Blues Legend John Mayall Dead at 90

John Mayall, legendary blues guitarist and founder of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, died on Monday at the age of 90, Vanity Fair reports.

Born in Macclesfield, England in 1933, Mayall taught himself to play the piano, guitars and harmonica as a kid. After graduating from the Manchester College of Art, he maintained a side hustle playing with local musicians. In 1963, he founded the Bluesbreakers with drummer Peter Ward, bassist John McVie (who would later join Fleetwood Mac) and guitarist Bernie Watson. Together they helped bring the sound of American Delta blues — artists like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Elmore James — to English venues and audiences. In 1965, Eric Clapton, who’d quit the Yardbirds, joined the lineup.

“The blues fitted in with the early ’60s, the social way of life at the time,” Mayall explained to The Guardian in 2014. “Things were changing anyway – in fashion, art, political views. … It happened here, rather than in America, because at the time, the scene in America was racially segregated – over there, never the twain would meet. In Europe, however – not just England – the Black blues began to be heard by an audience that was not listening to them in America. We discovered Elmore James, Freddie King, JB Lenoir, and they spoke to our feelings, our life stories and that was it. Hooked.”

READ MORE: When John Mayall Retooled for ‘Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton’

The band’s lineup would shift over the years — Peter Green later of Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones and Jack Bruce of Cream were all members at one time, along with many others — but Mayall remained.

“I had certain ideas and I needed to go out and find the right people to realize them,” he said in 2014. “I was a bandleader in that traditional role, as well as a frontman. I used my ears to pick out what I thought would work, and I suppose that in the long term the careers of the people involved show that I managed to pick out some pretty special people.”

The Bluesbreakers remained a recording group until 1970, then stalled for 12 years. It was revived in 1982, when a “Return of the Bluesbreakers” was announced. The band dissolved for good in 2008, but Mayall continued to record and perform.

Watch John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers Perform in 1970

Collectively with the Bluesbreakers and on his own, Mayall released 35 studio albums and 34 live ones. His most recent studio release arrived in 2022, titled The Sun Is Shining Down. In 2024, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the musical influence category.

“I don’t really have any favorites,” Mayall, looking back on his career, said in a 2022 interview with Blues Blast Magazine. “I’ve just enjoyed playing with different people because of what they bring to the palette. I’ve have been very lucky that people enjoyed the music I’ve played, so all of my memories have a special place.”