Damn right I’ve got the blues. John Mayall has left this earthly stage. The godfather of British blues and a legend both sides of the Atlantic and, indeed, around the world, died this week at his home in California. He was 90.

Mayall was the supreme influencer (in a time before the word had any currency or even existence) and mentor of a generation of British musicians who would shape the contours of rock music, and by doing so, themselves become legends in rock music. It was like a family tree.

John Mayall was a mentor for a generation of British musicians.

Mayall’s influence in the 1960s was like an incubator. Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor, all young and immensely talented, spent time there. Mayall’s band the Bluesbreakers were the apogee of the burgeoning British blues scene.

Clapton went on to form Cream with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, while Peter Green formed Fleetwood Mac with John McVie (before the Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham incarnation). Taylor joined the Rolling Stones after the death of Brian Jones. The Bluesbreakers album featuring Clapton, colloquially known as the Beano album because of the cover, is regarded as a classic.

There is a nice circularity to Mayall’s career that such was his reach with the blues that it extended back across the Atlantic to the United States from whence it had once come to virgin fields and clubs of England.

He moved to the US more than 50 years ago, and stretched his talents further, delving into jazz and jazz/blues fusion. He worked with great musicians, of course, such as guitarist Harvey Mandel. The music never stopped.

British blues pioneer John Mayall performs with........

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