THE BLUES IS IN EVERY PART OF AMERICAN MUSIC SINCE THE 20TH CENTURY BEGAN. THERE HAVE BEEN TWO PERIODS IN WHICH THE BLUES WAS MOST POPULAR: WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT IN THE TEENS AND TWENTIES WITH THE LIKES OF MA RAINEY AND BESSIE SMITH, AND THE 60S WHEN JOHN MAYALL AND OTHERS IN ENGLAND HEARD MUSIC BY MUDDY WATERS AND HOWLIN’ WOLF, REVISED IT AND SENT IT BACK TO AMERICA VIA GROUPS LIKE THE BLUESBREAKERS, CREAM AND THE YARDBIRDS.
THE FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE BLUESBREAKERS, JOHN MAYALL, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR A SIZEABLE CHUNK OF AMERICAN MUSIC, HAVING HAD CLAPTON, MICK TAYLOR (OF THE ROLLING STONES), PETER GREEN, MICK FLEETWOOD AND JOHN MCVIE (OF FLEETWOOD MAC) AND COUNTLESS OTHERS IN HIS BAND TO EVENTUALLY CREATE THEIR OWN MUSICAL AND CULTURAL NICHE.
MAYALL, STILL ALIVE AND WELL, IS IN HIS 80S NOW, AND STILL DOING WHAT HE WAS BORN TO DO. PLAYING THE BLUES, TOURING CONSTANTLY AND PROMOTING HIS SIZZLING NEW ALBUM “A SPECIAL LIFE” HE TOOK SOME TIME TO TALK TO US IN PREPARATION FOR A TOUR THE INCLUDES THE SIMI VALLEY CAJUN AND BLUES FESTIVAL MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND (www.simicajun.org). HERE’S SOME REFLECTIONS BY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CATALYSTS OF THE BLUES
WHAT’S THE THOUGHT BEHIND THE TITLE OF THE MOST RECENT ALBUM: A SPECIAL LIFE
It sums up the state of my life right now. I put my feelings into the words of the song, so it’s kind of self explanatory.
DO YOU EVER ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU’VE HAD SUCH A SPECIAL LIFE?
No. I really just accept it and the fact that Fate has lead me along this way through this life so far, and that by following my instincts I’ve been lead in the right direction.
This is the way it’s been with my life. I was trained in the arts until I was thirty it was my full time job, and music was just a sideline. But, when the Blues Boom started in London in 1962, that was the crossroads for me, and I chose to go with the music.
WHAT HOOKED YOU ONTO THE BLUES SCENE AT THE TIME?
Well, Alex Korner kicked it off. We Europeans have always appreciated black American musicians who weren’t recognized or listened to in their own country because of the color divisions. I listened to both jazz and blues, but mainly blues.
Eddie Lang was the nearest thing to blues in my father’s jazz collection. That was kind of a starting point for me. His duets with Lonnie Johnson was great stuff. At that time Eddie Lang couldn’t even use his real name. He had to go by the name Blind Willie Dunne because the two guys couldn’t be together in print!
BESIDES BEING A MAJOR PART OF THE BLUES SCENE, YOU’VE BECOME KNOWN AS ONE OF THE BEST TALENT SCOUTS AROUND, WITH GUYS LIKE ERIC CLAPTON, MICK TAYLOR, JOHN MCVIE, MICK FLEETWOOD AND PETER GREEN BEING ALUMNI
A band leader should always know what he needs from the musicians he hires in terms of their styles and talents. It’s always come very naturally to me. People have talked about it endlessly in terms of wonder, but for me it’s very straightforward and simple. I know what I want. I looked for the right people, and the results is what you’ve heard. And, they all showed up on time, except maybe for Eric Clapton. Sometimes he didn’t turn up at all!
ALMOST EVERYONE IN YOUR BANDS THAT GOT FAMOUS BECAME FAMOUS IN ROCK AND NOT BLUES. DID THAT SURPRISE YOU?
No t really. Everyone when they start out begin with some idea of what they want to do. So, they start off by playing the music that influenced them ; records of other people. Gradually, once they get into it they find their own direction. You could say that for just about all the musicians that have worked with me. Percentage wise, very few of them have stuck with religiously to blues music. But, that’s the way it always works. When you’re young, you’re finding your feet and what direction your feet want to go in.
WHAT HAS MADE YOU STAY WITH IT ALL THIS TIME. YOU MUST HAVE BEEN TEMPTED TO VEER OFF AT SOME POINT.
I really don’t know anything else. I’ve always played exactly what I feel, and there’s no other way that I could do it. I express myself through music, and the blues is my medium. Sometimes there’s more of a jazz influence in it, and other instances there’s rock and roll. All of these things come together, but they all come out as my music, as it’s the only thing I know.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE BLUES THAT MAKES IT FIT EVERYWHERE?
It’s the bedrock of all music, really. There’s a blues influence on almost every type of music that you hear, except classical music.
