John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers were an English blues rock band led by multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter John Mayall. The band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues musicians. Many of the best known bands to come out of Britain in the 1960s and 1970s had members that came through the Bluesbreakers at one time, forming the foundation of British blues music that is still played heavily on classic rock radio. Among those with a tenure in the Bluesbreakers are guitarists Eric Clapton (later of Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominos and a successful solo career), Peter Green (later of Fleetwood Mac) and Mick Taylor (later of the Rolling Stones), bassists John McVie (later of Fleetwood Mac), Jack Bruce (later of Cream) and Tony Reeves (later of Colosseum), drummers Hughie Flint, Aynsley Dunbar (later of Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Journey and Jefferson Starship), Mick Fleetwood (later of Fleetwood Mac) and Jon Hiseman (later of Colosseum), and numerous others.

Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1970, then dropped it for twelve years. In 1982, a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced, and the name was used until the band again dissolved in 2008. The name has become generic, without a clear distinction between recordings by Mayall alone and those by Mayall and his band.