List of John Mayall band members
The band's original lineup included Mayall on vocals, keyboards and harmonica, guitarist Bernie Watson, bassist John McVie and drummer Peter Ward.
The final lineup of Mayall's solo band included bassist Greg Rzab (who first joined in 1999), drummer Jay Davenport (both since 2009) and guitarist Carolyn Wonderland (since 2018).
Early performers involved with the band included guitarists Sammy Prosser, Davey Graham and John Gilbey, bassists Ricky Brown and Pete Burford, and drummers Sam Stone, Brian Myall and Keith Robertson.
The first official lineup of the group introduced in July included guitarist Bernie Watson, bassist John McVie and drummer Peter Ward.
[18] At the same time, Mayall expanded the group with the addition of saxophonists Chris Mercer and Rip Kant, the latter of whom was replaced by Dick Heckstall-Smith in August.
[19] Mayall would subsequently relocate from London to Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California in August to continue his career as a solo artist, with Taylor joining him.
[18] Upon disbanding the Bluesbreakers and moving to the US, Mayall and Taylor recorded Blues from Laurel Canyon with bassist Steve Thompson and drummer Colin Allen.
[23] After the guitarist's departure, Mayall restructured his band to focus on more acoustic music; he replaced Taylor with Jon Mark, dropped Allen from the group, and added saxophonist Johnny Almond.
[24] In August, Mark and Almond left to form the eponymous group Mark-Almond,[25] and Mayall put together another lineup which included former Canned Heat members Harvey Mandel (guitar) and Larry Taylor (bass), as well as violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris.
[34] In early 1974, after recovering from a broken leg, Mayall restructured his band again for a planned European tour, retaining only Holloway and adding guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, returning bassist Larry Taylor and drummer Soko Richardson.
[36] After releasing The Latest Edition, the band's lineup changed again as Mayall, Taylor and Richardson added returning violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris and new members Rick Vito on guitar, Jay Spell on keyboards and Dee McKinnie on vocals.
[42][43] After releasing Bottom Line in 1979, an album recorded with various session musicians,[44] Mayall reunited with Mandel, who brought his backing band with him: bassist Angus Thomas, drummer Ruben Alvarez and vocalist Maggie Parker.
[51][52] Later in the year, Mayall introduced a new lineup of the Bluesbreakers, with Henry "Coco" Montoya and "Kal" David Raskin on guitars, Bobby Haynes on bass and Willie McNeil on drums, who recorded several tracks later released on the album Cross Country Blues.
[70][68] In 2003, Mayall released the live album 70th Birthday Concert, recorded earlier in the year with guests including former members Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor and Henry Lowther.
[72] By January, he had revealed the members of his eponymous group: lead guitarist Rocky Athas, returning bassist Greg Rzab, and new drummer Jay Davenport.