YOU’VE TRIED TO STOP PLAYING A NUMBER OF TIMES, BUT HERE YOU ARE, IN YOUR EIGHTIES AND STILL GOING STRONG. WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING?
It’s just what I love to do. It’s fortunate that what I do is appreciated by large numbers of people who help me make a very good living at it. It’s great to be appreciated.
I wouldn’t expect to be carried on stage, but as long as I’ve got the energy to give a first class performance, you know, then I’ll keep going.
WHEN DID YOU FEEL LIKE “I’VE MADE IT.”
I don’t know. I don’t know how to quantify that because I’ve always been working. If you’re working, that must mean that there’s an audience out there for what you do. So, nothing really changes in that respect. I still do over a hundred shows every year all over the world. It’s what I do!
YOUR LATEST ALBUM HAS A TUNE BY ALBERT KING. WHAT DOES HE MEAN TO YOU?
He was a very good friend of mine. I produced one of his albums and got along great with him. I wanted to do one of his songs and it’s great to do his material on my new album.
WAS HE ONE OF THE FIRST BLUES MUSICIANS THAT YOU MET?
No, The first one I worked with on a regular basis was John Lee Hooker. I met others in the clubs. T Bone Walker, Sonny Terry and Sonny Boy Williamson. These musicians don’t really give advice to other musicians; you play with them and you learn by example. Of course, people borrow things from each other and so you learn from each other.
YOU PUT A LITTLE ZYDECO INTO YOUR LATEST ALBUM WITH CJ CHENIER
Weil, it’s not exactly Zydeco although CJ Chenier is famous for that style, along like his father Clifton Chenier. What’s he’s actually playing is straight blues-no question about it. “Why Did You Go Last Night” was a song written by his father, and in fact Jack Bruce and I used to sing the parts when he was in my band in the early 60s, so I just resurrected that number after all of these years.
TELL ME ABOUT THE IMPETUS OF YOUR MOST FAMOUS ALBUM TURNING POINT
It’s kind of funny. We were in the middle of a German tour and half way through it I told the band we were disbanding. The unit had Mick Taylor, drums and bass, and I was going to finish the tour with a drummerless group, a saxophone and an acoustic guitar.
The German promoter was horrified, and he wanted to do all sorts of things to make me want to change my mind. But, that was the beginning of The Turning Point band. Much to his surprise it got very successful.
I wasn’t surprised. I’m a person who always believes in myself. I always trust my instincts. They’ve never let me down yet. I’ve always done what I wanted, and if it worked, it worked, and it usually does.
HOW ABOUT THE LAUREL CANYON ALBUM?
That was something to commemorate the three weeks vacation I had in Los Angeles in 1968. It was the deciding factor for me to move to LA permanently. It was a pretty important adventure for me, and so I put it into music.
ARE YOU SURPRISED BY THE IMPACT OF THE ORIGINAL BLUESBREAKERS WITH CLAPTON, MCVIE AND FLEETWOOD?
Not really. It was such a groundbreaking album. When I recorded it, was just making an honest blues album which was basically what we were playing in the clubs. No one expected it to do what it did; I was just playing what I felt was right.
WHAT WAS THE IMPACT ON THE BAND BY THE ALBUM’S POPULARITY?
The clubs were where we worked and where our audience was, so there was no surprise as we were growing in popularity.
YOU HAD A REUNION WITH THE BAND LATER ON. HOW WAS THAT?
For the 79th birthday concert…it was great because I hadn’t seen Eric (Clapton) for ten years or so. He just came that afternoon in to find out what we were playing. He didn’ t play with us in the afternoon, but when we came together to do the gig, he fit right in. There was no rehearsal for it. So, despite all those years, nothing was reheased but it all came together. That’s the blues.
WITH SUCH A FULL LIFE, IT’S SURPRISING YOU HAVEN’T WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT YOUR CAREER. IT COULD BE A BEAUT. ANY THOUGHTS ON DOING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?
I did write one, but no one’s interested in it yet, so I’ll have to get more famous first. It’s several hundred pages long. We tried to find a publisher, but judging by their reaction, or non-reaction to it, to have a successful book, you have to have a successful and big name, so I’m still more or less and underground singer.
IF SOMEONE ASKED YOU WHAT TO START WITH YOUR FIVE FAVORITE ALBUMS, WHERE SHOULD HE START.
Well, the new one is a great place to start. The Jazz-Blues Fusion album is another aspect. Turning Point is another aspect, and then The Hard Road. That one has a Peter Green that we haven’t heard play like that in a long time. That’s a very special one.
STILL HUMBLE AND FILLED WITH CLASSIC BRITISH IRONIC HUMOR, JOHN MAYALL CONTINUES TO BE DEVOTED TO THE BLUES. USING HIS WELL TONED INSTINCTS, HE TEACHES AND REMINDS AMERICA ABOUT ONE OF ITS GREATEST EXPORTS. SEE AND HEAR THIS ICON AND LEARN FROM A BRIT THE REAL MEANING OF AMERICANA