John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter John Mayall. The band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues musicians. Many of the best known bands to come out of Britain in the 1960s and 1970s had members that came through the Bluesbreakers at one time, forming the foundation of British blues music that is still played heavily on classic rock radio. Among those with a tenure in the Bluesbreakers are Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce (both later of Cream), Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie (the three of whom would form Fleetwood Mac), Mick Taylor (the Rolling Stones), Aynsley Dunbar (Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention), Jon Hiseman, Dick Heckstall-Smith and Tony Reeves (these three would form Colosseum), and numerous others. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, then dropped it for some fifteen years. In 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced, and the name was used until the band again dissolved in 2008. The name has become generic, without a clear distinction between recordings by Mayall alone and those by Mayall and his band. History The band that would evolve to the Bluesbreakers in 1965 was formed in February 1963 and became an ever-evolving lineup of more than 100 combinations of musicians performing under the name. Eric Clapton joined in April 1965, a few months after the release of their first album. Clapton brought guitar-led blues influences to the forefront of the group; he had left The Yardbirds in order to concentrate on the blues. The first single released by John Mayall and his band, in May 1964, was the song "Crawling Up a Hill", with "Mr. James" as the b-side. The band on the single were Peter Ward, John McVie on bass, Bernie Watson on guitar, and Martin Hart on drums. After the release, Watson was replaced by Roger Dean, and Hart by Hughie Flint. This lineup played on the album John Mayall Plays John Mayall, recorded in December 1964 and released in 1965. After this, the band released a single called "Crocodile Walk", with "Blues City Shakedown" as the b-side, which was produced by Tony Clarke of Decca Records. Dean then left the group and was replaced by Clapton. The group lost their record contract with Decca that year, which also saw the release of a single called "I'm Your Witchdoctor" (produced by Jimmy Page) in October 1965, the first credited to John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, followed by a return to Decca in 1966. Then in August 1966 John Mayall and Eric Clapton released the single "Lonely Years", with the b-side "Bernard Jenkins", which was released by Purdah Records. The album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton was released in July; it reached the Top Ten in the UK. Shortly after Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton was released, Eric Clapton saw Buddy Guy in concert, and being impressed by his trio, the idea for Cream was formed, and