JOHN MAYALL BIO
John Mayall was born 29th of November 1933 in Macclesfield, an English town
near the industrial hub of Manchester--a far cry at that time from the black
American blues culture we are familiar with today. The eldest of three from
humble working class origins, and in the shadow of WWII, this skinny English lad
grew up listening to his guitarist father's extensive jazz record collection and felt
drawn to the blues. Strongly influenced by such greats as Leadbelly, Albert
Ammons, Pinetop Smith, and Eddie Lang, from the age of 13 he taught himself to
play and develop his own style with the aid of a neighbor's piano, borrowed
guitars, and secondhand harmonicas.
John Mayall's first brush with fame, however, was not for his music. As a
teenager, he decided to move out of the house, and, showing the signature
eccentricities and artistic qualities that have added to his legendary status, he
moved into his backyard treehouse. This gained him notoriety enough to receive
newspaper attention. Even more so, since, upon returning from a stint in Korea,
he brought his first wife Pamela to live with him there.
From an art college training, to three years with the British Army in Korea, to a
successful career in graphic design, his blues singing and playing took a back
seat until he reached the age of 30. From 1956 until 1962, John was performing
publicly on a part-time basis fronting The Powerhouse Four and, later on, The
Blues Syndicate. It was then that Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated pioneered
what was to become known as The British Blues Boom of the Late 60's. Alexis
was quick to encourage and help John make his move to London where he soon
secured enough club work to be able to turn professional under the name John
Mayall's Bluesbreakers. After a couple of years and a constant turnover of
musicians, he met his soulmate in Eric Clapton, who had quit the Yardbirds in
favor of playing the blues. This historic union culminated in the first hit album for
the Bluesbreakers and resulted in worldwide legendary status.
After Clapton and Jack Bruce left the band to form Cream, a succession of great
musicians defined their artistic roots under John's leadership, and he became as
well known for discovering new talent as for his hard-hitting interpretations of the
fierce Chicago-style blues he'd grown up listening to. As sidemen left to form
their own groups, others took their places. Peter Green, John McVie and Mick
Fleetwood became Fleetwood Mac. Andy Fraser formed Free, and Mick Taylor
joined the Rolling Stones. As Eric Clapton has stated, "John Mayall has actually
run an incredibly great school for musicians."
In 1969, with his popularity blossoming in the USA, John caused somewhat of a
stir with the release of a drummer less acoustic live album entitled "The Turning
Point", from which his song "Room To Move" was destined to become a rock
classic. He received a gold record for this album. Attracted by the West Coast
climate and culture, John then made his permanent move from England to Laurel
Canyon in Los Angeles and began forming bands with American musicians.
Throughout the 70's, John became further revered for his many jazz/rock/blues
innovations featuring such notable performers as Blue Mitchell, Red Holloway,
Larry Taylor, and Harvey Mandel. He also backed blues greats John Lee Hooker,
T-Bone Walker, and Sonny Boy Williamson on their first English club tours.
The year 1979 proved to be a pivotal, transitional, and climactic year for John
Mayall, both personally and professionally. With the public climate being at an alltime low for blues music, Mayall struggled to keep his live and recording career
afloat. Personally, however, he began the 20+year relationship with his current
wife Maggie (Parker, née Mulacek), a singer/songwriter from Chicago who had
been hired with Harvey Mandel's band as Mayall's backup. And extreme
misfortune came his way when a brush fire destroyed his hand-crafted and
legendary Laurel Canyon home, taking with it his scrupulously-kept diaries, his
father's diaries, master recordings, extensive book & magazine collections,
Mayall artwork, and much much more. Determined to rise from the ashes, Mayall
persevered.
Motivated by nostalgia and fond memories, in 1982, John (together with Mick
Taylor and John McVie) decided to re-form the original Bluesbreakers for a
couple of tours and a video concert film entitled Blues Alive, which featured
Albert King, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Etta James, and Sippie Wallace and
others. A whole new generation of followers could get a taste of how it all
sounded live two decades before at the birth of the British Blues explosion. By
the time Mick and John had returned to their respective careers, public reaction
had convinced Mayall that he should return to his driving blues roots. As John
McVie returned to Fleetwood Mac and Mick resumed his solo career, Mayall
returned to Los Angeles to select his choices for a new incarnation of the
Bluesbreakers. Officially launched in 1984, it included future stars in their own
right, guitarists Coco Montoya and Walter Trout, as well as drummer Joe Yuele,
who is still John's rhythmic mainstay.
