The Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall, is proud to announce the upcoming release of his newly restored album, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Live in 1967 – Volume Three. It is the 3rd and final Volume in the series and will be released on September 8, 2023, via Forty Below Records. This recording features the original lineup of Fleetwood Mac – Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood. 2016's Live in 1967 - Volume Two was hailed as a "welcome second helping" by Rolling Stone. The first single, "Stand Baby Baby" will be released on Friday, July 14th, pre-save the track here. Pre-Order Volume Three Here.
One of the most influential bands in Classic Rock history, recorded by dedicated fan Tom Huissen who took his one-channel reel-to-reel tape recorder to five London clubs in 1967, these historical performances were unheard of for fifty years. Recently, Mayall obtained the tapes & began restoring them with technical assistance from Eric Corne of Forty Below Records. Corne adds, “While the source recording was very rough and the final result is certainly not hi-fidelity, it does succeed in allowing us to hear how spectacular these performances are.” Over a 2-year period, the band also featured Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor of The Rolling Stones.
Mayall, who turned 89 last November, earned his 2nd Grammy® nomination in 2023 for his last album, The Sun is Shining Down. The Sun is Shining Down was Mayall’s 5th studio album co-produced with Eric Corne, for Forty Below Records, a fruitful partnership that began with 2014’s A Special Life. Mayall's recent Forty Below Releases have featured a diverse group of guests, including Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt, Joe Bonamassa, Marcus King, Rush's Alex Lifeson, and The Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell.
About John Mayall
For over 50 years, John Mayall has served as a pioneer of blues music, rightly earning him the title, "The Godfather of British Blues." In 2013, John signed with producer Eric Corne's label, Forty Below Records, and has been experiencing a true artistic and career renaissance, including a Blues Hall of Fame induction in 2015.
John Mayall was born on the 29th of November 1933 and grew up in a village not too far from Manchester, England. At 14, Mayall went to Manchester's Junior School of Art and began to learn the basics of the blues, inspired by the 78s in his father's record collection initially inspired by guitarists Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGhee, Josh White, and Leadbelly. However, once he heard the sounds of boogie-woogie piano giants Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson, and Meade Lux Lewis, his desire to play in that style was a new priority. And a couple of years later, he was drawn towards the harmonica, inspired by Sonny Terry, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Little Walter.
In 1962, British musicians Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies had opened a club in Ealing devoted to blues music. After Britain's ten-year traditional jazz boom had about run its course, a new generation brought out the amplifiers, guitars, and harmonicas, and out came young enthusiasts from all over the country eager to form their groups. Thirty-year-old Mayall moved from Manchester to London and began putting musicians together under the banner of the Bluesbreakers. After a couple of years and many personnel changes, Eric Clapton quit the Yardbirds, and John quickly offered him the job as his new guitarist. Although John had previously released a couple of singles and a live LP for Decca, the now classic collaboration between Eric and John resulted in the all-time best-selling classic album, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton. However, by the time it was entering the charts, Clapton and bassist Jack Bruce had left to form Cream. So began a succession of future stars who would define their roots under John's leadership before departing to start their own groups. Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood became Fleetwood Mac. Andy Fraser formed Free, and Mick Taylor joined the Rolling Stones.
In 1969, with his popularity blossoming in the USA, John made a permanent move from England to Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles and began forming bands with American musicians. Throughout the '70s, John became further revered for his many jazz/rock/blues innovations featuring such notable performers as Blue Mitchell, Red Holloway, Larry Taylor, and Harvey Mandel.
In 1982, John decided to re-form the original Bluesbreakers. Colin John McVie and Mick Taylor, and Colin Allen signed on for a couple of tours and a video concert film entitled Blues Alive. Featured greats were Albert King, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Etta James. In 1984, John launched a new incarnation of the Bluesbreakers featuring future stars in their own right, guitarists Coco Montoya and Walter Trout.
Throughout the '80s and '90s, John's popularity went from strength to strength with a succession of dynamic albums such as Behind The Iron Curtain, Chicago Line, A Sense of Place, and the Grammy-nominated Wake Up Call that featured guest artists Buddy Guy, Mavis Staples, Albert Collins, and Mick Taylor.
