John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

During the 1960s, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers served as a vital proving ground for Britain’s top blues-rock players. Mid-decade, guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor entered the lineup in quick succession, refining their technique alongside Mayall before departing to join Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones, respectively. John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser of Free, John Almond, and Jon Mark also performed and recorded with the band at various points throughout the decade.

Mayall’s sidemen often drew attention away from his own considerable skills. Though only a serviceable singer, the multi-instrumentalist proved adept at drawing the strongest work from his younger colleagues, many of whom joined while he was already in his thirties, around the time the Bluesbreakers first attracted notice. Intent on furnishing a setting for Chicago-style electric blues, he refused to settle into routine, instead writing most of his own songs, overhauling the roster with striking frequency, and continually testing new possibilities within that blues foundation.