John Mayall

John Mayall (1933-) is a British musician and a highly influential exponent of Blues music. A multi-instrumentalist who burst onto the scene with the live album John Mayall Plays John Mayall (1965), which showcased his talents as a singer, guitarist and harpist, Mayall experienced his greatest success in The Sixties as a leading figure in the burgeoning British blues scene.

Although he experienced success as a solo artist, Mayall is probably best known as the bandleader of the Bluesbreakers, a group second only to The Yardbirds in terms of influence on subsequent musicians. While the Bluesbreakers earned acclaim for their music, the group is also noteworthy for serving as a starting point for future stars. Eric Clapton joined the group after leaving The Yardbirds, lending his name to their first studio album, Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton. Before they left to form the original incarnation of Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood were Bluesbreakers. Guitarist Mick Taylor went on to play with The Rolling Stones after the death of Brian Jones, while bassist Andy Fraser went on to create Free with Paul Rodgers. For a while, Dr. John was Mayall's keyboardist, while Paul Butterfield served as a singer.

Today, Mayall continues to perform even as he approaches eighty, either on his own or with an ever revolving line-up Bluesbreakers.


 * Hey, It's That Guy!: As noted, many of his sidemen and members of the Bluesbreakers subsequently became well known as musicians in their own right.