In 1993, guitarist Buddy Whittington joined the Bluesbreakers and energized the band with his unique and fiery ideas for the next ten years. Making his recording debut on John's Spinning Coin album. Other modern classics followed; Blues For the Lost Days and Padlock On The Blues, featuring a rare collaboration with his close friend, John Lee Hooker. On Along For The Ride, John re-teamed with a number of his former mates, including Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie, as well as ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Steve Miller, Billy Preston, Steve Cropper, Otis Rush, Gary Moore, and Jeff Healey. In addition, the younger generation was well represented by teenage guitar sensations Shannon Curfman and Jonny Lang. In 2002, Stories debuted on the Billboard blues charts at #1.
At a 70th Birthday celebration in aid of UNICEF in Liverpool, a concert was filmed, recorded, and released as a DVD and double CD in December 2003. Along with the Bluesbreakers, it featured old friends Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, and Chris Barber. The BBC also aired an hour-long documentary entitled The Godfather of British Blues to coincide with the release of Road Dogs. In 2005, John was awarded an OBE on The Queen's Honours list. In the Spring of 2007, John Mayall's 56th album release, In The Palace Of The King, was an album that paid tribute to Freddie King.
Over the last ten years, John released live recordings on his own label, Private Stash Records. They included Time Capsule (containing historic 1957-62 live tapes), UK Tour 2K (from a 2000 British tour), Boogie Woogie Man (a selection of solo performances), Cookin' Down Under (a live DVD from Australia), and No Days Off, (another British live show) and a 3 volume CD set of live performances covering the years 1970 to 1998 entitled Historic Live Shows.
In October 2008, John Mayall decided to retire the name "Bluesbreakers permanently." Early in 2009, Eagle Records called upon John to develop a new album, and John put together a new band featuring guitarist Rocky Athas, bassist Greg Rzab and drummer Jay Davenport. Along with keyboardist Tom Canning, they recorded the album Tough. For the next seven years, John and the band continued to tour extensively worldwide, playing well over a hundred shows per year. In 2010 a concert in London was filmed, and Live in London was released as a double CD and DVD through Private Stash.
After being invited to do a guest spot on Walter Trout's The Blues Came Calling album, John re-connected with engineer/producer Eric Corne and the two recorded A Special Life. The album was released on Corne's Forty Below Records in 2014 to rave reviews, followed by an extensive tour of North America, Europe, and The UK to celebrate John's 80th birthday.
In April 2015, John and Forty Below thrilled the blues world with the release of the historical Bluesbreakers album, Live In 1967, featuring the three original members of Fleetwood Mac: Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood. Live in 1967 - Volume Two followed in 2016 and was hailed as a "welcome second helping" by Rolling Stone.
Following Mayall's internationally-acclaimed, Find A Way To Care (2015.) was the release of Talk About That (2016,) which featured Joe Walsh on two tracks. People Magazine called the album "A master class in Blues," and American Songwriter praised it as "A brand new masterpiece from a man who has made masterpieces for decades."
Three for the Road (2018) featured cuts drawn from two concerts recorded live in Germany in 2017. "The title is a nod to the trio format featured on Mayall's 2017 world tour, which includes longtime bassist Greg Rzab and drummer Jay Davenport.
Mayall's 2019 release, Nobody Told Me, boasted an impressive list of guest guitarists, including Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Joe Bonamassa, Larry McCray, and Carolyn Wonderland. The album was recorded at The Foo Fighters' Studio 606 on the same legendary Sound City Neve console his one-time protégés from Fleetwood Mac used to record parts of the best-selling Rumours album.
TRACK LISTING
Brand New Start (Manor House)
Tears In My Eyes (Manor House)
Stand Back Baby (Bromley)
Greeny (Ram Jam)
Talk to Your Daughter (Klooks Kleek)
Your Funeral and My Trial (Manor House)
The Stumble (Manor House)
Double Trouble (Bromley)
Produced by John Mayall and Eric Corne
Pre-Save "Stand Back Baby" Here.
Pre-Order Live in 1967 - Volume Three Here
JOHN MAYALL'S DISCOGRAPHY here.