With onstage popularity gaining each year, the 90's kicked in with the release of
several John Mayall albums that have set new standards in rock blues: "Behind
The Iron Curtain", "Chicago Line", "A Sense of Place", and the Grammynominated "Wake Up Call" that featured guest artists Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples,
Albert Collins, Mick Taylor. In 1993, Texas guitarist Buddy Whittington joined the
Bluesbreakers and over the years he has energized the band with his unique and
fiery ideas. Making his recording debut on Mayall's "Spinning Coin" album, he
proved to be more than equal to following in the footsteps of his illustrious
predecessors. After that, they released two modern classics: "Blues For the Lost
Days" and "Padlock On The Blues", (the latter co-produced by John and his wife
Maggie, featuring a rare collaboration with the great blues legend John Lee
Hooker, who had been Mayall's close friend since the early 60's). These albums
have all garnered great reviews, critical and popular acclaim and represent
Mayall's ongoing mastery of the blues and his continuing importance in
contemporary music. In addition, Mayall released three CD's through his own
private label, Private Stash Records. They are "Time Capsule" (containing
historic 1957-62 live tapes-no longer available), "UK Tour 2K" (live recordings
from the Bluesbreakers 2000 British tour), and a selection of solo performances
from John entitled "Boogie Woogie Man". Mayall continues to strive to remain
true to the timeless music that first inspired this skinny young British lad, living in
the shadow of WWII, to teach himself the guitar, harmonica and piano so many
years ago.
This millennium has proved to be as productive so far:
2001: On "Along For The Ride", Mayall re-teamed with a number of his former
mates, includingvPeter Green, Mick Taylor, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, as
well as ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Jonny Lang, Steve Miller, Billy Preston, Steve
Cropper, Otis Rush, Gary Moore, Jeff Healey, Reese Wynans of Steve Ray
Vaughan's band and Shannon Curfman for an amazing display of blues power at
its finest. Produced by David Z, this album featured Mayall duets with soul great
Billy Preston, blues legend Otis Rush and young blues/rock teen sensation
Shannon Curfman. "Along For The Ride" also features the first appearance
together in over 30 years by Bluesbreakers alumni Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood
and John McVie, who last appeared together as members of the original
Fleetwood Mac.
In 2002: Mayall with the Bluesbreakers, again produced by David Z., recorded
the release "STORIES," which debuted the Billboard blues charts at #1, and
followed it with an extensiveworld tour. 2003: John Mayall turned 70 years old.
After extensive touring, John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers capped it off at a
70th Birthday celebration in Liverpool, with a concert in aid of UNICEF and
featuring Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Chris Barber. This concert was filmed,
recorded and released as a DVD and double CD in December 2003. To top off
the year, BBC aired an hour-long documentary on John Mayall's life and career,
entitled "The Godfather of British Blues".
2003: "The Godfather of British Blues" plus a 1969 documentary were released
on a DVD by Eagle Records entitled “Godfather/The Turning Point”, as well as
"The Turning Point Sound Track" CD.
2004: Private Stash released a live show from Australia on DVD – “Cookin’ Down
Under’ and John compiled a collection of his all time favorite classic boogie
woogie tracks on a CD for Document Records.
2005: Saw the release of the studio album “Road Dogs.” John Mayall was
awarded an OBE by The Queen's Honours list.
Spring 2007 brought John Mayall's 56th album release, on Eagle Records: "In
The Palace Of The King," an entire studio album that honors and pays tribute to
the music of the Mayall’s long-time hero of the blues, Freddie King.
The release of this popular tribute album led to such a heavy touring schedule
that it began to take its toll on John physically. He therefore reluctantly decided to
take time off to re-evaluate his career. In October 2008 he made the decision to
disband and retire the long standing Bluesbreakers, which caused quite a stir in
blues circles and led to rumors about total retirement. Since then Mayall has
made some guest appearances with Mark Hummel's Harmonica Blowout and so
enjoyed the freedom that he decided to put together some new musicians with a
view to touring on a more limited basis. The reaction to this plan has been so
positive, that two tours of Europe were put together for 2009, including several
shows with BB King in the UK. Eagle Records also commissioned John to record
a new album, “Tough” which was released in the fall of 2009. Fans are enjoying
the rocking blues contributions of new band members Rocky Athas, Greg Rzab,
Jay Davenport and Tom Canning.
As for the man himself, the father of six and the grandfather of six, John Mayall,
at 77, hopes to keep the blues alive for many more years to come.