There’s a myth in Hollywood that there are six degrees of separation between Kevin Bacon and anyone in the film industry. For example, there are only two degrees between Bacon and the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Bacon was in the film JFK with Edward Asner who also appeared in a film with Elvis called Change of Habit.
You could say the same for the British Blues scene. A scene that started in the early sixties when some of the early American Blues player’s records started to reach the British shores. There was one band that was performing in London in 1963 and until the end of the decade gave us many British Blues-rock bands from this period. It was all because of a man with a vision of a blues band. A man who started quite late in playing music professionally at the age of 30 but has continued recording and touring for over 50 years. A man who is dubbed the godfather of the British Blues Movement: John Mayall. With his band the Bluesbreakers, he went on to become the pinnacle of Blues music during the sixties and helped launch the career of many artists throughout the decade. On his birthday let’s look at the influence he has managed to spread all over the music world. This time the Beat Marches On to the 29th November 1933.
It took a couple of years for John Mayall to get some recognition in the mainstream. After dedicating himself to music full time after performing as a hobby in 1963 the band moved from Manchester down to London and started to perform in the local blues clubs. The reputation of the performances caught the eye of Decca Records which signed them to a record deal.
In 1965 John Mayall released his first album: “John Mayall Plays John Mayall” which was recorded live from a performance at Kooks Kleek next door to the Decca recording studio. He recorded six studio albums between 1965 and 1970 and would be linked to the core of a blues-rock explosion within the UK.
Within this period many musicians were revolving through the Bluesbreakers. The talent that was in the band in the 1960s influenced future musicians for generations to come. Below are five popular bands/artists that were all a part of John Mayall’s band during this period and what bands they went on to form/join:
Cream (Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce)
The most famous album produced by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers is the one associated with Eric Clapton. The self-titled album, or “the Beano album” as it would later become known, was the standard to all Blues Rock artists and bands to this day. Clapton joined the Bluesbreakers because he wanted to play more blues-based music. His previous band, The Yardbirds, who have their own claim for legendary guitarists had just had a hit single breakthrough in the charts with “For Your Love” and were moving towards the more commercial side of music. Unhappy with this direction Clapton quit the band and joined the Bluesbreakers. He was only in the band for a little over a year, before he formed the rock supergroup Cream with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
We all know that Clapton was in the Bluesbreakers but not many people know that his fellow Cream bandmate Jack Bruce had a brief stint in the Bluesbreakers too. It is believed that this was where he met Clapton although Bruce wasn’t on the Beano album. Before recording anything in the studio with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Bruce went on to join Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.
Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood)
Long before the multi-million-selling Rumours album and the mixed relations within the band, Fleetwood Mac was a Blues-Rock band. With the three founding members being part of the Bluesbreakers.
Peter Green had the most difficult job in music in 1966. He replaced Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers. The fans didn’t give Green a hope in hell as their beloved Clapton went off to form the supergroup Cream. “Clapton is God” spray-painted on walls in London gave Green an extremely high bar to match but he did it. Some would argue he was even better than Clapton in the Bluesbreakers.
John McVie was in Mayall’s band for the longest during this period other than the bandleader Mayall himself. He played bass in the band for three years between 1964-1967. He featured on the Beano album and featured two albums with Green playing guitar. He would join Green and the new drummer Mick Fleetwood to form the first iteration of the band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood never appeared on any studio recordings of the band but toured with the band for a little while.
The Rolling Stones (Mick Taylor)
The Rolling Stones were arguably the biggest band in the world by 1969. Having multiple hit singles and some Rock and Roll excesses keeping them on the front pages of the tabloids made them infamous.
In 1969 they needed to replace the guitarist and founding member Brian Jones due to over-excesses. Who did Mick Jagger call? Well, the guy who had provided the world with two top-class guitarists already of course. Jagger spoke to John Mayall asking for a recommendation for a guitarist to replace Jones. Mayall recommended his own! A young guitarist by the name of Mick Taylor.
Taylor had been playing in the Bluesbreakers for a couple of years replacing Peter Green and has admitted he was nervous replacing guitarists of Clapton’s and Green’s stature as he was young and had limited experience when he joined the band. He was in the Rolling Stones for five years with his first performance being the infamous performance at London’s Hyde Park, two days after Jones’ death.
Aynsley Dunbar
I haven’t put a band with Aynsley Dunbar because he has played with a lot of artists/bands over the years. He appeared on the album A Hard Road with future Fleetwood Mac members Peter Green and John McVie. He was recruited by the Jeff Beck Band and went on to become one of the premier Rock drummers for hire.
During the performances for the Bluesbreakers Dunbar was starting to get a reputation for his drumming. The drum solos that he created were grabbing the attention of fellow musicians whenever they were in town.
Dunbar would end up playing with Frank Zappa, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Journey, Nils Lofgren, Sammie Hagar, Jefferson Starship and Whitesnake among others. He still tours to this day with his own band.
Free (Andy Fraser)
While Mick Taylor was in the Bluesbreakers the bass player was Andy Fraser. Aged only 15 he went on a European tour with the band. It wasn’t too long before Fraser would go on to form Free with Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke later on in 1968. While in Free he would write their most popular song with singer Paul Rodgers, All Right Now.
Fraser who was mentored by British Blues founder Alexis Korner suggested that although at a young age, he should go and audition for John Mayall. It was a success and within a couple of days, he was on a tour with the Bluesbreakers.
Following his time with Free and the Bluesbreakers he was to become a popular songwriter writing for Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart and Paul Young. He also wrote a song for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential run.
The opportunities John Mayall brought to many up-and-coming blues artists continues to amaze. The five acts mentioned were only from his first seven years of performing on stage. Although his name may not be as well-known as the stars he helped create, his impact on the late 60s/early 70s Blues Rock scene cannot be underestimated.
Still recording to this day and with a new album due out in May 2021 it looks like he isn’t stopping anytime soon.
The Beat Marches On is a music blog written by Jimmy Whitehead. Jimmy has been blogging for six years specialising in Sports (especially American Football). If you want to follow Jimmy on Twitter: @Jimmy_W1987
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If anyone reading this would like to read more about this story, there are a couple of YouTube videos used for research. These are:
John Mayall – The Godfather Of British Blues (2003) – YouTube
John Mayall – The Godfather of The British Blues | uDiscover Music
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