British blues pioneer John Mayall dies aged 90

He died at his home in California, the statement said, which did not mention the precise cause of his death, after health problems forced him to leave the stage.

British singer and musician John Mayall, a pioneer of English blues in the 1960s and an influential figure in the rock scene, has died at the age of 90, his family announced on his official Facebook page on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.The health problems that forced John to end his concert life have finally brought one of the world’s greatest travelers to rest in peace.“, the text notes.

This singer, harmonica player, keyboard player and guitarist was one of the main players in the “blues boom”, a wave that swept England in the mid-1960s. In 1963, John Mayall, already 30 years old, arrived in London from the north of England. A graduate of Fine Arts, he decided to give up his job as a graphic designer to embrace a career as a blues musician, a style that was nevertheless born in black America. At the head of his Bluesbreakers, he would develop a sophisticated blues. Several young guitarists, who would later become very famous, would reveal themselves there, first and foremost Eric Clapton, but also Peter Green and Mick Taylor.

John Mayall emigrated to California in 1968, where he continued to refine his progressive blues.Livin’ & Lovin’ the blues“(“Living and loving the blues“): this slogan, on the posters of his tour, perfectly symbolizes the state of mind which animated this servant of the blues.

When he started playing 1960s blues, “This music was a novelty for white England“, he recounted in 1997. Arriving in the United States, he launched an American tour in 1972 with a group composed almost exclusively of black musicians.

Easily recognizable by his legendary goatee and ponytail when he was younger, John Mayall cut some seminal records, John Mayall plays with Eric Clapton And Blues from Laurel Canyon notably.

Born near Manchester in 1933, he leaves behind six children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, according to the statement on his Facebook page.