1903 Big Joe Williams*
1935 Sugar Pie DeSanto*
1965 Carin Bertenbreiter*
1977 John Mayer*
1997 Jimmy Walker+
John Lee Sanders*
Happy Birthday
Big Joe Williams *16.10.1903
Big Joe Williams (* 16. Oktober 1903 in Crawford, Mississippi, USA; † 17. Dezember 1982 in Macon, Mississippi), eigentlich Joseph Lee Williams, war ein US-amerikanischer Blues-Gitarrist, Sänger und Songschreiber. Er galt als einer der streitlustigsten, gleichzeitig aber begabtesten Musiker des Delta Blues.
In seinen jungen Jahren war Big Joe Williams ständig unterwegs, um zwischen New Orleans und Chicago den Blues zu spielen, wo immer dies möglich war. In den 1930ern verbrachte er einige Zeit im Gefängnis.
Im Jahre 1935 machte er seine ersten Aufnahmen unter eigenem Namen, darunter auch seinen wohl bekanntesten Song Baby Please Don’t Go (als Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers). 1937 war er zusammen mit Sonny Boy Williamson I. im Studio.
Nach etlichen 78-rpm-Schallplatten erschien 1958 sein erstes Album, Piney Woods Blues, auf dem Delmar Label. 1962 erhielt das Album Blues on Highway 49 den „Grand Prix du Disque de Jazz“ des „Hot Club of France“. In der Folge trat Williams im Rahmen des American Folk Blues Festival auch in Europa auf.
Charlie Musselwhite berichtet, dass er zusammen mit Williams in Chicago das Blues-Revival der 1960er auslöste. Mike Bloomfield beschrieb seine Erfahrungen mit Williams in dem Dokument Me and Big Joe. Williams machte auch Aufnahmen mit Bob Dylan. Bekannt ist vor allem sein Spiel auf einer Gitarre mit neun Saiten, so auch im oben abgebildeten „Folk Blues Festival“ in Hamburg.
Big Joe Williams starb 1982 in Macon (Mississippi). 1992 wurde er in die „Blues Hall of Fame“ aufgenommen. Auf seiner Grabstelle in Crawford wurde 1994 ein Grabstein aus Granit errichtet.
Joseph Lee Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982),[2] billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter,[1] notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over four decades, he recorded such songs as "Baby Please Don't Go", "Crawlin' King Snake" and "Peach Orchard Mama" for a variety of record labels, including Bluebird, Delmark, Okeh, Prestige and Vocalion.[3] Williams was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame on October 4, 1992.[4]
Blues historian Barry Lee Pearson (Sounds Good to Me: The Bluesman's Story, Virginia Piedmont Blues) attempted to document the gritty intensity of the Williams persona in this description:
"When I saw him playing at Mike Bloomfield's "blues night" at the Fickle Pickle, Williams was playing an electric nine-string guitar through a small ramshackle amp with a pie plate nailed to it and a beer can dangling against that. When he played, everything rattled but Big Joe himself. The total effect of this incredible apparatus produced the most buzzing, sizzling, African-sounding music I have ever heard".[3]
From busking to Bluebird
Born in Crawford, Mississippi,[5] Williams as a youth began wandering across the United States busking and playing stores, bars, alleys and work camps. In the early 1920s he worked in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels revue and recorded with the Birmingham Jug Band in 1930 for the Okeh label.[4]
In 1934, he was in St. Louis, where he met record producer Lester Melrose who signed him to Bluebird Records in 1935.[6] He stayed with Bluebird for ten years, recording such blues hits as "Baby, Please Don't Go" (1935) and "Crawlin' King Snake" (1941), both songs later covered by many other performers. He also recorded with other blues singers, including Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk and Peetie Wheatstraw.[4]
Festival fame
Williams remained a noted blues artist in the 1950s and 1960s, with his guitar style and vocals becoming popular with folk-blues fans. He recorded for the Trumpet, Delmark, Prestige and Vocalion labels, among others. He became a regular on the concert and coffeehouse circuits, touring Europe and Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970s and performing at major U.S. music festivals.[4]
Marc Miller described a 1965 performance in Greenwich Village:
"Sandwiched in between the two sets, perhaps as an afterthought, was the bluesman Big Joe Williams (not to be confused with the jazz and rhythm and blues singer Joe Williams who sang with Count Basie). He looked terrible. He had a big bulbous aneuristic protrusion bulging out of his forehead. He was equipped with a beat up old acoustic guitar which I think had nine strings and sundry homemade attachments and a wire hanger contraption around his neck fashioned to hold a kazoo while keeping his hands free to play the guitar. Needless to say, he was a big letdown after the folk rockers. My date and I exchanged pained looks in empathy for what was being done this Delta blues man who was ruefully out of place. After three or four songs the unseen announcer came on the p. a. system and said, "Lets have a big hand for Big Joe Williams, ladies and gentlemen; thank you, Big Joe". But Big Joe wasn't finished. He hadn't given up on the audience, and he ignored the announcer. He continued his set and after each song the announcer came over the p. a. and tried to politely but firmly get Big Joe off the stage. Big Joe was having none of it, and he continued his set with his nine-string acoustic and his kazoo. Long about the sixth or seventh song he got into his groove and started to wail with raggedy slide guitar riffs, powerful voice, as well as intense percussion on the guitar and its various accoutrements. By the end of the set he had that audience of jaded '60s rockers on their feet cheering and applauding vociferously. Our initial pity for him was replaced by wondrous respect. He knew he had it in him to move that audience, and he knew that thousands of watts and hundreds of decibels do not change one iota the basic power of a song".[7]
Williams' guitar playing was in the Delta blues style, and yet was unique. He played driving rhythm and virtuosic lead lines simultaneously and sang over it all. He played with picks both on his thumb and index finger, plus his guitar was heavily modified. Williams added a rudimentary electric pick-up, whose wires coiled all over the top of his guitar. He also added three extra strings, creating unison pairs for the first, second and fourth strings. His guitar was usually tuned to Open G, like such: (D2 G2 D3D3 G3 B3B3 D4D4), with a capo placed on the second fret to set the tuning to the key of A. During the 1920s and 1930s, Williams had gradually added these extra strings in order to keep other guitar players from being able to play his guitar. In his later years, he would also occasionally use a 12-string guitar with all strings tuned in unison to Open G. Williams sometimes tuned a six-string guitar to an interesting modification of Open G. In this modified tuning, the bass D string (D2) was replaced with a .08 gauge string and tuned to G4. The resulting tuning was (G4 G2 D3 G3 B3 D4), with the G4 string being used as a melody string. This tuning was used exclusively for slide playing.[8]
Back to Mississippi
He died December 17, 1982 in Macon, Mississippi.[2][4] Williams was buried in a private cemetery outside Crawford near the Lowndes County line. His headstone was primarily paid for by friends and partially funded by a collection taken up among musicians at Clifford Antone's nightclub in Austin, Texas, organized by California music writer Dan Forte, and erected through the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund on October 9, 1994. Harmonica virtuoso and one time touring companion of Williams, Charlie Musselwhite, delivered the eulogy at the unveiling. Williams' headstone epitaph, composed by Forte, proclaims him "King of the 9 String Guitar."[9][10]
Remaining funds raised for Williams' memorial were donated by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund to the Delta Blues Museum in order to purchase the last nine-string guitar from Williams' sister Mary May. The guitar purchased by the Museum is actually a 12-string guitar that Williams used in his later days. The last nine-string (a 1950s Kay cutaway converted to Williams' nine-string specifications) is missing at this time. Williams' previous nine-string (converted from a 1944 Gibson L-7 presented to him by Wilson Ramsay, aka "Beef Stew," a name given to him by Williams) is in the possession of Williams' road agent and fellow traveler, Blewett Thomas.
One of Williams' nine-string guitars can be found under the counter of the Jazz Record Mart in Chicago, which is owned by Bob Koester, the founder of Delmark Records. Williams can be seen playing the nine-string guitar in American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours, 1963-1966, a 2007 DVD release.
Big Joe Williams - Sugar Diabetes Blues
John Mayer *16.10.1977
John Clayton Mayer (* 16. Oktober 1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) ist ein US-amerikanischer Singer/Songwriter und Gitarrist, der bereits sieben Mal mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnet wurde. Seine Songs verbinden die Stilrichtungen R&B, Rock, Pop und Blues.
Leben
John Mayer kam 1977 als Sohn von Margaret (Englisch-Lehrerin) und Richard Mayer (Direktor einer High School) zur Welt. Er wuchs als zweiter von drei Söhnen in der Nähe von Fairfield auf und besuchte dort die High School.
Mayer spielte eine Weile Klarinette, jedoch mit wenig Erfolg. Als er die Gitarreneinlage von Marty McFly (gespielt von Michael J. Fox) in „Zurück in die Zukunft“ sah, begann er sich für dieses Instrument zu interessieren. Als er 13 war, soll sein Vater eine Gitarre für ihn ausgeliehen und ein Nachbar ihm eine Kassette von Stevie Ray Vaughan gegeben haben, was sein Interesse für Blues geweckt habe. Nach zwei Jahren Üben trat er in Blues Bars und anderen Lokalitäten auf. Er wurde Mitglied einer Band, die sich Villanova Junction nannte.
Als Mayer 17 Jahre alt war, ließ er sich wegen Herzrhythmusstörungen behandeln. Später beschrieb er diese Zeit als den Beginn seiner Arbeit als Songwriter. Nach seiner Entlassung aus dem Krankenhaus schrieb er erste Textpassagen. Nach seinem Schulabschluss arbeitete er 15 Monate lang an einer Tankstelle, um sich seine erste richtige Gitarre kaufen zu können, eine 1996er Stevie Ray Vaughan Signature Fender Stratocaster.
Musikalische Karriere
Mayer besuchte ab dem Wintersemester 1997 das Berklee College of Music in Boston, das er jedoch bereits im zweiten Semester wieder verließ. In Berklee hatte er sich zunächst als Gitarrist weiterentwickeln wollen, er konzentrierte sich aber zunehmend auf das Songwriting.[1] In einem Interview sagte er dazu später, dass er das Ziel, „der beste Gitarrist überhaupt zu werden“, zu Beginn des zweiten Semesters aufgegeben habe, da es unerreichbar sei. Er habe vielmehr erkannt, dass es darauf ankomme, „hörbar“ zu sein.[2]
Anstatt weiter zu studieren, ging er im Sommer 1998 zusammen mit seinem Studienfreund Clay Cook nach Atlanta, um eine Musikerkarriere in Angriff zu nehmen. Zusammen schrieben sie Songs und spielten in verschiedenen Clubs. Nach einer Weile beendeten sie ihre Zusammenarbeit aufgrund musikalischer Differenzen, Mayer blieb in Atlanta und trat nun als Solokünstler auf. In dieser Zeit spielte er vermehrt die akustische Gitarre, da sie ihm die Möglichkeit gab, auch ohne Band aufzutreten.[1]
Mit Hilfe von Glenn Matuloo nahm er seine erste EP Inside Wants Out auf. Die meisten der acht Songs entstammen der Zusammenarbeit mit Clay Cook, unter anderem auch die erste erfolgreiche Single „No Such Thing".[1] Für den ersten Song "Back to You" wurde eine gesamte Band engagiert, darunter auch der Koproduzent der EP, David Labruyere, am Bass. Mayer und Labruyere gingen daraufhin auf Tour.
Erste Erfolge
Im März 2000 wurde nach einem Auftritt bei der South by Southwest Conference Aware Records, ein Nachwuchs-Label von Columbia, auf ihn aufmerksam. Nach mehreren Festivalauftritten veröffentlichte Aware im Frühjahr 2001 sein Debütalbum Room for Squares, zunächst aber nur im Internet. Nach einer Vereinbarung mit Columbia veröffentlichte diese im September desselben Jahres das Album Room for Squares, das künstlerisch überarbeitet und um den Song "3x5" ergänzt wurde. Das Album brachte zahlreiche Radiohits in den USA hervor, darunter "No Such Thing", "Your Body Is a Wonderland" und "Why Georgia". 2003 gewann John Mayer für "Your Body Is a Wonderland" einen Grammy in der Kategorie Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
2003 veröffentlichte er seine erste Live-CD/DVD Any Given Thursday und im selben Jahr erschien sein zweites Studioalbum Heavier Things. Obwohl das Album kommerziell nicht so erfolgreich war wie Room for Squares landete es ebenso wie die Single Daughters auf Nummer eins der US Billboard Charts. Der Song wurde sogar mit einem Grammy als Song of the Year ausgezeichnet. Außerdem bekam Mayer einen Grammy als Best Male Pop Vocal. 2006 wurde er in der Songwriter Hall of Fame mit dem David Starlight Award geehrt.
2004 nahm er Livekonzerte seiner US-Tournee auf, diese wurden auf iTunes veröffentlicht unter dem Titel AS/IS. Mayer machte Werbung für Apple, Volkswagen und Blackberry.
Veränderung im Musikstil
Mayer begann mit verschiedenen Künstlern außerhalb seines Genres zu arbeiten. Er arbeitete an dem Song "Go!" von Common (Kanye West, MK12, Convert, Jason Webb, Rosali), des Weiteren war er an Kanye Wests "Bittersweet Poetry" beteiligt. Mayer erntete großes Lob von gestandenen Größen des Hip-Hop wie z. B. Jay-Z oder Nelly. Mayer antwortete auf die Frage, warum er in der Hip-Hop-Szene auftaucht, "It's not music out there right now. That's why, to me, hip-hop is where rock used to be".
In dieser Zeit veränderte Mayer seinen Stil und entfernte sich mehr und mehr vom Acoustic-Pop. 2005 begann er mit Blues-Größen wie mit B.B. King, Buddy Guy und Eric Clapton oder mit den Jazz-Größen John Scofield und Herbie Hancock zusammenzuarbeiten. Mayer ließ immer mehr Blues und Jazz in seine Musik einfließen. In seinem Spielstil ließ er sich von Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Cray und Freddie King beeinflussen. Seit seinem Album Born and Raised, das 2012 erschienen ist, sind seine Lieder zunehmend von Country-Musik inspiriert. So entfernte sich sein Stil wieder etwas von der ursprünglichen Blues-, Jazz- bzw. Pop-Sparte.
John Mayer Trio und Try!
