John Mayall, the pioneering British blues rock legend, has died at the age of 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,” a statement from the musician’s family read. “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.”
Born in 1933 in Cheshire, England, Mayall developed a love for the blues at an early age. Influenced by his guitar-playing father, he became well-versed in American jazz and blues artists, and taught himself guitar and harmonica. In the late 1950s, he began performing with bands, and by 1963, he had relocated to London and earned a place in the local music scene.
From there, he became the leader of a band known as the Bluesbreakers, which would go on to create the blueprint for the British Blues sound, in part due to its role as an incubator for some of the most celebrated musicians of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
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Guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor; bassists Jack Bruce and John McVie; and drummers Mick Fleetwood and Aynsley Dunbar; and many more players were members of the Bluesbreakers at one time or another. Both Cream and Fleetwood Mac can even be considered spinoffs of the Bluesbreakers.
Over the years, many more influential musicians collaborated with Mayall, as his sound began incorporating elements of jazz, funk, and rock going into the 1970s. During that time, he worked with the likes of Paul Butterfield, Patti Smith, Canned Heat’s Larry Taylor and Harvey Mandel, Jesse Ed Davis, Rick Vito, Freebo, and more.
Throughout the later part of his career, Mayall used the Bluesbreakers name at different times, and continued recording and touring steadily. At various points, he reunited with former bandmates for memorable tributes and celebrations, holding a revered role as an architect of British Blues. His final album, The Sun Is Shining Down, was released in 2022.
Mayall died just months ahead of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he was set to be honored with the Musical Influence Award. In a biography on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website, he’s celebrated for having “continually experimented with and stretched the blues, exerting a major influence on rock music” and inspiring “musicians and fans with a lifetime’s worth of unforgettable and influential music.”
