Born 90 years ago today, British Blues revivalist John Mayall (b. 1933). This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the formation of his influential band, the Bluesbreakers.
Most people vaguely know of John Mayall and his band the Bluesbreakers as a footnote - - several of its alumni went on to fame with bands that achieved mainstream chart success: Eric Clapton, who went on to Cream, Derek and the Dominoes and a solo career; Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie, who formed Fleetwood Mac; and Mick Taylor, who was the first replacement for Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones. The Bluesbreakers' initial incarnation lasted from 1963 through 1967. (I've posted about them once before, on the occasion of my friend Alexis Moon's tribute to the 1966 album John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.)
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers were at the leading edge of the second wave of the British Blues Boom. Many of the key groups of the first wave, such as the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones, had broadened their mandate by including soul, pop and rock 'n' roll in their repertoire, and achieved scads of hit singles as a result. By contrast, the second wave bands were purists, relatively speaking. They were like a branch of the folk movement: very earnest, very serious, and very committed to authenticity and technical virtuosity, even at the expense of mass commerciality. It was these bands John Lennon was affectionately parodying in his 1968 song "Yer Blues", although the song and his performance are so raw and brilliant there is a tendency to regard it as straight up homage. (Contrast it with, say, what the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band or Frank Zappa might have done with a similar assignment). When Lennon performed "Yer Blues" live with Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell in 1968 on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus it was an example of life imitating art.
Originally from Cheshire, John Mayall was a second generation guitarist; his father played jazz. He released over 50 albums over the decades. Incredibly, the most recent of these was released just last year!
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