Am 15. Januar 2005 trat Mayer zusammen mit dem Bassisten Pino Palladino und dem Schlagzeuger Steve Jordan im Rahmen eines Benefizkonzertes für die Opfer der Seebeben im Indischen Ozean 2004 auf.[3] Nach diesem Auftritt schlug er vor, weiter als Trio zusammenzuarbeiten, woraufhin die drei Musiker noch im selben Jahr als John Mayer Trio auf Tour gingen.[4]
Im Rahmen dieser Tour entstand das Live-Album Try! John Mayer Trio Live in Concert, das am 22. November 2005 veröffentlicht wurde. Neben eigens für das Trio geschriebenen Titeln sind auch eine Neuinterpretation von „Daughters“ sowie mit „Wait Until Tomorrow“ (Jimi Hendrix Experience) und „I Got a Woman“ (Ray Charles) zwei Cover berühmter Bluesmusiker enthalten. 2006 war Try! in der Kategorie Best Rock Album für einen Grammy nominiert.[5]
Die Continuum-Ära
Die Gründung des John Mayer Trio ging einher mit dem Beginn der Aufnahmen zu Mayers drittem Studioalbum, für das er schon zuvor Steve Jordan als Koproduzenten engagiert hatte.[6] Continuum erschien am 12. September 2006 in den USA,[7] am 19. Januar 2007 in Deutschland.[8]
Als Singles wurden „Waiting on the World to Change“, „Gravity“ und „Dreaming with a Broken Heart“ ausgekoppelt, die sich in den US-Charts gut platzierten. Continuum stieg auf Platz 2 in die Billboard Top 200 ein und wurde zweifach mit Platin ausgezeichnet.[9]
Nach Meinung der Kritik markiert das Album einen wichtigen Schritt in Mayers Entwicklung als Musiker,[10] Mayer selbst spricht davon, dass er durch Continuum einen Sprung nach vorne gemacht habe.[6] Insgesamt wurde das Album positiv aufgenommen[10][11] und 2007 als Album Of The Year für einen Grammy nominiert. Es gewann den Grammy schließlich als Best Pop Vocal Album, zudem wurde Mayer für „Waiting on the World to Change“ der Grammy für den besten Pop-Song eines männlichen Künstlers (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) verliehen.[12] Nominiert war Mayer zudem in der Kategorie Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance für „Route 66“ aus dem Soundtrack zu Cars.[5]
Nur drei Monate nach Continuum veröffentlichte Mayer die EP The Village Sessions, die er zusammen mit Robbie McIntosh einspielte.[13] Enthalten sind akustische Versionen von Songs, die zuvor bereits auf Continuum oder Try! erschienen waren, sowie eine Aufnahme von „Waiting on the World to Change“ mit Ben Harper als Gastmusiker.[14] Die auf der EP enthaltene Version von „Belief“ wurde am 6. Dezember 2007 in der Kategorie Best Male Pop Vocal Performance für die Grammy Awards 2008 nominiert.[15]
Am 1. Juli 2008 erschien mit Where the Light Is Mayers viertes Live-Album. das am 8. Dezember 2007 bei einem außergewöhnlichen Konzert im Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles aufgezeichnet wurde. Neben einem Solo-Auftritt sind sowohl eine Performance des John Mayer Trio als auch ein fast einstündiger Auftritt mit der kompletten Band enthalten. Das Album wurde auch als Konzertfilm veröffentlicht, für den einige Backstage-Aufnahmen gedreht wurden. Where the Light Is war bei den Grammy Awards 2009 in der Kategorie Long Term Video nominiert, für die bei diesem Konzert entstandene Live-Aufnahme von „Gravity“ wurde Mayer in der Kategorie Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance ausgezeichnet.[16]
Zudem gewann Mayer mit dem Song „Say“, den er für den Film Das Beste kommt zum Schluss geschrieben hatte, in der Kategorie Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Nominiert war der Titel auch als bester Filmsong, darüber hinaus war Mayer für seine Zusammenarbeit mit Alicia Keys bei dem Titel „Lesson Learned“ für die Auszeichnung vorgeschlagen worden.[16]
Am 7. Juli 2009 trat Mayer als einer von vielen Künstlern auf der Trauerfeier für Michael Jackson auf und spielte eine Instrumental-Version von dessen Song "Human Nature".[17]
Nach mehr als einjähriger Pause veröffentlichte er am 17. November 2009 sein viertes Studioalbum Battle Studies, das er wieder in Zusammenarbeit mit Steve Jordan produzierte.
Im Frühjahr 2012 gab John Mayer bekannt, sein neues Album „Born and Raised“ am 22. Mai 2012 zu veröffentlichen.
Andere Projekte
Benefizprojekte
Mayer engagiert sich für den Umweltschutz und trat auf diversen Benefiz-Veranstaltungen auf. 2007 gründete er "Another Kind of Green", eine Organisation, die den Problemen der globalen Erwärmung gewidmet ist.[18]
Im Jahre 2002 gründete Mayer die "Back to You"-Stiftung, die sich mit Hilfe eines Fonds für Gesundheitspflege, Bildung, Kunst und Talentförderung einsetzt.[19] Sie bezieht ihre Gelder sowohl über Spenden als auch über von Mayer organisierte Auktionen. Nach dem Amoklauf an der Virginia Tech trat er mit vielen anderen Stars zu einem kostenlosen Konzert auf.
Als Zeichen der Unterstützung für Tibet und den Dalai Lama nahm Mayer zusammen mit Sting, Suzanne Vega, Alanis Morissette und anderen Musikern das Album Songs for Tibet auf.[20]
Gitarrendesign
Im Jahr 2003 bekam Mayer eine Signature der Traditionsfirma Martin Guitars, die nach seinen Wünschen und Designvorstellungen gebaut wurde. Das Modell trägt den Namen OM-28 John Mayer. 2005 unterschrieb Mayer einen Signature-Vertrag mit Fender. Hier ließ er sich zwei Signature Stratocasters bauen sowie eine dritte Stratocaster mit einem charakteristischen "Racing Stripe" auf dem Body der Gitarre. Im Januar 2006 veröffentlichte Martin die zweite Signature, die OMJM, die der ersten ähnlich ist, jedoch im Preis etwas günstiger. 2007 erweiterte Fender das Sortiment an John-Mayer-Signature-Gitarren. Im Februar 2009 wurde bekanntgegeben, dass Fender und Mayer an einer neuen Version der bekanntesten Gitarre Mayers, der "Black Relic", arbeiten.[21] Die Gitarre soll "The Black One" heißen und in zwei Versionen erscheinen, einer extrem limitierten Auflage von 83 Stück und einer für ein Jahr unlimitiert erhältlichen günstigeren Variante.
John Mayer, der als passionierter Gitarrenliebhaber und Sammler gilt, besitzt heute um die 200 Gitarren. Auch die Verstärker, die er benutzt, wurden von der Firma Two Rock Amps nach seinen Wünschen und Vorlieben hergestellt.
Mode
Im August 2006 gründete Mayer sein eigenes Modelabel JMltd. So erweiterte er sein Merchandising um das Doppelte seines alten Sortiments. Monatlich werden neue Kleidungsstücke designt und herausgebracht, auch Schuhe und Accessoires sind fest im Sortiment vertreten.
Tour
Mayer, der gerne live spielt, baut häufig neue Elemente in seine Performance ein. Neben seiner Band spielten Musiker wie Maroon 5, Sheryl Crow, Brett Dennen oder Colbie Caillat in seinem Line-up oder als Gastauftritt. Auf seiner Sommer-Tour durch die USA im Jahr 2013 waren OneRepublic als Vorgruppe dabei.
Mayer erlaubt Konzertmitschnitte und deren Veröffentlichung, solange dies ohne kommerziellen Hintergrund geschieht. Viele Konzertaufnahmen können von seiner Seite heruntergeladen werden. Mayer pflegt in einer amüsanten Art engen Kontakt zum Publikum.
Aufgrund von andauernder Krankheit sagte Mayer im Frühjahr 2014 seine "Springtour" ab und gab bekannt, längere Zeit pausieren zu müssen.
Privatleben
2002 war Mayer mit Jennifer Love Hewitt, 2007 mit Jessica Simpson liiert. Bis März 2009 war er mit Jennifer Aniston zusammen.[22] Von Ende 2012 bis Anfang 2014 war er mit der Sängerin Katy Perry liiert.[23]
Mayer besitzt ein Apartment im New Yorker Stadtteil SoHo und eine Villa mit Tonstudio in Hidden Hills in der Nähe von Los Angeles.
Besetzungen
John Mayer Trio
John Mayer, Gitarre/Vocals
Pino Palladino, Bass
Steve Jordan, Drums/Vocals
John Mayer Band
John Mayer, Gitarre/Vocals
David Ryan Harris, Gitarre/Tambourine/Vocals
Robbie McIntosh, Gitarre/Dobro/Vocals
Aaron Sterling, Drums
Sean Hurley, Bass
Tim Bradshaw, Keyboard/Lap Steel/Vocals
Bob Reynolds, Tenor & Sopran Saxophon
Brad Mason, Trumpet/Flügelhorn.
John Clayton Mayer (/ˈmeɪ.ər/;[1] born October 16, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and producer.[2] He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised in nearby Fairfield. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, but disenrolled and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1997 with Clay Cook. Together, they formed a short-lived, two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play local clubs—refining his skills and gaining a following. After his appearance at the 2001 South by Southwest Festival, he was signed to Aware Records, and then Columbia Records, which released his first EP, Inside Wants Out. His following two full-length albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Your Body Is a Wonderland".
