A Long Crusade for the Blues
90 years of life, around sixty years of career, 35 studio albums, 34 live albums, not to mention compilations and numerous other productions, John Mayall, this passionate collector-propagator of blues and tireless crusader in this movement, never rested. He carried the torch high in his mission to educate, inspire, and entertain his peers in the joys, depths, and nuances of the Blues & Beats from the Heart!
John Mayall, born November 29th, 1933, in Macclesfield, England, is generally recognized as the Godfather of British Blues. His early exposure to his father’s jazz and blues records sowed in him the seeds of an unconditional and deep love for the blues. Gérard Herzhaft, the amiable novelist and erudite musicologist, mentions in his Grande Encyclopédie du Blues: guitarist Alexis Korner and harmonica player Cyril Davies are the true pioneers of British blues. It was based on their model that John Mayall founded his Bluesbreakers…
Would you hold it against me, however, if I claimed that just as B.B. King is the central figure of American and world blues, John Mayall is quite likely the central figure of British blues? In my (unwritten) book, he is nothing less!
Recently, shortly after the death of his dear friend John, Eric Clapton, in a touching video, gave a sincere and heartfelt tribute to the man he describes as his mentor and godfather. Some say he was a father figure. Slowhand was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and overflowing with gratitude towards the one who supported him and contributed to his early career training!
Mayall‘s first album, this multi-instrumentalist known among other things for his dynamic and expressive harmonica playing, was the iconic Blues Breakers, John Mayall with Eric Clapton, released in 1966. This fabulous vinyl made history in the music and blues world and remains, to this day, a deeply etched marker, a strong identifier in the history of British blues. How many guitarists were inspired by Clapton, how many harmonica players were trained by Mayall‘s captivating performances? How many passionate lovers of expressive blue note music deepened and paid their dues to the blues with this tireless crusader with a reflective, free, and innovative spirit? From the start, I have always identified John Mayall, rightly or wrongly, as a blues philosopher, an invested chronicler and committed to transmitting what Willie Dixon calls the Facts of Life.
From his long journey as a fighter, I have gathered here and there some memories and experiences that naturally came to the surface: first of all, the first album nicknamed Beano, with Clapton, bassist John McVie, and drummer Hughie Flint, the Hard Road records with guitarist Peter Green, then Crusade with Mick Taylor. Later, Turning Point (1970), this original album without drums and with a flute that we listened to a lot, among friends, back in the day, in front of the vinyl turntable! It is interesting to note here that Mayall was the bold one, the first to introduce the organ in a blues recording, an instrument previously the prerogative of gospel. Jazz Blues Fusion (1972) is another distinctive record, and, as its name indicates, it is a high-temperature meeting of blues and jazz musicians, another innovation by the visionary anchored in tradition and expanding its limits. This original, assured, and creative individual, like a magnet or a lamppost for butterflies, attracted by his personality and talent the best guitarists and musicians in his epic rides and incessant crusades.
I also listened a lot, loved, and meditated on the magnificent double album Back To The Roots where he instructs us, among other things, on his personal vision regarding the death of his friend Jimi Hendrix, which he describes as an Accidental Suicide, the title of the song. His deep, informed, and critical reflection is what I believe led me to specially qualify him as a Blues Philosopher.
And, in closing, I would say a few words about my meeting and short interview with this legend at the Tremblant International Blues Festival on August 2nd, 1997. I had waited a good while to meet him and was delighted by the gentlemanly demeanor in the fullest sense of the word, his simplicity, attentive listening, and generous availability to inform me about his blues, me, a quasi-journalist of the Blues.
For me, it’s not the duration of the meeting that counts, it’s the energy exchange! A handshake and a few words with Stevie Ray Vaughan, ten minutes before the show with Buddy Guy, a cool, calm, and collected John Mayall who shared his comments on his then-current album, Blues For The Lost Days (1997). In retrospect, I believe this album can be seen as a synthesis of his favorite themes. He addresses serious and still relevant subjects: his mother (One in A Million), big city violence (Dead City), injustice and poverty (Stone Cold Deal), his heroes and blues friends (All Those Heroes and Blues For The Lost Days), the 1914-1918 war (Trenches), not forgetting inspiring covers including the very beautiful and reflective How Can You Live Like That, by Eddie Harris. Furthermore, on this opus, following Clapton, Green, and Mick Taylor‘s remarkable performances in covers of Freddie King‘s instrumentals, he revives the tradition with a fourth instrumental by the Texan bluesman, Sen-Say-Shun by his then-favorite guitarist and band member, Buddy Whittington! The final track, You Are For Real, he reserved for his wife Maggie Mayall. He sang to her: You are the Key to everything I’ll Ever Need Baby, You are for Real!
In the purest tradition of resilient and indomitable bluesmen, the proven chief bluesbreaker gave his last show at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, at the age of 90, on July 16th, 2024, less than a week before his death. The show was sold out. Fans and musician friends came to greet him and pay a heartfelt tribute to him as a Living Legend!
In 1997, during our meeting, that day, John Mayall told me this simple and true phrase, highlighted in the magazine Les Amis du Blues: The best blues are always the blues that come from the heart, from a personal experience.
Thank you for everything, John Mayall! R.I.P.
