John Mayall, blues icon who fostered careers of Eric Clapton and members of Fleetwood Mac, dies at 90 (2024)

John Mayall, the British blues musician whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars, has died. He was 90.

A statement on Mayall's Instagram page announced his death on Tuesday, local time, saying the musician died on Monday at his home in California.

"Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world's greatest road warriors," the post said.

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He is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s.

At various times, the Bluesbreakers included Clapton and Jack Bruce, later of Cream; Fleetwood, John McVie and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac; Mick Taylor, who played five years with The Rolling Stones; Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor of Canned Heat; and Jon Mark and John Almond, who went on to form the Mark-Almond Band.

Mayall protested in interviews that he was not a talent scout, but played for the love of the music he had first heard on his father's 78-rpm records.

"I'm a band leader and I know what I want to play in my band — who can be good friends of mine," Mayall said in an interview with the Southern Vermont Review. "It's definitely a family. It's a small kind of thing really."

Though Mayall never approached the fame of some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s, pounding out his version of Chicago blues. The lack of recognition rankled a bit, and he wasn't shy about saying so.

"I've never had a hit record, I never won a Grammy Award, and Rolling Stone has never done a piece about me," he said in an interview with the Santa Barbara Independent in 2013. "I'm still an underground performer."

Known for his blues harmonica and keyboard playing, Mayall had a Grammy nomination for Wake Up Call which featured guest artists Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Mick Taylor and Albert Collins.

He received a second nomination in 2022 for his album The Sun Is Shining Down. He also won official recognition in Britain with the award of an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2005.

He was selected for the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class and his 1966 album Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, is considered one of the best British blues albums.

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Mayall once was asked if he kept playing to meet a demand, or simply to show he could still do it.

"Well, the demand is there, fortunately. But it's really for neither of those two things, it's just for the love of the music," he said in an interview with Hawaii Public Radio. "I just get together with these guys and we have a workout."

Mayall was born on November 29, 1933 in Macclesfield, near Manchester in central England.

Sounding a note of the hard-luck bluesman, Mayall once said, "The only reason I was born in Macclesfield was because my father was a drinker, and that's where his favourite pub was."

His father also played guitar and banjo, and his records of boogie-woogie piano captivated his teenage son.

Mayall said he learned to play the piano one hand at a time — a year on the left hand, a year on the right, "so I wouldn't get all tangled up".

The piano was his main instrument, though he also performed on guitar and harmonica, as well as singing in a distinctive, strained-sounding voice. Aided only by drummer Keef Hartley, Mayall played all the other instruments for his 1967 album, Blues Alone.

Mayall was often called the "father of British blues," but when he moved to London in 1962 his aim was to soak up the nascent blues scene led by Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Eric Burdon were among others drawn to the sound.

The Bluesbreakers drew on a fluid community of musicians who drifted in and out of various bands. Mayall's biggest catch was Clapton, who had quit the Yardbirds and joined the Bluesbreakers in 1965 because he was unhappy with the Yardbirds' commercial direction.

Mayall and Clapton shared a passion for Chicago blues, and the guitarist later remembered that Mayall had "the most incredible collection of records I had ever seen".

Mayall tolerated Clapton's waywardness: He disappeared a few months after joining the band, then reappeared later the same year, sidelining the newly arrived Peter Green, then left for good in 1966 with Bruce to form Cream, which rocketed to commercial success, leaving Mayall far behind.

Clapton, interviewed for a BBC documentary on Mayall in 2003, confessed that "to a certain extent I have used his hospitality, used his band and his reputation to launch my own career".

"I think he is a great musician. I just admire and respect his steadfastness," Clapton added.

John Mayall, blues icon who fostered careers of Eric Clapton and members of Fleetwood Mac, dies at 90 (1)

Mayall encouraged Clapton to sing and urged Green to develop his songwriting abilities.

Mick Taylor, who succeeded Green as a Bluesbreaker in the late 1960s, valued the wide latitude that Mayall allowed his soloists.

"You'd have complete freedom to do whatever you wanted," Taylor said in a 1979 interview with writer Jas Obrecht. "You could make as many mistakes as you wanted, too."

Mayall's 1968 album Blues from Laurel Canyon signalled a permanent move to the United States and a change in direction. He disbanded the Bluesbreakers and worked with two guitars and drums.

The following year he released The Turning Point, arguably his most successful release, with an atypical four-man acoustic line-up including Mark and Almond. Room to Move, a song from that album, was a frequent audience favourite in Mayall's later career.

The 1970s found Mayall at a low ebb personally, but still touring and doing more than 100 shows a year.

"Throughout the '70s, I performed most of my shows drunk," Mayall said in an interview with Dan Ouellette for Down Beat magazine in 1990.

One consequence was an attempt to jump from a balcony into a swimming pool that missed — shattering one of Mayall's heels and leaving him with a limp.

"That was one incident that got me to stop drinking," Mayall said.

