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John Mayer Information
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'John Clayton Mayer' (born October 16, 1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) is a grammy winning singer-songwriter who plays pop music. In 2005, he made a transition towards the blues genre.
Early life
Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut and attended Fairfield Warde High School for his freshman, sophomore, and senior years. He attended Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Connecticut for his junior year, where he was enrolled in the Center for Global Studies Abroad (Then known as the Center for Japanese Studies Abroad), a magnet program for students in Fairfield County wanting to learn Japanese.
Mayer listened to pop music, but it was not until the age of thirteen that his inspiration for playing the guitar began. When a neighbor gave him a Stevie Ray Vaughan tape, Mayer discovered the blues and learned how to play the guitar. After two years of practice, he started playing at blues bars and other venues in the area. While in high school, he was in a band called Villanova Junction with Joe Beleznay, Tim Procaccini, and Rich Wolf.
After playing the guitar for several years, Mayer enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts at the age of 19. He soon realized that instead of studying music, he was more interested in writing and playing it. He chose to cut his studies short in favor of a move to Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career in earnest there, quickly making a name for himself in the local coffeehouse and club circuit.
Mainstream Success
In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the 2002 release of the single "Your Body Is A Wonderland" from the album Room for Squares."
In February of 2005, he was awarded the Male Pop vocal Grammy for his song "Daughters" from the album Heavier Things." For this award, he beat out such contenders as Elvis Costello, Josh Groban, Prince and Seal. This same year his songwriting ability gained recognition when he took home the Grammy Award for Song of the Year for his song "Daughters." He dedicated this award to his grandmother, Annie Hoffman, who passed away in May of 2004.
Mayer has toured with many groups, including Maroon 5, Guster, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, and Teitur. Some of his most popular and well-known songs include "Clarity," "Bigger Than My Body," "No Such Thing," and "Your Body Is a Wonderland."
Although John has maintained a reputation for being a sensitive singer-songwriter, he is also an accomplished guitarist. Influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, he accepted an invitation from Eric Clapton to play at the Crossroads Guitar Festival.
According to an interview on television, John admitted that he wrote, and still likes writing, his songs while being naked or while naked in the bathtub.
John allows audio taping at most live performances, and he also allows for the non-commercial trading of those recordings. The legal details are . He does this to give fans the opportunity to recreate the live experience. He also does this to encourage fan interaction. Trading recordings helped John become better known in the early stages of his career.
In the June 1, 2004 issue of Esquire, Mayer began a column called "Music Lessons with John Mayer." Each article features a lesson (some more scholarly than others) and his take on various topics, both personal and of popular interest. In the August, 2005 issue he invited readers to create music for orphaned lyrics he had written. The winner was Tim Fagan of L.A., as announced in the .
Change in Musical Direction
In 2005, he toured with the legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock which included a show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
Later in 2005, Mayer worked with hip hop artist and producer Kanye West, appearing on Common's "Go" and Kanye West's "Bittersweet". He seems to be hinting that his new album will have a hip hop sound, recently announcing he's "closing up shop on acoustic sensitive" because "it's not music out there right now. To me, hip-hop is where rock used to be."
Also in 2005, Mayer formed the John Mayer Trio with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan. The trio play a combination of blues and rock music. In November 2005, they released a live album called "Try!". One of the songs, "Who did you think I was?", references Mayer's decision to move away from acoustic pop music. In October 2005, the John Mayer Trio opened for the Rolling Stones.
Cultural impact
In an episode of the animated series Family Guy, the character Chris, in collaboration with a domineering pimple, spray paints the phrase '"That's enough, John Mayer"' in reference to the feelings some have regarding the singer's career.
Mayer also appeared in an episode of Chapelle's Show, where he and Dave Chapelle attempted to find out how white people react to electric guitar music, with humorous results.
Discography
(with U.S. chart positions)
Albums
*"Villanova Junction Demo" (indie release) (1995)
*"Lo-Fi Masters Demo" (indie release) (1999)
*"Inside Wants Out"(indie release) (1999)
*"Room for Squares" (2001) #8, 4x Platinum
*"Inside Wants Out" (label release) (2002) #22
*"Any Given Thursday" (live) (2003) #17, Platinum
*"Heavier Things" (2003) #1, 2x Platinum
*"As Is" (live) (2004) (Also a series of iTunes downloadable tracks)
*"Room for Squares" (Dual disc re-release) (2005)
*"Try!" (live) (2005)
*"Continuum" (to be released early 2006)
Singles
*"No Such Thing" (2002) #13 US, #23 Australia
*"Your Body is a Wonderland" (2002) #18 US, #20 Australia
*"Why Georgia" (2003) #8 US
*"Bigger Than My Body" (2004) #33 US, #34 Australia
*"Clarity" (2004) #13 US
*"Come Back To Bed" (2004)
*"Daughters" (2004) #19 US, #44 Australia, #3 Netherlands
Guest contributions
*From Rusholme with Love - from On the Ropes (1999), (Mayer contributes vocals)
*83 - from Serendipity Original Movie Soundtrack (2001)
*Not Myself - from the How to Deal Soundtrack (2003)
*Back to You - from Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!: Music From The Motion Picture (2004)
*Go (feat. Kanye West and John Mayer) - from Be (2005) (Mayer contributes guitar and background vocals)
*I've Got Dreams To Remember - from Bring 'Em In (2005)
*I Don't Need No Doctor - from That's What I Say: John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles (2005)
*Streetcorner Symphony - from Rob Thomas's album Something to Be - (Mayer contributes guitar)
*Hummingbird - from 80 (2005)
*Stitched Up (featuring John Mayer) - from Possibilities (2005)
*Bittersweet - from Graduation (2006)
'Note:' See John Mayer Trio for his discography with that group.''
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