The British blues legend John Mayall has died, 90 years old.
He played harmonica and tickled his touring piano for more than sixty years, but never reached the same star status as many of the young musicians he took under his wing on their way up.
John Mayall paved the way for American Chicago-blues among the British in the 1960s and is perhaps best known for his band The Bluesbreakers. The band became a kind of nursery for future, male rock stars.
Over the years, he took under his wing Eric Clapton, the three later Fleetwood Mac members Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Peter Green, as well as Mick Taylor, who played with the Rolling Stones for a time, among many others.
Mayall has said in interviews that it was love for the music that drove him, not the pursuit of fame, bestsellers, and awards. He admitted that his stubborn blues chords may not have been the most in demand.
I've never had a hit, never won a Grammy, and Rolling Stone (the magazine) has never done a story about me. I still play underground, said Mayall in an interview in 2013.
Performed full
He was born in Manchester in 1933, with an alcoholic father who played guitar and banjo and boogie-woogie records.
The only reason I was born there was because my father drank and that's where his favorite pub was, Mayall has said.
Mayall himself had alcohol problems for a time, during the 1970s he often performed drunk, but stopped after trying to jump into a pool from a balcony. He missed and badly injured a foot.
Although he never won a Grammy, he was nominated as late as 2022 for the album "The sun is shining down". And this year, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Gave Clapton a boost
His Bluesbreakers album from 1966 with Eric Clapton is considered one of the best British blues albums.
You could say that I've somewhat exploited his hospitality, his band, and his name and standing to launch my own career, said Clapton in a BBC documentary in 2003 about Mayall.
Mayall died on Monday at his home in the USA, according to a statement on his Instagram account.
