4 Rock Legends Who Got Their Start with John Mayall

John Mayall was a pioneer of British blues who became known more for the musicians he recruited than for his own playing or singing.

As bandleader, Mayall shaped the talents of soon-to-be rock and roll icons. His group, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers was an incubator for future Hall of Fame musicians, including some of history’s greatest rock and blues guitarists.

Mayall sang and played piano, organ, harmonica, and guitar. Though he’s the namesake for his groundbreaking band, his reputation as the “godfather of British blues” happened because of the revolving door of virtuosic musicians coming and going in the Bluesbreakers.

The four rock legends below rose to prominence as members of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.

John McVie

It wasn’t only legendary guitarists who Mayall nurtured. His band also featured future Fleetwood Mac bassist John McVie. The bassist appears on the first three Bluesbreakers’ studio albums alongside Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor. (He also appears on Mayall’s live album John Mayall Plays John Mayall.)

His tenure with Green briefly included drummer Mick Fleetwood. Green was so enamored with Fleetwood and McVie’s playing that he named his new group after them. McVie’s front-row view of emerging rock history didn’t end with the frequent turnover in the Bluesbreakers. Soon, Fleetwood Mac would experience their own reinvention with the departure of significant members, including its founder Peter Green.

Mick Taylor

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers had many lineups. However, Mayall seemed to have a knack for finding talent. Peter Green replaced Eric Clapton and then Mayall found an 18-year-old guitarist named Mick Taylor to replace Green.

Taylor developed his signature sound with the Bluesbreakers and it was Mayall who eventually recommended the guitarist to Mick Jagger. Mayall and Ian Stewart introduced Taylor to Jagger following Brian Jones’ departure from The Rolling Stones. By 1969, Taylor, age 20, became the new guitarist in the world’s greatest rock and roll band.

Peter Green

Following Clapton’s departure from The Bluesbreakers, Peter Green joined and recorded the group’s second album A Hard Road in 1967. Bassist John McVie remained from the Clapton era and Green and McVie’s connection would change rock history in profound ways.

Mick Fleetwood briefly played with Mayall’s group but was fired for repeated drunkenness. However, Green’s preferred rhythm section of Fleetwood and McVie inspired the guitarist to form a new group called Fleetwood Mac. McVie took some convincing to leave the Bluesbreakers. But Mayall’s turn to jazz prompted McVie’s exit and by 1968, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac surpassed the Bluesbreakers’ fame.

Eric Clapton

Mayall recruited Clapton after the guitarist left The Yardbirds to dedicate himself to the blues. Their 1966 debut together, Blues Breakers, pioneered the blues rock that came to dominate Britain, and eventually the rest of the world. Clapton’s playing on songs like “All Your Love” and “Hideaway” made him a legend, prompting someone to spray paint “Clapton is God” on a London wall.

A cover of Robert Johnson’s “Ramblin’ on My Mind” features Clapton stepping out front to sing. He left Mayall’s group to form the psych-rock supergroup Cream with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. The rest is “Slowhand” history.

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