John Mayall dead aged 90: ‘Father of British blues’ dies at his home in California – after momentous career that saw his Bluesbreakers band influence stars including Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood

The father of British blues John Mayall has died aged 90 after health issues forced him to stop touring.

The musician died at his home in California on Monday surrounded by family, a statement on his Instagram page said.

The British blues pioneer led the Bluesbreakers band that influenced stars including Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood.

He stopped touring in 2021 because of health issues, which his family referred to when they announced his passing.

In a statement, they said: ‘It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home on July 22, 2024, surrounded by loving family.

‘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.

‘John Mayall gave us 90 years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.’

A statement was released on John Mayall’s official Instagram page today, announcing his passing

The musician (pictured in 1991) died at his home in California on Monday, surrounded by family, a statement on his Instagram page said

Mayall has been credited with helping develop a blues revival of the late 1960s and has been described as the ‘father of British blues’. He is pictured here performing on the stage of the Miles Davis hall during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland

Mayall, who was born in Macclesfield and grew up in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, formed the Bluesbreakers in the early 1960s.

He has been credited with helping develop a blues revival of the late 1960s and has been described as the ‘father of British blues’. 

The Bluesbreakers started out playing at the Marquee Club — a small and relatively cheap club — situated at the heart of London‘s West End. 

In 1964, Mayall obtained his first record date with producer Ian Samwell. The band recorded two tracks: ‘Crawling Up a Hill’ and ‘Mr James’. 

But it wasn’t until April 1965 when former Yardbirds guitarist Eric Clapton replaced Roger Dean, that Mayall’s career really took off.

In 1965, with Eric Clapton as their new guitar player, the Bluesbreakers began attracting considerable attention.

When Clapton left that summer on a jaunt to Greece, Peter Green — founder of Fleetwood Mac — took his place, while Jack Bruce — of the rock band Cream — played bass. In November 1965 Clapton returned, and Green departed.

The Bluesbreakers has been considered a training ground for other major musicians including John McVie and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor who played with the Rolling Stones, Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor of Canned Heat and Jon Mark and John Almond, who went on to form the Mark-Almond Band.

John Mayall (pictured) in London, March 4, 1971

Mayall performing on stage in 1979

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers: John Mayer, Eric Clapton, John McVie, Hughie Flint

John Mayall poses during an interview in Madrid, Spain, on February 13 2017 

The Bluesbreakers (pictured) in 1969 in Hyde Park, London. L-R is Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman

Pictured: Klaus Voormann, John Mayall, Joni Mitchell, Debby Chesher and Commander Cody during the promotion for the ‘Starart’ book that included art works by them and other musicians

Mayall protested in interviews that he was not a talent scout, but played for the love of the music he had first heard on his father’s 78-rpm records.

Although he admitted in an interview with The Guardian that he had ‘managed to pick out some pretty special people’. 

‘I’m a band leader and I know what I want to play in my band – who can be good friends of mine,’ Mayall said in an interview with the Southern Vermont Review. ‘It’s definitely a family. It’s a small kind of thing really.’

Although Mayall never approached the fame of some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s.

‘I’ve never had a hit record, I never won a Grammy Award, and Rolling Stone has never done a piece about me,’ he said in an interview with the Santa Barbara Independent in 2013. ‘I’m still an underground performer.’

Mayall protested in interviews that he was not a talent scout, but played for the love of the music he had first heard on his father’s 78-rpm records. He is pictured here at the Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival on August 27, 2017

English Blues and Rock musician John Mayall performing onstage at Greenwich Village’s Bottom Line nightclub in 1979

Although Mayall never approached the fame of some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s. He is pictured on stage during the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux

Mayall had a Grammy nomination for Wake Up Call which featured guest artists Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Mick Taylor and Albert Collins. He also received a second nomination in 2022 for his album The Sun Is Shining Down.

He was selected for the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class and his 1966 album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton is considered one of the best British blues albums.

He was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2005. 

Mayall’s father also played guitar and banjo, and his records of boogie-woogie piano captivated his teenage son.

Mayall performing with the Bluesbreakers at the Deutsche Museum in Munich, West Germany, on January 21, 1970

Mayall once said: ‘The only reason I was born in Macclesfield was because my father was a drinker, and that’s where his favourite pub was.’

He learned to play the piano one hand at a time — a year on the left hand, a year on the right — so ‘I wouldn’t get all tangled up’.

The piano was his main instrument, though he also performed on guitar and harmonica, as well as singing in a distinctive, strained-sounding voice. 

Aided only by drummer Keef Hartley, Mayall played all the other instruments for his 1967 album Blues Alone.

The Bluesbreakers drew on a fluid community of musicians who drifted in and out of various bands.

Mayall performing with his band the Bluesbreakers in Munich in 1969. The influential band was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars

Mayall’s 1968 album Blues from Laurel Canyon signalled a permanent move to the United States and a change in direction. He disbanded the Bluesbreakers and worked with two guitars and drums.

The 1970s found Mayall a low ebb personally, but still touring and doing more than 100 shows a year.

In 1982, he reformed the Bluesbreakers, recruiting Taylor and McVie, but after two years the personnel changed again. 

In 2008, Mayall announced that he was permanently retiring the Bluesbreaker name, and in 2013 he was leading the John Mayall Band.