John Mayall, legendary pioneer of British blues, dead at 90
“Keep on playing the blues somewhere, John,” his family wrote of the musician who worked with Eric Clapton, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood throughout his storied career
By Tomás Mier
Blues and rock musician John Mayall, the “godfather of British blues” whose bands included some of the most well-known and virtuosic rock musicians of the past 50 years, died on Monday at the age of 90.
“It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by his loving family,” his family confirmed in a statement Tuesday. “Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors.” A cause of death was not immediately revealed.
“John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain,” the statement continued, sharing that he was “surrounded with love” by his ex-wives Pamela and Maggie, his secretary Jane, and his close friends. “Keep on playing the blues somewhere, John. We love you,” his family wrote.
Mayall is credited as being a blues pioneer in England in the late Sixties. His band, the Bluesbreakers, once included the likes of Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, and Mick Taylor. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is set to induct Mayall in October, after the organization’s committee granted him the Musical Influence Award, alongside Alexis Korner and Big Mama Thornton, earlier this year.
Mayall was born in Cheshire, England, and loved American blues and jazz from an early age. He taught himself how to play piano, guitar, and harmonica before he moved to London to form the Bluesbreakers, which included Clapton after he departed the Yardbirds.
The musician’s most revered body of work was his debut LP, Blues Breakers, which Rolling Stone ranked Number 195 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003. Mayall released several albums in the Seventies after moving to Los Angeles in 1969. He was appointed Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2016.
In 2020, Mayall released a 1967 recording of the song “Curly” alongside Peter Green and John McVie. The recording was done for BBC Sessions before Green left the band to form Fleetwood Mac, which was joined shortly after by McVie. The track was included in a box set titled The First Generation: 1966-1974, which dropped in 2021.
That year, Mayall told Rolling Stone, as he turned 88, that he had decided to “hang up my road shoes,” though he promised to release another album, The Sun Is Shining Down.
The family’s tribute pointed to a 2014 interview Mayall did with The Guardian, sharing how he felt an affinity for the blues because “it’s always been about — that raw honesty with which the blues express our experiences in life, something which all comes together in this music.” Reflecting further, Mayall added, “To be honest, I don’t think anyone really knows exactly what it is. I just can’t stop playing it.”