John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

During the 1960s, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers functioned as an incubator for Britain’s foremost blues-rock players. In quick succession through the middle of the decade, guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor each passed through Mayall’s ranks, sharpening their skills before departing for Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones. Throughout the same decade, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser of Free, John Almond, and Jon Mark likewise performed and recorded with the group for varying stretches.

Mayall’s sidemen frequently eclipsed his own substantial gifts. A merely serviceable vocalist, the multi-instrumentalist excelled instead at coaxing peak performances from his younger colleagues, many of whom he mentored while already in his thirties, the period when the Bluesbreakers first attracted notice. Intent on furnishing a setting suited to Chicago-style electric blues, he refused to settle into routine, composing the bulk of the band’s repertoire, overhauling personnel with startling frequency, and exploring fresh approaches inside the established blues framework.