John Mayall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| John Mayall | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | John Mayall | |
| Born | November 29, 1933 (age 73) | |
| Origin |  Macclesfield, Cheshire, England |
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| Genre(s) | Blues Rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica | |
| Years active | 1956 - present | |
| Associated acts |
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers | |
| Website | http://www.johnmayall.com | |
- For the photographer, see John Jabez Edwin Mayall.
John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933, in Macclesfield, Cheshire) is a pioneering English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and has been influential in the careers of many instrumentalists, including Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don Harris, Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, Johnny Almond, and Jon Mark.
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[edit] Biography
Mayall is the son of Murray Mayall, a guitarist and jazz music enthusiast. From an early age, he was drawn to the sounds of American blues players such as Leadbelly, Albert Ammons, Pinetop Smith, and Eddie Lang, and taught himself to play the piano, guitars, and harmonica.
Mayall attended art college and then had three years of national service with the British Army in Korea. In 1956, he started playing blues with semi-professional bands named "The Powerhouse Four" and, later, "The Blues Syndicate". Under the influence of Alexis Korner, he moved to London and formed "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers".
The band was always something of a training ground for blues musicians, and went through several changes of personnel, before the arrival of Eric Clapton, with whom they achieved their first commercial success. After Clapton left to form Cream, the Bluesbreakers took on a succession of other notable musicians, including Peter Green, John McVie, Kal David, and Mick Taylor. Eric Clapton is quoted as saying, "John Mayall has actually run an incredibly great school for musicians."
In the early 1970s, Mayall achieved commercial success in the United States and moved to Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. There, he was influential in the developing careers of musicians such as Blue Mitchell, Red Holloway, Larry Taylor, and Harvey Mandel.
Mayall has continued to play and tour, ever since, including reforming the Bluesbreakers in 1982.
In 2005, he was awarded an OBE in the Honours List.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Original John Mayall Albums
- 1965 John Mayall Plays John Mayall (Decca) live
- 1966 Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (Decca)
- 1967 A Hard Road (Decca)
- 1967 Crusade (Decca)
- 1967 Blues Alone (Ace of Clubs)
- 1968 Diary of a Band Volume 1 (Decca) live
- 1968 Diary of a Band Volume 2 (Decca) live
- 1968 Bare Wires (Decca)
- 1968 Blues from Laurel Canyon (Decca)
- 1969 The Turning Point (Polydor) live at Fillmore
- 1970 Empty Rooms (Polydor)
- 1970 USA Union (Polydor)
- 1971 Back to the Roots (Polydor)
(Reissue 1988: Archives to the '80s) (Polydor) remix - 1971 Memories (Polydor)
- 1971 John Mayall - Live In Europe (London PS 589) This is a USA release of the 1968 "Diary Of A Band Vol. 2"
- 1972 Jazz Blues Fusion (Polydor)
- 1973 Moving On (Polydor)
- 1973 Ten Years Are Gone (Polydor)
- 1974 The Latest Edition (Polydor)
- 1975 New Year, New Band, New Company(ABC - One Way)
- 1975 Notice to Appear (ABC - One Way)
- 1976 Banquet in Blues (ABC - One Way)
- 1977 Lots of People (ABC - One Way)live LA
- 1977 A Hard Core Package (ABC - One Way)
- 1977 Primal Solos (Decca) live'66-8
- 1978 Last of the British Blues (ABC - OneWay) live
- 1979 The Bottom Line (DJM)
- 1980 No More Interviews (DJM)
- 1982 Road Show Blues (DJM)
(Reissue 1995: Why Worry. 2000: Lost and Gone. 2001: Reaching for the blues'. 2006: Godfather of the Blues. 2007 Big Man) - 1985 Behind The Iron Curtain (GNPCrescendo) live Hungary
- 1987 Chicago Line (Entente - Island)
- 1988 The Power of the Blues (Entente) live Germany
(Reissue 2003: Blues Forever) - 1988 (<-1968)Archives to Eighties (Polydor)
- 1990 A Sense of Place (Island)
- 1992 1982 Reunion Concert (One Way) live'82
- 1992 Cross Country Blues (One Way)['81-4]
- 1993 Wake Up Call (Silvertone)
- 1995 Spinning Coin (Silvertone)
- 1997 Blues for the Lost Days (Silvertone)
- 1999 Padlock on the Blues (Eagle)
- 1999 Rock the Blues Tonight (Indigo) live'71
- 1999 Live at the Marquee 1969 (Eagle) live'69
- 1999 The Masters (Eagle) live'69+interv.
- 2001 Along For The Ride (Eagle/Red Ink)
- 2002 Stories (Red Ink)
- 2003 (<-1987-8)Blues Forever (Fuel)['87&'88]
- 2003 70th Birthday Concert (Eagle) live'03
- 2005 Road Dogs (Eagle)
- 2005 Rolling with the Blues (Recall) live'72-82 2CD+DVD
(Reissue 2006 The private Collection (Snapper) 2CD) - 2007 Live at the BBC (Universal) '65-7 & '75
- 2007 In the Palace of the King (Eagle)
[edit] Unofficial, Limited editions & Bootlegs
- 1990 Crocodile Walk
- 1984 Blues Alive (RCA/Columbia)
- 199? Bulldogs For Sale (bootleg)
- 199? Beano's Boys (bootleg)
- 1999 Mayapollis Blues (bootleg)
- 1999 Horny Blues The first 5 years
- 2000 Time Capsule (Private Stash) Limited release (J.Mayall's private archive 57-62)
- 2001 UK Tour 2K (Private Stash) Limited release
- 2001 Boogie Woogie Man (Private Stash) Limited release
- 2003 No Days Off (Private Stash) Limited release
[edit] DVD
- 2003 70th Birthday Concert (Eagle) live '03 CD & DVD
- 2004 Live at Iowa State University DVD live'87
- 2004 Cookin' Down Under DVD (Private Stash) Limited release
- 2004 The Godfather of British Blues/Turning Point DVD (Eagle)
- 2005 Rolling with the Blues (Recall) live'72-82 2CD+DVD
- 2007 Live at the Bottom Line, New York 1992
[edit] John Mayall's Sidemen
A comprehensive list of musicians who have recorded and/or toured with John Mayall.
A few notable names
- Guitar: Eric Clapton, Roger Dean, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Harvey Mandel, James Quill Smith, Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, Randy Resnick, Sonny Landreth, Buddy Whittington, Eric Stekel, Don McMinn
- Bass: Jack Bruce, John McVie, Steven Thompson, Larry Taylor, Tony Reeves
- Drums: Hughie Flint, Keef Hartley, Aynsley Dunbar, Soko Richardson, Jon Hiseman, Colin Allen, Mick Fleetwood
- Keyboards: Dr. John
- Vocals/Harmonica: Paul Butterfield
[edit] External links
- John Mayall's website
- MusicChain - John Mayall
- ABC Records Press Release
- John Mayall - Godfather “Original Re-importer” Interview with Vintage Guitar Magazine
