Godfather of British blues, John Mayall dies

The man who helped the careers of Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac members and other iconic rockers has died.

John Mayall was 90.

Mayall’s death was announced on his social media accounts, saying that he passed away at his California home on Monday. No cause of death was listed, CNN reported.

The musician was called the godfather of British blues and not only helped Clapton, he also advanced the careers of the Rolling Stones and Journey

He played several instruments including guitar, keyboards and harmonica, and also was a singer, but The Washington Post said he was “a bandleader who had a superb eye for talent and a steadfast devotion to the purity of the blues.”

At least seven members of Mayall’s groups have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Mayall himself will be inducted in the fall in the Musical Influence Award category.

Before choosing music as a career, he served in the British army and was a graphic artist, the Post reported.

He was 10 years older than The Beatles and other members of the British invasion but still was a mentor to many of them.

“I had this friend in London, John Mayall of the Bluesbreakers, who used to play me a lot of records late at night,” Paul McCartney said in an interview for Guitar Player magazine in 1990. “You’d go back to his place, and he’d sit you down, give you a drink, and say, ‘Just check this out.’”

Mayall loved Blues music when he was young. He never learned how to read music but was able to play the 12-bar blues so well that he and his bandmates would tour with Sonny Boy Williamson and John Lee Hooker, The Washington Post reported.

B.B. King said that Mayall was the master of the 12-bar blues, the newspaper reported.

Mayall started the Bluesbreakers in 1965. The same year he asked Clapton to join the band.

After leaving for a bit, Clapton returned and recorded one album with the band.

He left the band permanently taking bassist Jack Bruce with him. The pair along with drummer Ginger Baker formed Cream.

Mayall also worked with Peter Green as lead guitarist and John McVie on bass as part of the Bluesbreakers. At one point, he also hired Aynsley Dunbar and Mick Fleetwood.

Green, McVie and Fleetwood left to form Fleetwood Mac. Then Mayall brought Mick Taylor in, after two albums, he left to join the Rolling Stones.

After being fired by Mayall, Dunbar joined Journey.

Mayall moved to California in the late 60s and continued recording jazz and blues albums over the decades, working with musicians such as Joe Walsh, Steve Van Zandt and Alex Lifeson, CNN reported.

He had several ups and downs but was honored by Queen Elizabeth II when he was given the Order of the British Empire and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis.

“Blues is something people recognize as an expression of life,”Mayall once said, the Post reported. “And it’s totally infectious. It’s a root form of music. It tells stories.”

He leaves behind six children, seven grand children and four great-grandchildren, the Post reported.

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