John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Throughout the '60s, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers acted as a finishing school for the leading British blues-rock musicians of the era. Guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor joined Mayall's band in remarkable succession in the mid-'60s, honing their chops with Mayall before going on to join Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and the Rolling Stones, respectively. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Andy Fraser (of Free), John Almond, and Jon Mark also played and recorded with the band for varying lengths of times in the '60s. Doing his best to provide a context in which these musicians could play Chicago-style electric blues, Mayall was never complacent, writing most of his own material, revamping his lineup with unnerving regularity, and constantly experimenting within his basic blues format.