Song:All Your Love
Album:As It All Began: The Best Of John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers 1964-1969
Of course John Mayall is a pioneer of British blues. Many musicians got their start in his band including guitarist Eric Clapton. Mayall's heyday was in the 60s but he's still going strong today. He was born Nov. 29, 1933 in Macclesfield, England. His dad was a jazz guitarist and Mayall grew up listening to the blues and he taught himself to play guitar, piano and harmonica. After a stint in the service in Korea, he studied art and then worked as a designer while playing in bands on the side. The legendary Alexis Korner convinced Mayall to become a full time musician and he formed The Bluesbreakers in 1963. He recorded a live album for Decca in 1964 but it didn't sell and he was dropped. In 1965, Eric Clapton left The Yardbirds to join The Bluesbreakers. They re-signed with Decca and Bluesbreakers was their first album. The rest of the band was John McVie on bass and Hughie Flint on drums. They mostly recorded blues standards including the Willie Dixon/Otis Rush song All Your Love. The album is now considered a classic and was released on CD in 1998 in an expanded edition. I recommend this single CD comp as an intro to Mayall's music. Clapton left to form Cream and was replaced by Peter Green. Mayall moved to the US in the early 70s. Many musicians have worked for Mayall including Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Harvey Mandel, Aynsley Dunbar and many more. John Mayall is semi-retired but he still tours occasionally and his most recent CD Tough was released Sept. 2009 on Eagle Records. Here's John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton performing All Your Love at Mayall's 70th birthday concert 2003. This is available on DVD.
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