John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

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John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton album cover
Origin	London, England
Years active	1964 - Current
Genres	Blues Rock See also: Blues & Rock
Labels	Decca Records Deram Records
Members	John Mayall OBE Buddy Whittington Joe Yuele Hank Van Sickle Tom Canning
Past members	Eric Clapton Jack Bruce Peter Green John McVie Mick Fleetwood Hughie Flint Mick Taylor Don Harris Harvey Mandel Larry Taylor Aynsley Dunbar Dick Heckstall-Smith Andy Fraser Johnny Almond Jon Mark Kal David Chris Barber Walter Trout Coco Montoya
Website(s)	JohnMayall.com

John Mayall and Paul Butterfield, 1967

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers was a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE, that included such luminaries as:

Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce (both later in Cream),
Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood (later all in Fleetwood Mac),
Mick Taylor (later in The Rolling Stones),
Don Harris, Harvey Mandel, Walter Trout, Larry Taylor (later in Canned Heat),
Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser (Free), Johnny Almond and Jon Mark (later of Mark-Almond).

1 History
2 Discography
- 2.1 Albums
- 2.2 DVDs
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

The Bluesbreakers were formed in the early 1960s with an ever-evolving lineup. Eric Clapton joined in 1965 just a few months after the release of their first album. Clapton brought the blues influences to the forefront of the group, as he had left The Yardbirds in order to play the blues.

The group lost their record contract with Decca that year, which also saw the release of a single called "I'm Your Witchdoctor", followed by a return to Decca in 1966. The album Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, also known as The Beano Album, was released later that year; it reached the Top Ten in the UK.

Clapton and Jack Bruce left the group that year to form Cream. Clapton was replaced by Peter Green for A Hard Road, after which he left to form Fleetwood Mac. Finally, in 1969, the third Bluesbreaker-guitarist departed when Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones. He would soon be replaced by blues guitarist Kal David.

By the time the 1960s were over, the Bluesbreakers had finally achieved some success in the United States.

With some interruptions, the Bluesbreakers have continued to tour and release albums (over 50 to date), though they never achieved the critical or popular acclaim of their earlier material. In 2003, Eric Clapton was reunited with the band for John Mayall's 70th Birthday Concert in Liverpool — the concert was later released on CD and DVD. In 2004, their line up included Buddy Whittington, Joe Yuele, Hank Van Sickle and Tom Canning, and the band toured the UK with Mick Taylor as a guest musician.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

1966: John Mayall Plays John Mayall
1966: Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (with Eric Clapton)
1967: A Hard Road (with Peter Green)
1967: Bluesbreakers with Paul Butterfield (EP single)
1967: Crusade (with Mick Taylor)
1967: The Blues Alone
1968: Diary of a Band Volume 1
1968: Diary of a Band Volume 2
1968: Bare Wires (with Mick Taylor)
1968: Blues from Laurel Canyon
1969: Looking Back
1969: Thru The Years
1969: Primal Solos
1969: The Turning Point
1970: Empty Rooms
1970: USA Union
1971: Back to the Roots
1971: Memories
1972: Jazz Blues Fusion
1973: Moving On
1973: Ten Years Are Gone
1974: The Latest Edition
1975: New Year, New Band, New Company
1975: Notice to Appear
1976: Banquet in Blues
1977: Lots of People
1977: A Hard Core Package
1978: Last of the British Blues
1979: The Bottom Line
1980: No More Interviews
1982: Road Show Blues
1982: Return of the Bluesbreakers
1985: Behind the Iron Curtain
1987: Chicago Line
1988: The Power of the Blues
1988: Archives to Eighties
1990: A Sense of Place
1992: 1982 Reunion Concert
1992: Cross Country Blues
1993: Wake Up Call
1995: Spinning Coin
1997: Blues for the Lost Days
1999: Padlock on the Blues
1999: Rock the Blues Tonight
1999: Live at the Marquee 1969
1999: The Masters
2001: Along For The Ride
2002: STORIES
2003: Rolling With The Blues
2003: 70th Birthday Concert
2004: The Turning Point Soundtrack : this is in fact a re-packaging of two previously CDs Disc One contains the music from Disc One of "The Masters" (with the addition of the track "Parchman Farm" from Disc Two) and the new Disc Two contains all the tracks from "Live at the Marquee 1969".
2005: Road Dogs

These albums have also been released by John Mayall on his website only:

2000 Time Capsule
2001 UK Tour 2K
2001 Boogie Woogie Man
2003 No Days Off

[edit] DVDs

1982: Blues Alive VHS (Also released as Jammin' With the Blues Greats on DVD)
2003: 70th Birthday Concert CD & DVD (with Eric Clapton)
2004: The Godfather of British Blues/Turning Point DVD

From John Mayall's website only: