John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
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| John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genre(s) | Blues-rock |
| Years active | 1963—present |
| Label(s) | Decca, Deram |
| Website | johnmayall.com |
| Members | |
| John Mayall Buddy Whittington Joe Yuele Hank Van Sickle Tom Canning |
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| Former members | |
| Eric Clapton Jack Bruce Peter Green John McVie Mick Fleetwood Hughie Flint Mick Taylor Colin Allen Don "Sugarcane" Harris Harvey Mandel Larry Taylor Aynsley Dunbar Dick Heckstall-Smith Andy Fraser Johnny Almond Jon Mark Kal David Walter Trout Coco Montoya Soko Richardson Keef Hartley |
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John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and '67 then dropped it for some fifteen years, but in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and it has been kept since then. The name has become generic without a clear distinction which recordings are to be credited just to the leader or to leader and his band. The Bluesbreakers have included luminaries such as:
- Eric Clapton (April–August 1965, November 1965–July 1966[1]) and Jack Bruce, who both left to form Cream,
- Peter Green, who had replaced Clapton, played until August 1967, when he departed with
- Mick Fleetwood and then also enticed Bluesbreaker John McVie a few weeks later to form Fleetwood Mac,
- Mick Taylor (August 1967–July 1969) when he joined The Rolling Stones, and reunion tours in 1982–83 and 2004
- Harvey Mandel, Walter Trout, Larry Taylor (later in Canned Heat),
- Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Randy Resnick, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser (Free), Chris Mercer, Henry Lowther, Johnny Almond and Jon Mark (later of Mark-Almond).
Contents |
[edit] History
The Bluesbreakers were formed in January 1963 and became an ever-evolving lineup of more than 100 different combinations of musicians performing under that name[2]. Eric Clapton joined in 1965 just a few months after the release of their first album. Clapton brought the blues influences to the forefront of the group, as he had left The Yardbirds in order to play the blues.
The group lost their record contract with Decca that year, which also saw the release of a single called "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (produced by Jimmy Page), followed by a return to Decca in 1966. The album Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (also known as The Beano Album because Clapton is shown on the cover photo reading a copy of the comic) was released later that year; it reached the Top Ten in the UK.
Clapton and Jack Bruce left the group that year to form Cream. Clapton was replaced by Peter Green for A Hard Road, after which he left to form Fleetwood Mac. Finally, in 1969, the third Bluesbreaker-guitarist departed when Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones.
By the time the 1960s were over, the Bluesbreakers had finally achieved some success in the United States.
With some interruptions, the Bluesbreakers have continued to tour and release albums (over 50 to date), though they never achieved the critical or popular acclaim of their earlier material. In 2003, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Chris Barber reunited with the band for John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert in Liverpool — the concert was later released on CD and DVD. In 2004, their line up included Buddy Whittington, Joe Yuele, Hank Van Sickle and Tom Canning, and the band toured the UK with Mick Taylor as a guest musician.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- 1965 John Mayall Plays John Mayall (Decca*)
- 1966 Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (Decca*)
- 1967 A Hard Road (Decca*)
- 1967 Bluesbreakers with Paul Butterfield (Decca EP single)
- 1967 Crusade (Decca*)
- 1967 Blues Alone (Ace of Clubs*)
- 1968 Diary of a Band Volume 1 (Decca*)
- 1968 Diary of a Band Volume 2 (Decca*)
- 1968 Bare Wires (Decca*)
- 1968 Blues from Laurel Canyon (Decca*)
- 1969 Looking Back (Decca*)
- 1969 Thru The Years (London)
- 1969 Primal Solos (Decca)
- 1969 The Turning Point (Polydor*)
- 1970 Empty Rooms (Polydor*)
- 1970 USA Union (Polydor*)
- 1971 Back to the Roots (Polydor*)
- 1971 Memories (Polydor*)
- 1972 Jazz Blues Fusion (Polydor*)
- 1973 Moving On (Polydor)
- 1973 Ten Years Are Gone (Polydor)
- 1974 The Latest Edition (Polydor)
- 1975 New Year, New Band, New Company (ABC - One Way*)
- 1975 Notice to Appear (ABC - One Way*)
- 1976 Banquet in Blues (ABC - One Way*)
- 1977 Lots of People (ABC - One Way*)
- 1977 A Hard Core Package (ABC - One Way*)
- 1978 Last of the British Blues (ABC - One Way*)
- 1979 The Bottom Line (DJM)
- 1980 No More Interviews (DJM)
- 1982 Road Show Blues (DJM*)
- 1982 Return of the Bluesbreakers (Aim Australia)
- 1985 Behind the Iron Curtain (GNP Crescendo*)
- 1987 Chicago Line (Entente - Island*)
- 1988 The Power of the Blues (Entente*)
- 1988 Archives to Eighties (Polydor*)
- 1990 A Sense of Place (Island*)
- 1992 Cross Country Blues (One Way*)
- 1994 The 1982 Reunion Concert (One Way*)
- 1993 Wake Up Call (Silvertone*)
- 1995 Spinning Coin (Silvertone*)
- 1997 Blues for the Lost Days (Silvertone*)
- 1999 Padlock on the Blues (Eagle*)
- 1999 Rock the Blues Tonight (Indigo*)
- 1999 Live at the Marquee 1969 (Eagle*)
- 2000 Time Capsule (Private Stash) Limited release, website only, no longer in print
- 2001 UK Tour 2K (Private Stash) Limited release, website only, no longer in print
- 2001 Boogie Woogie Man (Private Stash*) Limited release, website only
- 2001 Along For The Ride (Eagle/Red Ink*)
- 2002 Stories (Eagle/Red Ink*)
- 2003 No Days Off (Private Stash*) Limited release, website only
- 2003 Rolling With The Blues (Shakedown UK*)
- 2003 70th Birthday Concert CD & DVD (Eagle*)
- 2004 Cookin' Down Under DVD (Private Stash*) Limited release, website only
- 2004 The Godfather of British Blues/Turning Point DVD (Eagle*)
- 2004 The Turning Point Soundtrack (Eagle*)
- 2005 Road Dogs (Eagle*)
- 2007 Live At The BBC (Decca*)
- 2007 In The Palace of the King (Eagle*)
[edit] DVDs
- 1982: Blues Alive VHS (re-released on DVD in 2004 as Jammin' With the Blues Greats), a concert filmed in June 1982 at New Jersey's Capitol Theater with a lineup of Mayall, Mick Taylor, John McVie, and Colin Allen, and guests Etta James, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and Albert King
- 2003: 70th Birthday Concert CD & DVD (with Eric Clapton)
- 2004: The Godfather of British Blues/Turning Point DVD
From John Mayall's website only:
- 2004: Cookin' Down Under DVD
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Where's Eric an Eric Clapton fan site
- ^ The Complete Rock Family Trees, Omnibus Press (Dec 1983, ISBN-13: 978-0711904651) lists 109 different lineups
