John Mayall

John Mayall was born in 1933 in a small village near Manchester. He came from a working class family. At the age of 13 he taught himself to play the piano, guitar and harmonica. He studied fine arts, spent three years in the British army in Korea and made a living as a graphic designer. He returned to music when he was 30. In Manchester he played in the bands The Powerhouse Four and The Blues Syndicate. With the support of Alexis Kroner of Blues Incorporated Mayall moved to London, where thanks to many club concerts he turned professional and began performing as John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. After several years and constantly changing musicians he met Eric Clapton, who had just left the Yardbirds in order to focus on the blues. The result was an album that climbed to the top of the charts and ensured their standing as legends. After Clapton and Jack Bruce left The Bluesbreakers to form Cream, Mayall's band featured a long line of outstanding musicians, including Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood (later Fleetwood Mac), Andy Fraser (Free) and Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones. Mayall himself gained a reputation for finding new talent "John Mayall was a great school for many musicians," said Eric Clapton.  Mayall has released dozens of albums (56 to be exact), played with other music legends such as John Lee Hooker, T-Bone Walker, Billy Preston, Billy Gibbons, Gary Moore, Heft Healy, Coco Montoya, Otis Rush and Sonny Boy Williamson. In 1979 a fire destroyed his house containing all of his and his father's diaries, original recordings, collections of books and magazines and many other artworks. This resulted in 1982 in the formation of the original The Bluesbreakers with Mick Taylor and John McVie and several tours and a concert film entitled Blues Alive. Mayall has six children and six grandchildren.