John Mayer

John Mayer (born October 16, 1977, Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose melodic, often soft rock earned him a wide audience and a number of Grammy Awards in the early 21st century.

Having taken up guitar playing as a teenager, Mayer briefly attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music but never completed his studies. Moving to Atlanta, Georgia, he played frequently in local clubs with a band and as a solo act. In 1999 he independently released his debut EP, Inside Wants Out. After a 2000 performance at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, he signed with the Aware record label, which released the full-length album Room for Squares (2001). Columbia Records repackaged the album with additional material for a much higher-profile national release later in 2001. The songs “No Such Thing” and “Your Body Is a Wonderland” both became hits, and the latter earned Mayer a Grammy Award for best male pop vocal performance. Mayer’s next studio release, Heavier Things (2003), topped the Billboard album chart and featured the hit “Daughters,” which was honoured with two Grammy Awards, including song of the year.

Having established himself as a major presence in the world of adult-oriented alternative rock, Mayer sought to broaden the scope of his sound. Incorporating his long-standing interest in the blues, he formed the John Mayer Trio, and he collaborated with rappers Common and Kanye West. Continuum (2006), reflecting this new approach, was another commercial success. It also earned Mayer a Grammy for best pop vocal album, and its single “Waiting on the World to Change” won for best male pop vocal performance. He continued to be a Grammy favourite in 2009, picking up another award for best male pop vocal performance (for the single “Say,” from Continuum) and one for best solo rock performance (for “Gravity,” from the 2008 live album Where the Light Is). That same year Mayer released the album Battle Studies. Although it sold well, it was somewhat overshadowed by Mayer’s increasingly tabloid-friendly public persona; in contrast to his heartfelt, skillfully crafted music, he had become known as a wry, loose-talking playboy.

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Mayer returned in 2012 with the rootsy Born and Raised, on which he drew inspiration from 1970s folk-rock performers such as Neil Young. Paradise Valley (2013), while featuring guest appearances by pop singer Katy Perry and rhythm-and-blues performer Frank Ocean, followed in a similar vein. He returned to his earlier sound for The Search for Everything (2017), which earned decidedly mixed reviews. Sob Rock (2021) is his eighth studio album. In 2015 Mayer became a member of the touring band Dead & Company, which included some of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead.