We are going to mix it up this morning. Instead of focusing on one song, let’s hit 3 with 3 different guitarists. John Mayall is one of those people whose influence is much larger than his record sales would suggest. Before the blogs, I read about the guy but never knew much about him. I can’t tell you how much I think this man gave to blues and rock.
Mayall became one of the central figures in the British blues movement of the 1960s. His Bluesbreakers became almost a school for musicians. John McVie, Jack Bruce, Mick Fleetwood, and Aynsley Dunbar all passed through at different times. Think about that for a second. That is crazy talent and led to iconic bands. Then there were the guitar players.
Eric Clapton. Peter Green. Mick Taylor.
That’s a damn great list!
What I like is that they didn’t sound alike. Mayall didn’t seem interested in finding another Eric Clapton every time somebody left. He found great players and gave them room to be themselves. You can hear that by picking three songs from three different periods.
Looking Back – Peter Green
Peter Green had one of the toughest jobs imaginable when he joined the Bluesbreakers. He replaced Eric Clapton, who had become a guitar hero during his time with Mayall. Green didn’t try to become another Clapton. His playing was more economical and sometimes darker. This song, originally written and recorded by Johnny “Guitar” Watson, gives us an early glimpse of Green with Mayall. It’s a short song, but Green gets plenty into it without taking it over. Green would soon leave Mayall and take John McVie with him to form Fleetwood Mac. Mick Fleetwood joined them shortly afterward.
Oh, Pretty Woman – Mick Taylor
Then Mayall had to replace Peter Green.
Enter 18-year-old Mick Taylor.
This song appeared on the 1967 album Crusade. The song came from Albert King, which gave Taylor some serious shoes to fill before he even played a note. What strikes me is how mature Taylor already sounds. He isn’t just playing fast because he can. His guitar lines are clean and melodic and you can already hear some of the qualities he would later bring to the Rolling Stones. Taylor stayed with Mayall for about two years before joining the Stones in 1969.
Mayall had now watched Eric Clapton leave for Cream, Peter Green leave to form Fleetwood Mac, and Mick Taylor leave for the Rolling Stones. Everytime he lost someone, he would pick up another future legend.
Prisons on the Road – Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton eventually came back. This song appeared on Mayall’s 1971 album Back to the Roots. The album was something of a reunion, with several former Mayall musicians returning to play with him. Clapton was among them, along with Mick Taylor and others.
By this point Clapton had already gone through Cream, Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos. He wasn’t the young guitarist who had joined the Bluesbreakers a few years earlier. But hearing him back with Mayall brings the story around nicely. That’s what people keep coming back to with Mayall.
The Bluesbreakers changed constantly, but Mayall was the center of it. He gave young musicians a place to play blues seriously and then watched many of them move on to some of the biggest bands of their generation.
Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor. Three very different guitar players.
One John Mayall.
Oh Pretty Woman
Oh, pretty woman, you’s a rising sun
You say your cheap change in powder ain’t gonna help you none
‘Cause you’s a pretty woman right down to your toes
So you just might as well leave your skin alone
Pretty woman, what’s the matter with you?
Can’t make you love me no matter what I do
Oh, pretty woman, what you trying to do?
You kept on fooling ’round just like I stepped on you
So you just drop that mask and come down off your throne
Stop using my poor heart as just a stepping stone
Pretty woman, what’s the matter with you?
Can’t make you love me no matter what I do
Oh, pretty woman, that’s all right for you
But you just go on doing what you want to do
Some day when you think that you have got it made
You’re gonna need my help, and it’ll be too late
Pretty woman, what’s the matter with you?
Can’t make you love me no matter what I do
Can’t make you love me no matter what I do