Watch Rare Footage of Mick Taylor playing with Bluesbreakers in 1968

There have been countless British bands that served as a hatchery for musicians who would eventually rise greatly in their own ways. Among those was John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, which served as a driving force of legends at one point. These legends are the following: Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Aynsley Dunbar, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor. Each of them would eventually find a band that would make them extremely popular. Below, we’ll watch a clip of Mick Taylor playing guitar back in 1968 as part of the band.

At 16, Taylor was first exposed to the music of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. This was at The Hop, a club in Welwyn Garden City, where he saw the band in 1965. There was no sign of Eric Clapton that evening for whatever reason, and so while the band was on the break, the self-assured Mick Taylor went up to John Mayall and asked if he could fill in, citing his familiarity with the band’s material. Mayall was hesitant at first but ultimately decided to go along. By 1966, Peter Green decided to leave the group, and so Mayall had put up audition flyers for those who aspire to join. Taylor saw the ad, went on to audition, and before he knew it, he was accepted immediately, given how he wowed the audience last year.

Mick Taylor also lucked out when he joined the Rolling Stones in 1969. When Stones’ vocalist Mick Jagger met John Mayall, the latter then recommended Taylor for the Let it Bleed sessions. Taylor impressed Jagger and Keith Richards so much that he was immediately hired as a replacement for Brian Jones. In 1974, he left the band.

Watch the video below.