Though Mayer started his career mainly performing acoustic rock, he began moving towards the blues genre that had originally influenced him as a musician. By 2005, he was collaborating with blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton. Forming the John Mayer Trio, he released a live album in 2005 called Try!, and his third studio album Continuum in 2006. Both albums received wide critical acclaim, and Continuum earned Mayer a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". That album was followed by Battle Studies in 2009, a return to pop, with a number-one grossing tour.
After having several controversial incidents with the media, Mayer withdrew from public life in 2010 and began work on a follow-up album, called Born and Raised, that would draw inspiration from the 1970s pop music of Laurel Canyon. However, the discovery of a granuloma on his vocal cords delayed the release of the album until May 2012, and ultimately forced him to cancel the planned tour. Even so, the album enjoyed a generally favorable reception, though it failed to produce any hit singles. After extensive treatments for his vocal problems—and a two-year hiatus—Mayer began performing as a singer again in January 2013, and that year released the album, Paradise Valley. The album is named for where he lives in Montana and features country music influences. By 2014, he had sold a total of over 20 million albums worldwide.[3]
Mayer's secondary career pursuits extend to television hosting, comedy, and writing; he has authored columns for magazines such as Esquire. He supports various causes and has performed at charity benefits. He is a watch aficionado (with a collection valued into the tens of millions of dollars), and has been on the jury at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. His affinity for dating A-list stars (and history of giving revealing interviews about them), has contributed to his reputation in the media as a lothario. He currently lives in Montana.
Early life
John Clayton Mayer was born on October 16, 1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Richard (a high-school principal) and Margaret Mayer (a middle-school English teacher).[4] He grew up in nearby Fairfield, the middle child between older brother Carl and younger brother Ben.[5][6] His father is Jewish, and Mayer has said that he relates to Judaism.[7] As a middle school student, Mayer became close friends with future tennis star James Blake, and they often played Nintendo together after school.[8] He attended the Center for Global Studies at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk for his junior year (then known as the Center for Japanese Studies Abroad, a magnet program for learning Japanese).[9]
After watching Michael J. Fox's guitar performance as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, Mayer became fascinated with the instrument. When he turned 13, his father rented one for him.[10][11] A neighbor gave Mayer a Stevie Ray Vaughan cassette, which cultivated Mayer's love of blues music.[12]a[›] According to Mayer, his fascination with Vaughan started a "genealogical hunt" that led him to other blues guitarists, including Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, Otis Rush and Lightnin' Hopkins.[13] Mayer started taking lessons from a local guitar-shop owner, Al Ferrante, and soon became consumed.[14][15] His singular focus concerned his parents, and they twice took him to see a psychiatrist, who determined him to be healthy.[14][15] Mayer says that his parents' contentious marriage led him to "disappear and create my own world I could believe in".[14] After two years of practice, he started playing at bars and other venues, while still in high school.[9][11] In addition to performing solo, he was a member of a band called Villanova Junction (named for a Jimi Hendrix song) with Tim Procaccini, Joe Beleznay and Rich Wolf.[14][16]
When Mayer was seventeen, he was stricken with cardiac dysrhythmia and was hospitalized for a weekend. Reflecting on the incident, Mayer said, "That was the moment the songwriter in me was born", and he penned his first lyrics the night he left the hospital.[17] Shortly thereafter, he began suffering from panic attacks, and says he feared having to enter a mental institution.[14] He continues to manage such episodes with anti-anxiety medication.[17][18]
Career
Early career (1996–1999)
Mayer considered skipping college to pursue his music, but his parents dissuaded him.[14] He enrolled in the Boston, Massachusetts Berklee College of Music in 1997 at age 19.[19] At the urging of his college friend Clay Cook, they left Berklee after two semesters and moved to Atlanta.[20] There, they formed a two-man band called LoFi Masters, and began performing in local coffee houses and club venues such as Eddie's Attic.[11] According to Cook, they experienced musical differences due to Mayer's desire to move more towards pop music.[21] The two parted ways and Mayer embarked on a solo career.[20]
With the help of local producer and engineer Glenn Matullo, Mayer recorded the independent EP Inside Wants Out. The EP includes eight songs with Mayer on lead vocals and guitars. For the opening track, "Back To You", a full band was enlisted, including the EP's co-producer David "DeLa" LaBruyere on bass guitars.[22] Cook had co-written many of the album's songs, including its first commercial single release, "No Such Thing",[21] However, his only performance contribution was backing vocals on the song "Comfortable".
Major label and commercial success (2000–2004)
Mayer and LaBruyere performed throughout Georgia and nearby states.[citation needed] Also, as his career coincided with the then-nascent internet music market, Mayer benefited from an online following.[23] A March 2000 appearance at the South by Southwest music festival brought him to the attention of "launch" label, Aware Records.[15][24] After including him in Aware Festival concerts and his songs on Aware compilations, in early 2001, Aware released Mayer's internet-only album titled, Room for Squares. During this time, Aware concluded a deal with Columbia Records that gave Columbia first pick in signing Aware artists.[25] In September, Columbia remixed and re-released Room for Squares.[26] As part of the major label "debut", the album's artwork was updated, and the track "3x5" was added. The re-release included reworked studio versions of the first four songs from Inside Wants Out.[27]
By the end of 2002, Room for Squares had spawned several radio hits, including "No Such Thing", "Your Body Is a Wonderland", and ultimately, "Why Georgia". It also received general praise critically, and Mayer drew comparisons to Dave Matthews.[20][26] In 2003, Mayer won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland".[28] In his acceptance speech he remarked, "This is very, very fast, and I promise to catch up".[15] He also figuratively referred to himself as being sixteen, a remark that many mistook to mean that he was sixteen years old at the time.[29]
In February 2003, Mayer released a live CD and DVD of a concert in Birmingham, Alabama titled Any Given Thursday, which included songs previously not recorded, such as "Man on the Side", "Something's Missing", and Covered in Rain". Commercially, the album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200 chart.[citation needed] Its accompanying DVD release received conservative—although consistent—praise, with critics torn between his pop-idol image, and (at the time) emerging guitar prowess.[30][31] Erik Crawford of AllMusic asked, "Is [Mayer] the consummate guitar hero exemplified when he plays a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'Lenny', or is he the teen idol that the pubescent girls shriek for after he plays 'Your Body Is a Wonderland?'"[32][33] That summer, Mayer went on the road with Counting Crows in a tour that spanned 42 dates between July 7 and September 2.[34]
Heavier Things, Mayer's second album, was released in 2003 to generally favorable reviews. Rolling Stone, Allmusic and Blender all gave positive, although reserved, feedback.[35] The album was commercially successful, and while it did not sell as well as Room for Squares, it peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. Mayer earned his first number one single with the song "Daughters" as well as a 2005 Grammy for Song of the Year.[28] He dedicated the award to his grandmother, Annie Hoffman, who had died in May 2004.[36] He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. On February 9, 2009, Mayer told Ellen DeGeneres that he thought he should not have won the Grammy for Song of the year because he thought that Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You" was the better song. Because of this, he removed the top half of the Grammy and gave it to Keys, and kept the bottom part for himself. At the 37th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2006, Mayer received the Hal David Starlight Award.[37]
Mayer again recorded live concerts across seven nights of his U.S. tour in 2004. These recordings were released to the iTunes Store under the title As/Is, indicating that the errors were included along with the good moments. A few months later, a "best of" CD was compiled from the As/Is nights. The album included a previously unreleased cover of Marvin Gaye's song "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", featuring a solo from Mayer's supporting act—jazz and blues turntablist DJ Logic. The album covers of the As/Is releases feature drawings of anthropomorphic bunnies.[38]
Change in musical direction (2005–2008)
As early as 2002, Chris Willman with Entertainment Weekly said that Mayer was "more historically savvy, and more ambitious than you'd guess from the unforced earnestness of [Room for] Squares".[39] However, Mayer was largely associated with the Adult Contemporary and singer/songwriter genres.[39] Fame allowed him access to his early influences, and he began collaborating with blues and jazz artists. He accompanied Buddy Guy in a concert at the Irving Plaza in December 2003.[40] He toured with jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, including a show at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.[citation needed] He also performed on commercial releases, namely, with Eric Clapton (Back Home, Crossroads Guitar Festival), Buddy Guy (Bring 'Em In), John Scofield (That's What I Say), and B.B. King (80). Although Mayer maintained his reputation as a singer-songwriter, he gained distinction as a guitarist,[30]
Following the conclusion of his Heavier Things tour, Mayer began working with artists, including those from other genres of music. He voice was sampled on the song "Go by rapper Common, and he appeared on Kanye West's a hidden track from the album Graduation, "Bittersweet Poetry".b[›] The collaborations drew praise from rap heavyweights Jay-Z and Nelly.[41] When asked about his presence in the hip hop community, Mayer said, "It's not music out there right now. That's why, to me, hip-hop is where rock used to be."[42]
Around this time Mayer began announced that he was "closing up shop on acoustic sensitivity".[42] In the spring of 2005, Mayer formed the John Mayer Trio with bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, both of whom he had met through studio sessions. The trio combined blues and rock music. In October 2005 they opened for the Rolling Stones[43] and that November released a live album called Try! The band took a break in mid-2006.
