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.
2 min
“ Livin’ & Lovin’ the blues » (“Live and love the blues”): this slogan on the posters of his tour, perfectly symbolizes the state of mind which animated this servant of the blues.
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-sixties. In 1963, John Mayall, already 30 years old, arrived in London from the north of England. A graduate of the Beaux-Arts, he decided to give up his job as a graphic designer to embrace the career of a blues musician, a style born in black America.
At the head of his Bluesbreakers, he will develop a sophisticated blues. Several young guitarists, who will later become very famous, will reveal themselves there, first and foremost Eric Clapton, but also Peter Green and Mick Taylor.
When he started the Blues in the 1960s, “ This music was a novelty for white England “, he told AFP in 1997. John Mayall emigrated to California in 1968, where he continued to refine his progressive blues. In 1972, he launched an American tour with a group composed almost exclusively of black musicians.
Also read and listenThe epic of black music: John Mayall
Appointed OBE (Officer of the British Empire), two-time Grammy nominee and recent inductee Rock & Roll Hall of FameJohn estimated in an interview given to Guardian in 2014 that “ [le blues] speaks of that raw honesty with which [il exprime] our experiences in life, something that fits in this music, in the words too. Something that is connected to us, common to our experiences. »
While considering, in this same interview relayed in the press release announcing his death, that this music which obsessed him remained a mystery: ” To be honest, I don’t think anyone knows exactly what it is. But I can’t stop playing it. »
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.
He died on Monday, July 22, at his home in California, according to the press release on his Facebook pagewhich does not mention the precise cause of his death. 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. Born near Manchester in 1933, he leaves behind six children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Also read and listenThe epic of black music: British Blues