, Albert Ammons, Pinetop Smith and Eddie Lang, and taught himself to play the piano, guitars and harmonica. Mayall spent three years in Korea for national service and, during a period of leave, he bought his first electric guitar. Back in Manchester, he enrolled at Manchester College of Art (now part of Manchester Metropolitan University) and started playing with semi-professional bands. After graduation, he obtained a job as an art designer but continued to play with local musicians. In 1963, he opted for a full-time musical career and moved to London. His previous craft would be put to good use in the designing of covers for many of his coming albums. Since the end of the 1960s, Mayall has lived in the United States. A brush fire destroyed his house in Laurel Canyon in 1979, seriously damaging his musical collections and archives. Mayall has been married twice, and has six grandchildren. His second wife, Maggie Mayall is an American blues performer, and since the early 1980s took part in the management of her husbands career. The pair divorced in 2011. In late 1963, with his band, the Bluesbreakers, Mayall started playing at the Marquee Club. The lineup was Mayall, Ward, John McVie on bass and guitarist Bernie Watson, formerly of Cyril Davies and the R&B All-Stars. The next spring Mayall, obtained his first recording date with producer Ian Samwell. The band, with Martin Hart at the drums, recorded two tracks : Crawling Up a Hill as well as Mr. James. Shortly after, Hughie Flint replaced Hart, and Roger Dean took the guitar from Bernie Watson. This lineup backed John Lee Hooker on his British tour in 1964. Mayall was offered a recording contract by Decca in 1964, a live performance of the band was recorded at the Klooks Kleek. A single, Crocodile Walk,” was recorded later in studio and released along with the album, but both failed to achieve any success and the contract was terminated. In April 1965, former Yardbirds guitarist Eric Clapton replaced Roger Dean and John Mayalls career entered a decisive phase. The Bluesbreakers began attracting considerable attention. To celebrate his 70th birthday Mayall reunited with special guests Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Chris Barber during a fundraiser show. This Unite for Unicef concert took place in 2003 at the Kings Dock Arena in Liverpool and was captured on film for a DVD release. In November 2008, Mayall announced on his website he was disbanding the Bluesbreakers, to cut back on his heavy workload and give himself freedom to work with other musicians. Here, in this full length 1982 documentary, Mayall and the Bluesbreakers jam with the blues greats Albert King, Etta James, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and the 83-year-old Sippie Wallace.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 11:25:13 +0000
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