John Mayer performing on the The Early Show in 2006
Mayer's third studio album, titled Continuum, was released on September 12, 2006, produced by Mayer and Steve Jordan. Mayer suggested the album was intended to combine blues and pop. In that vein, two of the tracks from his Trio release Try!—"Vultures" and "Gravity"—were included on Continuum.[19] Despite his excitement, in a Rolling Stone interview, Mayer recalled that after former Columbia Records head, Don Ienner, panned Continuum; as result, Mayer briefly considered quitting music and studying design full-time.[17]
The first single from Continuum was "Waiting on the World to Change", which debuted on The Ron and Fez Show. The song was the third most downloaded song of the week on the iTunes Store following its release on July 11, 2006,[citation needed] and debuted at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.[citation needed] On August 23, 2006, Mayer debuted the entire album on the Los Angeles radio station Star 98.7, offering commentary on each track.[44] A subsequent version was released the next day on the Clear Channel Music website as a streaming sneak preview. On September 21, 2006, Mayer appeared on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, playing "Waiting on the World to Change" and "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room". The song "Gravity" was featured on the television series House, in the episode "Cane & Able" and Numb3rs. He recorded a session for the British program Live from Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios on October 22, 2006.
On December 7, 2006, Mayer was nominated for five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.[citation needed] The Trio received a nomination for Try!. He won two: Best Pop Song with Vocal for "Waiting on the World to Change" and Best Pop Album for Continuum.[28] Mayer remixed an acoustic version of his single "Waiting on the World to Change" with vocal additions from fellow musician Ben Harper. In preparation for Continuum, Mayer had booked the Village Recorder in Los Angeles to record five acoustic versions of his songs with veteran musician Robbie McIntosh. These recordings became The Village Sessions, an EP released on December 12, 2006. As usual, Mayer oversaw the artwork.[45]
Mayer was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone (#1020) in February 2007, along with John Frusciante and Derek Trucks. He was named as one of the "New Guitar Gods", and the cover nicknamed him "Slowhand, Jr.", a reference to Eric Clapton.[13] The initial North American Continuum tour ended on February 28, 2007, with a show at Madison Square Garden that the New York Post described as "career-defining".[46]
On November 20, 2007, the re-issue of Continuum became available online and in stores. The release contained a bonus disc of six live songs from his 2007 tour: five from Continuum and a cover of the Ray Charles song "I Don't Need No Doctor".[47] His new single, "Say", became available through iTunes.[citation needed] On December 6, 2007, "Belief" was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. He accompanied Alicia Keys on guitar on her song "No One" at the ceremony.[citation needed] Additionally, he was selected by the editors of Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2007, listed among artists and entertainers.[48]
In February 2008, Mayer hosted a three-day Caribbean cruise event that included performances with various musicians including David Ryan Harris, Brett Dennen, Colbie Caillat, and Dave Barnes, among others. The event was called "The Mayercraft Carrier" and was held aboard the cruise ship known as the Carnival Victory.[49] A follow up cruise titled "Mayercraft Carrier 2" sailed from Los Angeles March 27–31, 2009 on the Carnival Splendor.[citation needed]
On July 1, 2008, Mayer released Where the Light Is, a live concert film of Mayer's performance at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on December 8, 2007.[50] The film was directed by Danny Clinch.[51] It features an acoustic set and a set with the Trio, followed by a set with the band from the Continuum album.[52]
Battle Studies (2009)
Australian artist Guy Sebastian invited Mayer to collaborate on three songs from his 2009 album Like It Like That.[53] Mayer also played guitar on the title track of Crosby Loggins' debut LP, Time to Move.[54]
On July 7, 2009, Mayer performed an instrumental guitar version of Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" at Jackson's televised memorial service.[55] He co-wrote "Worlds of Chance" with Demi Lovato for her second album Here We Go Again, released later that month.[56]
After the overwhelming success of Continuum, Mayer confessed to be intimidated with beginning on a follow-up. However, he stated, "I think it got a lot easier when I realized that no matter what I do, it's not going to be Continuum, good or bad."[57] On November 17, 2009, Mayer's fourth studio album, Battle Studies, debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart.[58] The first single, "Who Says", was released on September 24, 2009 in advance of the album, followed on October 19 by "Heartbreak Warfare" and "Half of My Heart" on June 21, 2010. The accompanying arena tour grossed 45 million.[59] Despite the album's commercial success, critics reactions were mixed. Some reviews glowed, calling it his "most adventurous",[60][61] others called the album "safe" and noted that "Mayer the singer-songwriter and Mayer the man about town sometimes seem disconnected, like they don't even belong in the same body".[14][62][63][64] Mayer admitted to Rolling Stone that he thought Battle Studies was not his best album.[65][66]
Personal troubles and hiatus (2010–2013)
I did a lot of therapy, like anti-acid reflux, and it didn’t work, then I went on vocal rest. No alcohol. No spicy food. No talking. Most of September I wasn’t talking at all. I'd have a Bluetooth keyboard, and someone would have an iPad to read what I type. I had to point to menus at restaurants.
John Mayer[67]
Following two revealing and highly controversial magazine interviews in February 2010 with Rolling Stone and Playboy magazines,[68] Mayer withdrew from public life and ceased giving interviews. Eager for his Battle Studies tour to end, he began work in earnest on his fifth studio album—which drew on the popular music of Laurel Canyon in the early 1970s.[69] Around this time, he began to experience vocal problems, and sought medical assistance.[59] On September 16, 2011, he posted on his blog that his next record, Born and Raised, would be delayed due to treatment he was receiving for a granuloma discovered on his vocal cords.[70] Mayer described the event as a "temporary setback" and added that the album was entirely finished except for a few vocal tracks.[71] A month later, on October 20, 2011, Mayer posted, "I had surgery this afternoon to remove it and am now on complete vocal rest for a month or more," during which he planned to "travel the country, look, and listen".[72] However, the surgery did not work as expected, and he had to undergo another one that August.[67][73] During his travels, he visited and fell in love with Bozeman, Montana, where he bought a house and re-settled in the spring of 2012.[74][75]
With his treatments complete, Mayer finished the vocals on Born and Raised,[59] and the album's first single, "Shadow Days", was released on February 27, 2012. The following day, he released the track listing for the album, announcing that it would be released on May 22 of that year.[76] He described it as his "most honest" album,[74] and begin booking dates at more "intimate" venues than for Battle Studies.[59] He also accepted an invitation to appear at the South by Southwest festival.[59] However, the granuloma returned, and on March 9, 2012, Mayer announced that he had been forced to cancel his tour and refrain from all singing indefinitely.[77] Even so, Born and Raised was released as scheduled, and entered the Billboard 200 chart at number one, selling 219,000 copies in its first week.[59] It also received generally positive critical feedback; Rolling Stone rated it number 17 on its list of the 50 Best Albums of 2012,[78] and People magazine called it "a shimmering album".[79] Meanwhile, Mayer brought a new focus to his guitar playing and, fearing that his vocal cords had been permanently damaged, tried to come to terms with a possible future as a session musician.[59] Determined to be cured, he sought help from the UCLA Voice Center.[59] That September, otolaryngologist Dr. Gerald Berke paralyzed Mayer's vocal cords with a series of high-dose Botox injections, hoping that they would allow the granuloma to heal.[59] Mayer's vocal rest extended to several months and,[80] unable to even talk, his performances were limited to accompanying other artists on guitar. He appeared in September 2012 on Saturday Night Live, where he joined musical guest Frank Ocean.[81] He played with the Rolling Stones in New Jersey in December 2012.[59]
By January 2013, Mayer had recovered sufficiently enough to perform at a benefit concert in Bozeman, after almost two years without singing publicly.[82] In April 2013, he made an appearance at the Crossroads Guitar Festival,[83] and at the 28th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, where he inducted the late Albert King.[84] A show at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in Alabama on April 25, 2013, followed by a set at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival the next day, marked his first full-length concerts since his health troubles.[59][85][86]
Paradise Valley (2013–present)
In June 2013, Mayer announced that he was finishing work on his sixth album, Paradise Valley.[87] Produced by Don Was, the album features "low-key folk-rock tunes".[69][88] He collaborated with Frank Ocean on the song "Wildfire Pt. 2",[89] and with Katy Perry on "Who You Love".[90] The latter song would go on to become the album's third single, and an accompanying music video was released on December 17.[91] On June 18, 2013, he released a lyric video for the album's first single, "Paper Doll", on his official YouTube page.[92] The album was released August 20, 2013,[93] and—meeting with positive reviews[94]— debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 145,560 copies in the United States.[95] Mayer embarked on a tour, his first in three years, in support of Born and Raised and Paradise Valley. The American leg of the tour ran from July to December 2013 with Interscope recording artist Phillip Phillips serving as support act.[96][97] The tour visited Australia in April 2014.[98]
During a concert in Adelaide, Mayer covered the Beyoncé song "XO" .[99] One month later, on May 22, he released a studio version of the song on his SoundCloud account.[100] It was made available for digital download by Columbia Records on May 27, 2014 through the iTunes Store.[101] For the week ending June 1, 2014, Mayer's version debuted at number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 13 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart.[102][103] On the Canadian Hot 100, "XO" peaked at a position of 76.[104] The single also peaked at number 81 on the Australian Singles Chart (its debut week),[105] and at number 95 on the Dutch Singles Chart.[106] In the UK, it peaked at 115 on the UK Singles Chart.[107] Mayer recorded the song "Come Rain or Come Shine" as a duet with Barbra Streisand for her album Partners, released in September 2014.[108][109]
In February 2015, Mayer performed alongside Ed Sheeran at the Grammy Awards.[110] As of March, he was working on a "deeply personal new album".[111] In August, Mayer and former members of the Grateful Dead formed the group Dead & Company and announced they will start a tour in October.[112]
Touring
Mayer began touring as a solo artist in 2001.[113] While his early records were largely acoustic, early reviewers noted his unexpected electric "guitar heroics" during live performances.[114]
Mayer has toured North America, Europe and Australia[115] with many musical groups, including Maroon 5,[116] Counting Crows,[117] Ben Folds, the Wallflowers, Sheryl Crow, Colbie Caillat and Train.[118] In 2010, Mayer and Keith Urban performed at a CMT Crossroads concert a medley of their songs and a rendition of George Michael's single, "Faith". This performance led to Urban and Mayer teaming up again for future performances, including at the 2010 CMT Music Awards.[citation needed]
Mayer allows audio taping and non-commercial trading of those recordings at most of his live performances[119] Mayer often shows up at small venues unannounced (or with little advance notice) for surprise concerts—occasionally for free or without accepting the performance fee.[120][121][122][123] He has made appearances throughout the Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York areas, including shows at the Laugh Factory,[124] Eddie's Attic,[125] and the Village Underground.[123] After a public campaign by their senior class president, Mayer performed a surprise three-song set at the 2004 Pennsbury High School senior prom.[126] In June 2015, Mayer appeared as a guest for two nights with Phil Lesh and Friends at Terrapin Crossroads, recreating the Grateful Dead's notable May 8 and June 9, 1977 concerts.[127][128]
Other ventures
Author
With the June 2004 issue of Esquire, Mayer began a column called "Music Lessons with John Mayer".[129] Each article featured a lesson and his views on various topics, both of personal and popular interest. In the August 2005 issue, he invited readers to create music for orphaned lyrics he had written.[130] The winner was Tim Fagan of L.A., as announced in the following January's issue.[131]
As social media gained momentum in the 2000s, Mayer became increasingly active online, and maintained four blogs: a Myspace page, a blog at his official site, another at Honeyee.com, one at tumblr, and a photoblog at StunningNikon.com. He was particularly prolific on Twitter, where he was noted for authoring his own posts,[18][48] and he amassed 3.7 million followers.[59][132] Although his posts often dealt with career-related matters, they also included jokes, videos, photos, and eventually what he called the "maintenance of vapor"—or misguided, personal responses to the media.[59] On January 23, 2008, he posted the quote "There is danger in theoretical speculation of battle, in prejudice, in false reasoning, in pride, in braggadocio. There is one safe resource, the return to nature.";c[›] all the previous blog entries were deleted.[133] On September 14, 2010, he deleted his personal Twitter account.[59]
In the mid-2000s he did comedy sporadically,[132] making random appearances at the famed Comedy Cellar in New York and at other venues.[citation needed] He stated that it helped him write better, but that increased media attention made him too careful in his technique.[17] He has since said he has no plans to return to it.[73]
Mayer is an avid collector of watches, a pastime that he says keeps him "sane".[30] His collection—which he values in the "tens of millions" of dollars[134]—includes a Patek Philippe with a Sky Moon Tourbillion, a Rolex GMT Master 116710 BLNR, and an IWC Big Pilot Ref 5002, his signature watch.[134][135] He has also served as a juror at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, a competition rewarding timepieces that champion the values of Swiss-made watches.[134] He writes a column for the horology website Hodinkee.[136] In his column for January 16, 2015, he wrote an open letter to the watch brand IWC, encouraging it to "embrace [its] heritage, scale the product line down in terms of model variants, and simplify the design language".[137] IWC replied, defending the changes they've made over the years, saying, "We have a wonderful past, it is true—but in admiring what we achieved thus far, we hope you will feel encouraged to look forward to what we achieve in the future".[138]
Appearances in the media
In 2004, Mayer hosted a one-shot, half-hour comedy special on VH1 titled John Mayer Has a TV Show, with antics including wearing a bear suit while anonymously teasing concertgoers in the parking lot outside one of his concerts.
January 2005, left to right: David Ryan Harris, John Mayer and Steve Jobs at Macworld 11, SF Moscone Center.
Steve Jobs invited Mayer to perform during Apple's annual keynote address at the Macworld Conference & Expo in January 2004 as Jobs introduced the music production software GarageBand.[139] Mayer became a fixture of the event, including at the 2007 iPhone announcement.[140] Volkswagen concluded a deal with instrument manufacturer First Act to include a GarageMaster electric guitar that was playable through the stereo system of six of their 2007 models; Mayer (along with Slash and Christopher Guest) were selected to endorse the campaign and was featured playing the guitar in ads.[141] Mayer used and endorse the BlackBerry Curve.
Mayer made many appearances on talk shows and other television programs, most notably, on a Chappelle's Show comedy skit, the Late Show with David Letterman and on the final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Mayer made an appearance with Rob Dyrdek in the MTV show Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. Mayer wrote the theme song to the OWN network show Rollin' with Zach, which features Zach Anner.[142] CBS invited him to guest host The Late Late Show in early 2015 on three dates, February 4–6, after the retirement of Craig Ferguson.[143]
Mayer makes a cameo as a truck driver in the 2014 comedy horror film Zombeavers.[144] In the 2015 film Get Hard, he played a version of himself who is disgusted with the “monetization of the creative process.”[145]
Instruments and equipment
John Mayer is a guitar collector and has collaborated with elite guitar companies to design his own instruments. He owns over 200 guitars.
In 2003, Martin Guitars gave Mayer his own signature model acoustic guitar called the OM-28 John Mayer.[146] The guitar was limited to a run of only 404, an Atlanta area code.[147] This model was followed by the release of two Fender signature Stratocaster electric guitars, beginning in 2005. A third Stratocaster, finished in charcoal frost metallic paint with a racing stripe, was also a limited-release, with only 100 guitars made. In January 2006, Martin Guitars released the Martin OMJM John Mayer acoustic guitar. The guitar was intended to have many of the attributes of the Martin OM-28 John Mayer but with a more affordable price tag.[148] In August 2006, Fender started manufacturing SERIES II John Mayer Stratocasters.
In January 2007, Two Rock collaborated with Mayer on custom-designed amps. Only 25 (all signed by Mayer himself) were made available to the public[149] along with a 500-run John Mayer signature Fender Stratocaster in Cypress-Mica, including the limited Cypress-Mica model was the INCSvsJM gig bag on which Mayer collaborated with Incase designs. In 2006, Mayer was estimated to have more than 200 guitars in his personal collection.[17] In 2010, Fender announced a production model of Mayer's "The Black One" guitar.[57] Conceived after he finished his Heavier Things tour, Mayer went to Fender and asked for them to hand make a modified replica of his signature guitar; it was the principal guitar on the Continuum album. The Black One also includes gold hardware modeled from SRV Tribute Strat.[57]
Personal life
Relationships
Mayer's famous girlfriends have included Jennifer Love Hewitt,[124] Jessica Simpson, Minka Kelly,[150] Jennifer Aniston, and Katy Perry.[73]
Philanthropy
In 2002, Mayer created the "Back to You" Fund, a nonprofit organization that focuses on fundraising in the areas of health care, education, the arts and talent development. The foundation auctions exclusive John Mayer items, such as guitar picks, T-shirts and signed CDs. The auctions have been successful, with some tickets selling for more than seventeen times their face value.[151][152]
Mayer participated at the East Rutherford, New Jersey location of the Live Earth project, a musical rally to support awareness for climate change held July 7, 2007.[153]
Mayer performed at a number of benefits and telethons for charity throughout his career. He has participated in benefits for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.[154][155] In response to the Virginia Tech massacre, Mayer (along with Dave Matthews Band, Phil Vassar, and Nas) performed a free concert at Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium on September 6, 2007.[156] followed by and appearance with Rob Thomas at the Annual Holiday Concert at Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla that winter.[157] On December 8, 2007, Mayer hosted the first annual Charity Revue, a tradition he has continued each year. Charities who have benefited from the concerts include Toys for Tots, Inner City Arts and the Los Angeles Mission.[158] CDs and DVDs of the first concert were released under the title Where the Light Is in July 2008.[50][52] Mayer appeared on Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace, a celebrity initiative to support Tibet and the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.[159] Mayer (along with Keith Urban) headline Tiger Jam 2011 in Las Vegas to help raise around $750,000 for the Tiger Woods Foundation.[160] In January 2013, Mayer participated with Zac Brown in a benefit concert in Bozeman, Montana where they raised more than $100,000 for firefighters who battled a wildfire in the summer of 2012 in Paradise Valley that destroyed 12,000 acres.[82][161]
Controversy
Mayer's relationship with Jessica Simpson coincided with behavior changes that significantly increased his tabloid exposure.[7][15][162] Early in his career, he had expressed his resolve to completely avoid drugs, alcohol, clubbing, "red-carpet" events, dating celebrities, and anything that he felt would detract the focus from his music.[163] In interviews, however, Mayer alluded to experiencing an extreme "anxiety bender" episode in his twenties that motivated him to be less reclusive.[14][15] In 2006, he first mentioned that he had begun using marijuana,[17] he began making appearances at clubs in Los Angeles and New York City, and Simpson became the first in a string of famous girlfriends, including Jennifer Aniston and Minka Kelly.[150] By 2007, his personal life had become regular fodder for the gossip media and, as a result, Mayer made efforts to control his public image.[30] His online presence increased (including daily posts on Twitter),[30] he began to stage pranks for the paparazzi,[164] and he hosted a segment for the gossip show TMZ.[165]
I abused that ability to express myself, to the point where I was expressing things that weren't true to my thoughts.[73]
John Mayer, Rolling Stone interview, January 2013
In early 2010, Mayer gave a controversial interview to Playboy magazine,[68] in which he revealed sexually explicit details about his former girlfriends Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston—calling his relationship with the former "sexual napalm".[7] In response to a question about his interest in dating black women, he said, "My dick is sort of like a white supremacist. I've got a Benetton heart and a fuckin' David Duke cock. I'm going to start dating separately from my dick."[7] He also used the word "nigger" in the interview. This set off accusations in the media of him being a misogynist, kiss-and-tell ex-boyfriend, and racist.[166] He apologized via Twitter for his use of the word "nigger", saying, "It was arrogant of me to think I could intellectualize...a word that is so emotionally charged".[167] He also tearfully apologized to his band and fans at his concert in Nashville later that night.[168] In the following two years, he left New York and retreated from the media.[69] Reflecting on that time in a May 2012 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he said, "I lost my head for a little while and I did a couple of dumb interviews and it kind of woke me up...It was a violent crash into being an adult. For a couple of years, it was just figuring it all out, and I'm glad I actually stayed out of the spotlight."[74][169][170]
Pop singer Taylor Swift performed vocals for the song "Half of My Heart" on Mayer's November 2009 album Battle Studies.[171] Rumors began to circulate in the media that they two were a couple, an assertion that neither addressed. However, Swift released a song called "Dear John" in 2010, which was widely believed to be about her relationship with him. In June 2012, Mayer criticized the song, saying she never contacted him and that "it's abusing your talent to rub your hands together and go, 'Wait till he gets a load of this!'"[172] The song "Paper Doll",—the first single from Mayer's album Paradise Valley—was reportedly a response,[173] an assertion which Mayer has neither confirmed nor denied.[174]
In March 2014, Mayer sued watch dealer Robert Maron for $656,000 when he discovered that seven of the $5 million in watches he purchased from the dealer contained counterfeit parts.[175][176] He dropped the charges in May 2015, releasing a statement that asserted that research restored his "belief that Bob Maron is an expert on Rolex watches, and confirmed that Bob Maron never sold him a counterfeit watch".
Sugar Pie DeSanto *16.10.1935
Sugar Pie DeSanto (* 16. Oktober 1935 in Brooklyn, New York City als Umpeylia Marsema Balinton) ist eine US-amerikanische R&B-Sängerin, Tänzerin, Entertainerin und Komponistin, die in den 1950ern und 1960ern ihre größten Erfolge hatte.
Die Tochter einer Afroamerikanerin und eines Filipino wuchs in San Francisco auf, wohin sie als Kind mit ihrer Familie gezogen war.
1955 engagierte Johnny Otis die junge Sängerin, die er bei einem Talentwettbewerb gesehen hatte, für seine Revue. Er war es auch, der Sugar Pie DeSanto ihren Künstlernamen gab. Im gleichen Jahr machte sie ihre erste Aufnahme.
Ende der 1950er trat sie in den großen R&B-Theatern der USA auf, darunter das Apollo in New York, das Regal in Chicago und das Howard in Washington. 1959 und 1960 war sie mit James Brown auf Tour.
1960 hatte sie mit I Want to Know einen Hit, der es bis auf Platz 4 der US-R&B-Charts schaffte. Es folgten weitere erfolgreiche Veröffentlichungen, u. a. zusammen mit Etta James, doch galt sie vor allem als herausragende Bühnenkünstlerin. 1997 erschien mit Classic Sugar Pie erstmals einer ihrer Auftritte komplett als Live-Aufnahme.