John Mayall, blues icon who fostered careers of Eric Clapton and members of Fleetwood Mac, dies at 90 (2)

In 1982, he reformed the Bluesbreakers, recruiting Taylor and McVie, but after two years the personnel changed again. In 2008, Mayall announced that he was permanently retiring the Bluesbreaker name, and in 2013 he was leading the John Mayall Band.

Mayall and his second wife, Maggie, divorced in 2011 after 30 years of marriage. They had two sons.

AP

John Mayall, blues icon who fostered careers of Eric Clapton and members of Fleetwood Mac, dies at 90 (2024)

FAQs

John Mayall, blues icon who fostered careers of Eric Clapton and members of Fleetwood Mac, dies at 90? ›

It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world's greatest road warriors.

Was John Mayall in Fleetwood Mac? ›

But John McVie was uncomfortable with the new jazz-influenced direction Mayall seemed to be heading in and left to join Fleetwood Mac where he replaced stand-in bassist Bob Brunning. Despite this, Mayall's connections to Fleetwood Mac remained strong.

When did Eric Clapton join John Mayall? ›

In April 1965, Clapton joined the Bluesbreakers, replacing Roger Dean. While he departed months later (forming another band and touring Greece), the young guitarist rejoined in October – and Mayall wasted no time getting to work on their next release.

Who was the lead guitarist of Fleetwood Mac that died? ›

Members
NameYears activeInstruments
Peter Green1967–1970 1971 (died 2020)guitar lead and backing vocals harmonica
Jeremy Spencer1967–1971slide guitar lead and backing vocals piano
Bob Brunning1967 (died 2011)bass
John McVie1967–1996 1997–2022bass occasional backing vocals and keyboards
14 more rows

Was Eric Clapton part of Fleetwood Mac? ›

False: After leaving the Yardbirds, Clapton played with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, alongside bassist John McVie. When Clapton left the Bluesbreakers, he was replaced by Peter Green. Green, McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood formed Fleetwood Mac. Clapton was almost a Rolling Stone.

Who was the true lead singer for Fleetwood Mac? ›

Christine McVie, the keyboardist and vocalist for Fleetwood Mac, was born into a musical family in Bouth, England, on July 12, 1943.

Who was the brains of Fleetwood Mac? ›

In the original Fleetwood Mac it was Peter Green. In the later Mac it was Lindsey Buckingham, as guitarist, songwriter, singer, and producer.

Why did Eric Clapton leave John Mayall? ›

John Mayall was a lightning rod for the blues who changed the course of British music. Eric Clapton fled the Yardbirds in the spring of 1965, dismayed by the prospect of their latest single, For Your Love, bringing commercial success and thereby compromising his musical integrity.

Who did Eric Clapton call the most important blues singer? ›

Eric Clapton called Robert Johnson "the most important blues singer who ever lived."

Who was the musician that asked Eric Clapton to join his band Blues Breakers? ›

Blues Breakers, colloquially known as The Beano Album, is the debut studio album by the English blues rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, originally credited to John Mayall with Eric Clapton.

Who was the girl that died in Fleetwood Mac? ›

Christine McVie died of an “ischemic stroke” in November, according to a report citing her death certificate. The British vocalist and keyboardist, who was best known for bringing her talents to Fleetwood Mac, died on Nov.

Who did Fleetwood Mac fire? ›

In 2018, Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac and replaced by Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.

Were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton friends? ›

The friendship between Jimi Hedrix and Eric Clapton

From that pivotal night, the duo's relationship blossomed, persisting until the tragic death of Hendrix in September 1970. This tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the rock 'n' roll community, leaving a void that could never be filled.

What band made Eric Clapton famous? ›

After pinch-hitting in a number of British blues bands in the Early'60s, Clapton rose to prominence in The Yardbirds, with a lineup that would eventually include the three top British guitar heroes of the decade- Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.

Is Daisy Jones and the Six based on Fleetwood Mac? ›

Though author Taylor Jenkins Reid, who wrote the book that the Prime Video series was adapted from, has previously said the novel is not strictly based on Fleetwood Mac, she has admitted that she drew inspiration from the renowned rock band.

Who was the guitarist for Fleetwood Mac before Lindsey Buckingham? ›

Welch, who was replaced by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, never found success after his departure, and committed suicide in 2012. Bob Weston was fired prior to recording Heroes because he was having an affair with Mick Fleetwood's wife, the first of many torrid hookups between members.

Who all played with John Mayall? ›

Celebrated for the many iconic musicians he recruited for his band the Bluesbreakers – including guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor; bassists Jack Bruce and John McVie; and drummers Mick Fleetwood and Aynsley Dunbar – Mayall displayed a talent for mentoring gifted young musicians and bringing out the ...

Are John Mayall and Rik Mayall related? ›

Early life. Mayall was the second child of John Mayall and Gillian (née Harrild) Mayall, who both worked as drama teachers. He made his first stage appearance at age seven in one of his father's plays.

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