John Mayall

[Herb Steiner]

John Mayall has passed away at age 90. Without argument, one of the absolute founders of the blues explosion in the mid-60s, as well as British rock guitar in general. A true legend.

[Bill McCloskey]

Nice remembrance from Eric Clapton, just posted: https://youtu.be/9cujG_O4KA4?si=RUDtuQXlfU3k1DNq

[Craig Stock]

RIP John, such a great Bluesman!

Saw him once at the bottom line and Danny Gatton opened for him, such a memorable night.

He sure was the Father of British Blues!

[Bill McCloskey]

I saw him twice: Once in the 70's playing to thousands in a colorado stadium and then in the 2000's playing to 50 people in a tiny club interestingly enough called The Turning Point, the title of Mayall's seminal blues/jazz fusion record with Room to Move on it which played on constant rotation on my turntable. Always the professional, and he always brought it home. Clapton's memorial is fitting: "He taught me everything I know".

[Larry Dering]

Rip John. A true legend and founder of blues rock.

[Tony Prior]

I think John bringing EC into his band at the time brought his own exposure sky high ! To be honest, at the time I knew who EC was but didn't really know anything about John. When I got the "BEANO" LP, I was floored. Over the following years I acquired a few more of Johns LPs as they were released. I think I still have them all.


RIP John thx for the music .

[Jack Hanson]

The record that firmly established Gibson Les Pauls and Marshall amplification as a gold standard for electric blues guitarists in the 1960s and beyond:

[Glenn Suchan]

Growing up in the Chicago area, I became aware of the local blues artists at a young age. In fact, as a toddler I remember frequently hearing the names Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf without realizing that they were actual people. My folks weren't into the blues - it was just a part of the local culture.

As a teen I realized who Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf were, as well as Magic Sam, Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis, Hound Dog Taylor and many, many others who were local blues artists. I was hooked on the blues. Instead of listening to the rock 'n roll of the day, I was listening to the local blues musicians including the new young turk, Paul Butterfield with Mike Bloomfield... and Harvey Mandel

When I was about 16 I went to a local teen-oriented night club and saw John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers in performance. That turned me on to the exploding British Blues scene. For a second time, I was hooked on the blues - British blues. I fell in love with The Bluesbreakers, as well as Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, the early incarnation of Savoy Brown and others.

As Herb has said John Mayall was one of the Brits who were championing post-war, electrified urban blues. Along with Mayall, one has to include Alexis Koerner (or Korner - his professional name) and Cyril Davies. These two formed The Blues Incorporated, in the UK around 1961 and inspired Mayall to focus on blues music as a vocation. Then there was The Graham Bond Organization - another seminal British blues band (with some jazz and R&B overtones).

R.I.P. John

Keep on pickin'
Glenn

[Doug Beaumier]

I saw Mayall in 1973 at the University of Massachusetts. His sound was somewhat jazz-oriented at the time. I was pretty impressed with his guitarist, Freddie Robinson. I went to the Monday night show. The opener for the Sunday show was a little-known Bruce Springsteen.

[Bob Sigafoos]

Mayall was a great introduction to British blues for me. I’d read the back covers of his albums to see who was credited with writing the song. It took me awhile to figure out who C. Burnette and M. Morganfield were but Mayall opened the door for me to go deeper and backwards into the blues. First concert I ever went to was 1971 to see Steppenwolf. Opening band was J Mayall with “special guest” who might that be? It turned out to be Larry Taylor and Albert King. Great introduction to live blues music for a 15 year old white kid from the suburbs!

[Janusz Achtabowski]

RiP

[Mike R Johnson]

John Mayall's passing is a huge loss for the music world. He was a true legend and a pioneer of British blues. It's amazing to see how he influenced so many musicians, including Eric Clapton, who credits Mayall with teaching him everything he knows.

[Richard Alderson]

The record that firmly established Gibson Les Pauls and Marshall amplification as a gold standard for electric blues guitarists in the 1960s and beyond:

Dear Jack - I went and saw John Mayall outside of Dinkytown (The Cabooze? Maybe??) in 1991 with my wife. There was a Wisconsin or Minnesota based warm up band called "Superbenders" that featured TWO lap steel guitarists playing loud lap steel electric blues. They rocked ! Does that ring a bell with you? Ever hear of "Superbenders" or see a group featuring two rocking lap steelers at one time?

Just wondering. Anyhow, that's when I saw Mayall in person. Great show. Mayall. and whoever the 'Superbenders' were... both !

[Bob Sigafoos]

This Youtube guy Andy Edwards has a bunch of essays and opinions on music. This is his latest..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uew7_APVolU

[Jack Hanson]

Dear Jack - I went and saw John Mayall outside of Dinkytown (The Cabooze? Maybe??) in 1991 with my wife. There was a Wisconsin or Minnesota based warm up band called "Superbenders" that featured TWO lap steel guitarists playing loud lap steel electric blues. They rocked ! Does that ring a bell with you? Ever hear of "Superbenders" or see a group featuring two rocking lap steelers at one time?

Just wondering. Anyhow, that's when I saw Mayall in person. Great show. Mayall. and whoever the 'Superbenders' were... both !

Richard, I have no recollection whatsoever of The Superbenders. Sounds like an interesting lineup. However, during that timeframe I was most likely living in the Colorado Springs area, where I resided intermittently between 1970 and 1973. I did have the opportunity to see Mayall as he toured promoting the Turning Point album with Jon Mark and John Almond at the original Tyrone Guthrie theater in Minneapolis. Great show!