John Mayall, OBE (born 29 November 1933)[1] is an English blues singer, musician and songwriter, whose musical career spans over sixty years. In the 1960s, he was the founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of the most famous blues and blues rock musicians.
Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1933, Mayall grew up in Cheadle Hulme. He was the son of Murray Mayall, a guitarist and jazz enthusiast. From an early age he was drawn to the sounds of American blues players such as Lead Belly, Albert Ammons, Pinetop Smith and Eddie Lang, and taught himself to play the piano, guitars, and harmonica.
Mayall was sent to Korea as part of his national service, and during a period of leave bought his first electric guitar in Japan. Back in England, he enrolled at Manchester College of Art and started playing with a semi-professional band, the Powerhouse Four. After graduation, he obtained a job as an art designer, but continued to play with local musicians. In 1963, he opted for a full-time musical career and moved to London. His previous craft would be put to good use in the designing of covers for many of his coming albums.
Mayall began living in the US part time in the late 1960s, living there full time by the early 1970s. A brush fire destroyed his house in Laurel Canyon in 1979, seriously damaging his musical collections and archives.
Mayall has been married twice, and has six children and six grandchildren. His second wife, Maggie Mayall, is an American blues performer, and since the early 1980s she has taken part in the management of her husband’s career. They married in 1982, and divorced in 2011.
In 2005, Mayall was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Honours List.
By the start of the 1970s Mayall had relocated to the United States where he spent most of the next 15 years, recording with local musicians for various labels. In August 1971, Mayall produced a jazz-oriented session for bluesman Albert King and a few months later took on tour the musicians present in the studio.
A live album Jazz Blues Fusion was released in the following year, with Mayall on harmonica, guitar and piano, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Clifford Solomon and Ernie Watts on saxophones, Larry Taylor on bass, Ron Selico on drums and Freddy Robinson on guitar. A few personnel changes are noted at the release of a similar album in 1973, the live Moving On.
In 1974, Mayall recorded The Latest Edition, produced by Tom Wilson for the Polydor label. The group featured jazz saxophonist Red Holloway, drummer Soko Richardson, bassist Larry Taylor, and two guitarists, Randy Resnick and Hightide Harris. The band toured Europe and Asia that year. During the next decade Mayall continued shifting musicians and switching labels and released a score of albums. Tom Wilson, Don Nix and Allen Toussaint occasionally served as producers. At this stage of his career most of Mayall’s music was rather different from electric blues played by rock musicians, incorporating jazz, funk or pop elements and even adding female vocals. (wikipedia)
And here´s one these countless albums by Joh Mayall during the Sevenies:
Hard to believe, I´ listening to “Hardcore Package” for the 1st time. loving it, too cool, simplified big band sound, very nice clean guitar from John on three tracke, not to take away from James Wuill Smith´s superb lead work, very nice backing vocals olay big role here, possibly leaning toward album titel. Steve Thompson & Soko Richardson drive this release all the way home, very tight back beat !
Would believe John had a lot of fun during the recording of this release. Good Job, John ! (Ock Battisson)
This album is from a period of John Mayall that was not so successful, but it is still a really good album !
And … another great artwork by John Mayall himself !
Personnel:
John Mayall (vocals. harmonica, piano, clavinet, guitar on 02, 07., 10.)
Soko Richardson (drums)
James Quill Smith (guitar, vocals)
Steve Thompson (bass)
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Cliff Ervin (trumpet on 03., 07. + 10.)
Trevor Laurence (saxophone on 01., 06. 08. + 09.)
Jody Linscott (percussion)
Steve Madiao (trumpet on 01.,06., 08. + 09.)
Buddy McDaniel (saxophone on 03., 07. + 10.)
Ann Patterson (flute)
Jim Price (trombone on 01., 06., 08. + 09.)
Bradford Henry Thoelke III (trombone on 03., 07. + 10.)
