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be all mayall

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When speaking about musicians, the label rock royalty has become part of the lexicon that, arguably, is tossed about too lightly. However, in the case of John Mayall, or should I say John Mayall OBE it quite literally applies. In 2005 Mayall was awarded

the Order of the British Empire (although California has been his adopted home for many years), an honor that is more than justified…because if Mayall

wasn’t a prolific and gifted musician he easily could have opted for a career as a talent scout. His ear for music aided him in identifying the talent of a throng of performers who, today, are legends in their own right. Throughout a career that has spanned more than half a century, a list of Mayall’s band line-ups reads like a who’s who of blues and rock. And it all started with a stack of his dad’s 78s.

Growing up just outside of Manchester, Mayall’s

father played jazz guitar, “he wasn’t a professional musician, he did it as a hobby,” John reminisces. “But he did have a lot of jazz 78s around the house and I grew up listening to them.” Mayall idolized groundbreaking guitarmen such as Eddie Lang, Brownie McGhee and Leadbelly. And, although he picked up his father’s guitar to mimic the music he loved, “My hands weren’t big enough to make a chord, so I actually started off on a ukulele,” he chuckles.

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although jazz was a mainstay of John’s childhood, his life was forever altered when he first heard the strains of boogie-woogie banged out on a keyboard by the likes of Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. At that moment he knew, “boogie-woogie was my kind of music.” But there was no piano in the Mayall home. Recalls John,

“When I was 14 I was off to the (Manchester) Junior School of Art and they had a piano! I started hanging around with people who owned pianos. I figured if they were daring enough to put up with me…” he laughs. He was also inspired to pick up the harmonica around this time.

When art school was complete, Mayall took a job, and with his earnings, began to compile his own record collection. His genre of choice? The blues. But the music that would eventually come to be Mayall’s signature was not part of the conventional culture of the time — in the Manchester area — or in the south of England or Korea where Mayall did a stint in the British Army. But times were changing. The jazz boom was coming to an end and Britain’s youth were

looking for the next new thing. That arrived in 1962 with the opening of a club dedicated to the blues. With this new scene came a generation of Brits ready to make music. This was the catalyst that compelled Mayall to quit his day job and relocate to London to pursue his dream. The Bluesbreakers was born. “I think it was ’63. At that time there were two clubs, the Marquee and the Flamingo. They were mainstays. They were also accessible for the music that preceded the big blues movement. But then this gradual shift from jazz to rhythm and blues happened.” Mayall became an important part of this emerging scene. Although a rocky road at first, the blues was gaining ground due to the popularity of The Stones, Manfred Mann, The Animals and Spencer Davis. Mayall’s Bluesbreakers were at the forefront of the groundswell. John also had the unique privilege of backing blues icons like John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker and Sonny Boy Williamson on their first UK tours. The blues was gaining a foothold in British popular music and more musicians were signing on. Band line-ups were volatile, often changing day-to-day. “In the early days in London we had gigs continuously…every day. It was rough. People would leave [the band] and have to be replaced. But, you know, ‘the show must go on!’ I’m used to people coming into the band and then moving on. It’s no big deal.” One of the most memorable changes was the addition of Eric Clapton to The Bluesbreakers. Clapton had just left the Yardbirds, “I knew he left and I had to contact him. It was quite a big deal back then. He left the Yardbirds when they had their first hit record, For Your Love. I had heard the B-side of the single — Got to Hurry — and it intrigued me. As soon as he left, I got in touch and he accepted my offer. You see, all he wanted was to play the blues.” Mayall and Clapton collaborated for a year. “He lived too far out of town to make it practical so he moved into my house. That enabled us to play together quite a lot. He was amazed at my record collection,” laughs Mayall. “He did a lot of listening and a lot of playing. The relationship really worked.” That relationship resulted in one of the best-selling albums of all time, the tour de force John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers Featuring Eric Clapton. However, as with the Yardbirds, Clapton left The Bluesbreakers to form Cream just as the album charted. With Clapton gone, the door was open for a succession of musicians who, with John’s mentorship, went on to become legendary with their own projects: Andy Fraser with Free; Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood with Fleetwood Mac; Mick Taylor as a Rolling Stone. In 1969 Mayall released an acoustic album, the gold-record-winning The Turning Point which spawned the rock classics California and Room to Move. His growing popularity in the States precipitated his move to California. Once settled into his Laurel Canyon home, he successfully collaborated with an array of American artists. And, in 1982, with a nod to the past, Mayall reassembled the original Bluesbreakers (with the exception of Fleetwood who was unavailable) fueling a tour and Blues Alive, a film of the band’s live performances. Two years later he launched a new incarnation of The Bluesbreakers which included guitar heroes Coco Montoya and Walter Trout. Over the years John’s prolific nature spurred a succession of projects, enabling him to play with the most iconic names in the world of music: Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Etta James, Billy Gibbons, Steve Miller, Billy Preston — the list is endless. He was celebrated at his 70th birthday fete in Liverpool with an OBE by The Queen’s Honors list. Surrounded by friends both old and new, a double CD and DVD were created to commemorate the event. In 2008, after albums too numerous to name and countless tours, Mayall decided to permanently retire the name Bluesbreakers and take a hiatus from performing live. However, a year later he reemerged to assemble a new band that was up to the task of recording an album. Joined in the studio by guitarist Rocky Athas, Greg Rzab on bass, Jay Davenport on drums and Tom Canning (he has since left due to scheduling conflicts) on keyboard, the album Tough was recorded in a mere three days. Although there have been many occasions during his career that Mayall has experienced the transcendence that goes beyond just playing music, he feels, “The current band are the best members I have ever worked with. It’s been the culmination of all the things I ever wanted to do. It’s magic.” With no sign of slowing down, Mayall performs “… about 100 shows every year. It’s always quite busy. We just got back from Scandinavia and the Czech Republic. I’ve been home for about a week.” If you’re lucky enough to have this legend performing in a venue near you, don’t count on hearing that one song that brings back the memories of your first girlfriend, or your first car, or your first — well, anything. Mayall has more than 50 years of material to choose from. “There’s so much to choose from…and we do have a lot of fun with the music. People don’t realize that I listen to jazz because the elements are all about improvisation. So what we bring to a song on any night is different. The excitement and surprises are always there and people pick up on them.”

My advice? Get your tickets. Early. I’ve got mine.

“He [eric Clapton] left the yardbirds when they had their first hit record For your love. I had heard the b-side of the single — Got to Hurry — and it intrigued me... I got in touch and he accepted my offer. you see, all he wanted was to play the blues.”

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