John Mayall, the legendary musician often called the godfather of British Blues, passed away on Monday at the age of 90. The news was confirmed in a statement on Mayall’s social media pages, which reads:
It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors. John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.
In a 2014 interview with The Guardian, John reflected, “[blues] is about – and it’s always been about – that raw honesty with which [it expresses] our experiences in life, something which all comes together in this music, in the words as well. Something that is connected to us, common to our experiences.” That raw honesty, connection, community and playing of his will continue to affect the music and culture we experience today, and for generations to come.
An appointed OBE (Officer of the British Empire), 2x Grammy-nominated artist and recent inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, John is survived by his 6 children, Gaz, Jason, Red, Ben, Zak and Samson, 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. He is also surrounded with love by his previous wives, Pamela and Maggie, his devoted secretary, Jane, and his close friends. We, the Mayall family, cannot thank his fans and long-list of bandmembers enough for the support and love we were blessed to experience secondhand over the last six decades.
John closed that same Guardian interview by reflecting further on the blues, “To be honest, I don’t think anyone really knows exactly what it is. I just can’t stop playing it.” Keep on playing the blues somewhere, John. We love you.
Born in Macclesfield, Cheshire in 1933, Mayall taught himself to play the piano, guitar, and harmonica before moving to London to form the Bluesbreakers with Peter Ward, John McVie, and Bernie Watson. He also backed blues greats such as John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Eddie Boyd, and Sonny Boy Williamson on their first English club tours. After Eric Clapton quit the Yardbirds, Mayall offered him the job as his new guitarist. He was briefly replaced by Peter Green but returned a few months later, and the group released Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton in July 1966. Mayall had to replace Clapton once again following the formation of Cream and persuaded Green to come back. Green soon left to found Fleetwood Mac, leading to the recruitment of Mick Taylor before he went on to join the Rolling Stones.
In 1969, Mayall emigrated to the Los Angeles area and eventually bought a home in Laurel Canyon. He cut 1969’s The Turning Point live at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East for Polydor with a drummerless group that featured guitarist Jon Mark and flautist-saxophonist John Almond. Guitarist Harvey Mandel and bassist Larry Taylor, both from Canned Heat, would then join the group. In 1982, Mayall decided to reform the original Bluesbreakers for a couple of tours and a video concert film called Blues Alive.
Mayall’s last studio album was 2022’s The Sun Is Shining Down. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2016. In April of this year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Influence category.
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