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background vocals:
Edna Richardson – Marilyn Scott – Mindy Mickel – Pepper Watkins – Rebecca Burns
Tracklist:
01. Rock And Roll Hobo 3.35
02. Do I Please You 4.05
03. Disconnected Line 5.07
04. An Old Sweet Picture 4.01
05. The Last Time 4.49
06. Make Up Your Mind 3.32
07. Arizona Bound 3.08
08. Now And Then 4.26
09. Goodnight Dreams 4.39
10. Give Me A Chance 4.30
All songs written by John Mayall
More from John Mayall:
The official website:
John Mayall (born 29 November 1933), OBE, is the godfather of the British blues. A singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he has been a bandleader and recording artist since 1965. A generation older than most of his sidemen, Mayall was a mentor; his bands were both a lab and finishing school for iconic musicians — particularly guitarists. Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor served, as did bassists Jack Bruce and John McVie and drummers Mick Fleetwood and Aynsley Dunbar, among dozens of others. Five of Mayall’s first seven albums, including 1966’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, 1967’s A Hard Road, and 1969’s The Turning Point, all placed inside the British Top Ten. After emigrating to the U.S., Mayall cut several albums during the ’70s including Ten Years Are Gone and Jazz Blues Fusion, that showcased veteran blues and jazz players including Harvey Mandel, Jesse Ed Davis, Larry Taylor, and Blue Mitchell.
On its own terms, most of this 14-track compilation of 1965-1967 recordings for BBC sessions (all but one of them dating from 1965-1967) is a worthwhile collection of supplementary work by John Mayall’s best Bluesbreakers lineups. If you’re a serious Mayall fan, however, be aware that you might have already bought this material in some form or another in the year or so previous to the release of this CD in early 2007. For the dozen 1965-1967 cuts all appear as bonus material on the 2006 U.K. expanded CD editions of the John Mayall Plays John Mayall, Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, and A Hard Road albums, all of which also include bonus tracks from non-LP singles, studio outtakes, and the like. If for some reason you do want to zero in on the BBC material exclusively, this has some decent live performances with both the Eric Clapton and Peter Green lineups of the Bluesbreakers. (The liner notes also admit it’s likely that the three tracks from October 25, 1965 feature not only Jack Bruce on bass during his brief Bluesbreakers stint, but also guitarist Jeff Kribit (sometimes spelled Geoff Krivit in other sources), who was in the group during a brief spell when Clapton left the band to go to Greece.)
A Hard Road is the third album (and second studio album) recorded by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released in 1967. It features Peter Green on lead guitar, John McVie on bass, Aynsley Dunbar on drums and John Almond on saxophone. Tracks 5, 7 and 13 feature the horn section of Alan Skidmore and Ray Warleigh. Peter Green sings lead vocals on “You Don’t Love Me” and “The Same Way”.
Green’s use of thick sustain on this track clearly pointed the way to his use of guitar riffs with elongated, slithery tones on Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross” and “Black Magic Woman,” as well as anticipating some aspects of Carlos Santana’s style. Mayall acquits himself fairly well on this mostly original set (with occasional guest horns), though some of the material is fairly mundane. Highlights include the uncharacteristically rambunctious “Leaping Christine” and the cover of Freddie King’s “Someday After a While (You’ll Be Sorry).” (by Richie Unterberger)
is worth the price of admission alone. In fact the sustained opening note of “The Super-Natural” is worth the entry fee.
By the start of the 1970s Mayall had relocated in the USA where he spent most of the next 15 years, recording with local musicians for various labels. In August 1971, Mayall produced a jazz-oriented session for bluesman Albert King[16] and a few months later took on tour the musicians present in the studio.
John Mayall Plays John Mayall is the debut album by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released in 1965, Decca LK 4680. This album was recorded live at Klooks Kleek on 7 December 1964. Roger Dean stated in an interview that they ran cables out of the window of the club to the Decca Studio about 100 yards away for this recording. (by wikipedia)
The Blues Alone is a 1967 electric blues album recorded by John Mayall on which he recorded all the parts himself, with the exception of percussion which was provided by longtime collaborator Keef Hartley.
Crusade is the fourth album and third studio album by the British blues rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released on 1 September 1967 on Decca Records. It was the follow-up to A Hard Road, also released in 1967. As with their two previous albums, Crusade was produced by Mike Vernon. The album was the first recordings of the then-18-year-old guitarist, Mick Taylor. (by wikipedia)
This 4 track EP is probably one of the rarest John Mayall records ever.
The genesis of Live in 1967 came about because a staunch fan from Holland, Tom Huissen, was able to sneak a one channel reel to reel tape recorder into five London clubs (including the famed Marquee) in early 1967 and capture this exciting glimpse into music history.
of 1966, Peter and John were both regular members of the Bluesbreakers and Aynsley Dunbar was the drummer,” states Mayall. “
ManyFantasticColors 