Genres: Alternative/Indie,Soundtracks,Pop,RockJohn Mayer is a highly successful singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his incredible guitar playing skills. He has achieved worldwide success and continues to make a name for himself with award winning songs and impressive guitar riffs
John Mayer
"It's almost charity work, what people have done, turning other people on to my music."
John Mayer is a highly successful singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for his incredible guitar playing skills. He has achieved worldwide success and continues to make a name for himself with award winning songs and impressive guitar riffs
Love of Music
Born in Connecticut in October of 1977, John Mayer took to music quickly. He tried his hand at several instruments but at the age of 13 settled on the guitar. After two years of constant practice and lessons, Mayer began to play at bars and other nearby venues. Once he graduated from high school, he worked at a gas station for over a year until he could afford a 1996 Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Stratocaster.
At the age of 19, John Mayer enrolled in the Berkley College of Music located in Boston. He went for two semesters before he dropped out to move to Atlanta with a friend. The two formed a band that did not stay together for long due to creative differences. It was at that time that John Mayer moved on to become a solo artist.
Solo Success
John Mayer released an independent EP entitled Inside Wants Out. His former band mate helped him to write several of the songs on the album. It was not long before he was beginning to make a name for himself. In 2000, Aware Records got a hold of Mayer. They helped him to release an album available only online entitled Room for Squares. Aware Records worked a deal with Columbia that allowed them to re-release Mayer’s album.
In 2002, Room for Squares put John Mayer on the map. He won a Grammy award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his single Your Body is a Wonderland. The following year, Mayer released a CD and DVD album of him in concert in Alabama. It was not long before the album went to #17 on the Billboard 200.
In 2003, Mayer released his second studio album entitled Heavier Things. It did not sell quite as well as his Room for Squares album, but it did have plenty of commercial success. It went all the way to #1 on the Billboard 200 charts. In addition to this, his very first #1 single, Daughters won a Grammy for Song of the Year in 2005. Daughters became one of the most popular free mp3 downloaded songs of that year.
Collaborations
John Mayer decided it was time to change musical directions in 2004. He collaborated with hip hop artists such as Kanye West and Common. Once he began to move away from his old acoustic and ‘sensitive’ sound he began to work with other heavyweights. Mayer went back to his blues and jazz roots, doing songs with the likes of BB King, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy as well as John Scofield.
Continuum
In 2006, Mayer released Continuum. His first single, Waiting on the World to Change debuted at #25 on the Billboard 200. In addition to this, this song also won him the Grammy for Best Pop Song with Vocal. He also won Best Pop Album.
Recent Activity
In July of 2009, Mayer was one of the many musicians that performed at the memorial for Michael Jackson. He played an instrumental version of Human Nature.
Did You Know…
… after seeing the movie, Back to the Future he fell in love with the guitar
…wrote his award winning song Daughters while in the shower
… in addition to guitar, he has also played flute, clarinet as well as violin