Mick Fleetwood, Mick Jagger Pay Tribute to John Mayall
Mick Fleetwood and Mick Jagger have joined the flood of tributes to British blues icon John Mayall, who died on July 22 at age 90.
Fleetwood took to Instagram and wrote, “The news of John Mayall’s passing …. in many ways hit me as losing a musical father!! John Mayall was a guiding light to so many of us young English players!”
He continued, “To have spent time as part of his band the ‘Blues Breakers’“’ led the three of us, Peter Green, John McVie, and myself to form Fleetwood Mac back in 1967!! He is owed much gratitude from so many in the musical world. John Mayall, you will be missed!”
Meanwhile, Jagger wrote, “So sad to hear of John Mayall’s passing. He was a great pioneer of British blues and had a wonderful eye for talented young musicians, including Mick Taylor – who he recommended to me after Brian Jones died – ushering in a new era for the Stones.
Eric Clapton’s Tribute to John Mayall
Eric Clapton took to social media yesterday (July 24) and delivered a very moving tribute to John Mayall via a direct-to-camera address.
Eric Clapton took to social media and shared an incredibly moving and emotional tribute to British blues legend John Mayall, who died on July 22 at age 90.
Mayall’s death was confirmed in a statement on his Facebook page, which read, in part, “Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors. John Mayall gave us ninety years of tireless efforts to educate, inspire and entertain.”
Among those who Mayall educated was Clapton, who referred to Mayall as his “mentor” and “surrogate father” in his 2:38 tribute video. Clapton, of course, joined John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers after leaving the Yardbirds and plays on the 1966 album, Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. Clapton’s tenure with the Bluesbreakers was brief, but it led to him meeting bassist Jack Bruce, his future bandmate in Cream.
Clapton began, “I want to say a few words about my friend John, who I learned passed last night or sometime yesterday. I want to say thank you, chiefly, for rescuing me from oblivion and god knows what as a young man, around the age of 18-19, when I decided I was going to quit music.”
Clapton continued, “He found me and took me into his home and asked me to join his band, and I stayed with him, and I learned all that I really have to draw on today, in terms of technique and desire to play the kind of music that I love to play. I did all of my research in his home in his record collection — the Chicago Blues, that he was such an expert on. I played in his band of a number of years, with [drummer] Hughie [Flint] and [bassist] John [McVie], and it was a fantastic experience.”
He added, “He taught me that it was okay just to play the music you wanted to play, without dressing up or making anyone else like it, whether it mattered whether they liked it or not, to listen to myself, to my inner motivations. He was my mentor and a surrogate father, too.”
Clapton wistfully noted, “He taught me all I really know and gave me the courage and enthusiasm to express myself, without fear and without limit, and all I gave him in return was how much fun it was to drink and womanize, when he was already a family man. I wish to make amends for that. I did that while he was alive, and I obviously since learned that that is not the best way to carry on.”
He concluded, “I shall miss him. I shall miss him, but I hope to see him on the other side. So, thank you, John. I love you. I’ll see you soon, but not yet. Not yet, as they say in the ‘Gladiator’ movie. God bless you. Thank you.”