1964 war sie die einzige weibliche Teilnehmerin des American Folk Blues Festivals, zusammen mit Bluesgrößen wie Willie Dixon, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin’ Hopkins und Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Sugar Pie DeSanto hat zahlreiche Songs geschrieben, von denen etliche auch von anderen Künstlern aufgenommen wurden, darunter Fontella Bass, Little Milton und The Whispers.
1996 erhielt Sugar Pie DeSanto einen „Bay Area Music Award“ als beste Blues-Sängerin. 2008 erhielt sie den Pioneer Award der Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
Sugar Pie DeSanto (born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton, October 16, 1935, Brooklyn, New York, United States) is a Filipino-American rhythm and blues singer of the 1950s and 1960s.
Early life
She was born to an African American mother and Filipino father. Her mother was a concert pianist. She spent most of her early life in San Francisco, California, where she moved with her family at a young age. She stands 4' 11". As a girl she was friends with Etta James.
Career
In 1955, DeSanto did some touring with The Johnny Otis Revue. Otis gave her her stage name. From 1959 to 1960, she toured with The James Brown Revue.
In 1960, DeSanto rose to national prominence when her single "I Want to Know" reached number four on Billboard's Hot R&B chart. She recorded the song with her husband Pee Wee Kingsley. Soon thereafter her marriage to Kingsley fell apart, and DeSanto moved to Chicago and signed with Chess Records in 1962 as a recording artist and writer. Among her recordings at Chess were "Slip-In Mules", "Use What You Got", "Soulful Dress" (her biggest hit at Chess), and "I Don't Wanna Fuss". DeSanto participated in the American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe in 1964, and her lively performances, including wild dancing and standing back flips, were widely appreciated.
In 1965 DeSanto, under the name Peylia Parham, began a writing collaboration with Shena DeMell. They produced the song "Do I Make Myself Clear", which DeSanto sang as a duet with Etta James, which reached the top 10. It was followed up by a 1966 DeSanto-James duet, "In the Basement".[1] DeSanto's next song, "Go Go Power", did not chart, and DeSanto and Chess parted ways.
Sugar Pie DeSanto kept on writing songs and recorded for a few more labels without much success; she eventually moved back to the Bay Area, settling in Oakland.
Though it had often been said that her stage performances far surpassed her studio recordings, a full length live recording, Classic Sugar Pie, was not released until 1997.
DeSanto was given a Bay Area Music Award in 1999 for best female blues singer. In September 2008, she was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. DeSanto received a lifetime achievement award from the Goldie Awards in November 2009.
Personal life
DeSanto was married twice to Jesse Earl Davis, over the course of a 27-year relationship. In October 2006, he died attempting to extinguish a fire that destroyed their apartment in Oakland, California.
Carin Bertenbreiter *16.10.1965
Carin Bertenbreiter (Gesang, Bluesharp)
Gesangsgeschulte Frontfrau. 1985/86 Unterricht bei Christine Görner und Dagmar Aigner in München. Ihre markante Stimme geht gewaltig unter die Haut. Temperament, Ausdruck und Ausstrahlung sind einzigartig. Sie ist eine originelle, mit Tanz auf dem Bluesvulkan individuell spielende Harpvirtuosin.
Keine Bühne ist ihr zu groß oder zu klein.
Frauenpower im Blues ist ja momentan stark angesagt. In diesem Zusammenhang möchte ich auf die Caro Bluesband mit der Powerfrau Carin Bertenbreiter hinweisen.
Die Band gibt es schon recht lange, feierte sie doch im Jahr 2010 ihr 25-jähriges Bandjubiläum. 25 Jahre Banderfahrung spiegeln sich auch im lupenreinem Sound der Band wieder.
Caro steht für Carin und Roland Bertenbreiter. Roland zupft die Gitarre und Frontfrau Carin übernimmt den Gesangspart und spielt die Bluesharp. Ich bezeichne sie einmal als „Stacie Collins“ von Donauwörth. Sie glänzt durch ihre markante Stimme und ihr stilsicheres Blasen auf der Harp. Weiterhin gehören zur Band: Gerhard Winter (Bass), Mathias Netter (Gitarre) und Armin Loder (Schlagzeug).
Den Blues präsentiert die Band in ihrer heimischen Mundart. Da muss man durch, auch wenn man Blues nur auf englisch hört und ich verspreche, es lohnt sich. In den Texten werden alltägliche Geschichten aus dem Leben erzählt aber es wird auch schon mal Gesellschaftskritik geübt.
Die hier kurz vorgestellte CD „Gezeiten“ ist auch schon aus dem Jahr 2010 und man kann sie über die Bandseite beziehen.
Die Band gibt es schon recht lange, feierte sie doch im Jahr 2010 ihr 25-jähriges Bandjubiläum. 25 Jahre Banderfahrung spiegeln sich auch im lupenreinem Sound der Band wieder.
Caro steht für Carin und Roland Bertenbreiter. Roland zupft die Gitarre und Frontfrau Carin übernimmt den Gesangspart und spielt die Bluesharp. Ich bezeichne sie einmal als „Stacie Collins“ von Donauwörth. Sie glänzt durch ihre markante Stimme und ihr stilsicheres Blasen auf der Harp. Weiterhin gehören zur Band: Gerhard Winter (Bass), Mathias Netter (Gitarre) und Armin Loder (Schlagzeug).
Den Blues präsentiert die Band in ihrer heimischen Mundart. Da muss man durch, auch wenn man Blues nur auf englisch hört und ich verspreche, es lohnt sich. In den Texten werden alltägliche Geschichten aus dem Leben erzählt aber es wird auch schon mal Gesellschaftskritik geübt.
Die hier kurz vorgestellte CD „Gezeiten“ ist auch schon aus dem Jahr 2010 und man kann sie über die Bandseite beziehen.
Caro Bluesband - Carin`s Train.mp4
CARO BLUESBAND - Alkohol
John Lee Sanders *16.10.
Aus Louisiana kommen bekanntlich viele Jazz und Blues Musiker die den "Funk" förmlich inhaliert haben. John Lee Sanders ist dabei absolut keine Ausnahme. Er stammt aus einer Musikerfamilie deren Wurzeln weit zurückreichen, bis zur Geburtsstätte des Blues in Memphis. Er ist ein Vollprofi am Klavier, Saxophon und am Gesang. Er zählte lange zu den gefragtesten Sessionmusikern der Westküste Amerikas. Dort war er ebenso erfolgreich als Produzent und Arrangeur vieler bekannter Acts.
Er arbeite zusammen mit einer Reihe legendärer Musiker wie John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Freddie King, Dr. John, The Meters, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Page, Robben Ford, Tower of Power & Stevie Wonder. Während der 90er Jahre tourte er mit längere Zeit mit Jefferson Starship, Roy Rogers & the Delta Rhythm Kings, Paul Williams, Mary Wells, Sam Moore und Long John Baldry. Bei letzterem übernahm er den Platz am Klavier von niemand geringerem als Elton John.
John Lee Sanders Musik bewegt sich zwischen US-amerikanischem Soul, Rhythm & Blues and New Orleans root music. Er reichert diese Stile immer wieder gekonnt mit zeitgenössichen Sounds und Rhythmen an und gilt als der Nachfolger der legendären Stars des New Orleans Sounds – Dr. John und Professor Longhair.
Multi-instrumentalist, Composer, Arranger, Saxophone, Guitar, Piano, vocalist, and Emmy nominated composer, John Lee Sanders comes from the deep roots of jazz, blues and roots music through his early years in the Mississippi Delta, Alabama, the Bayous of Louisiana and the plains of Texas. John Lee has a universal gift to reach audiences from a broad and diverse musical spectrum. He's a 2007 Emmy nominated Composer. Winner of three 2009 Canadian Music Awards. His 2004 blues hit, Foreclose on the house of love recieved a Blues Music Award in Memphis for song of the year and was recorded by Marcia BAll.
Now headlining blues and Jazz festivals across Europe, the press has credited John Lee for bringing the blues into the 21st Century with it's deep lyric content, and fusing the best in Gospel, New Orleans Street Rhythms, Funk, Soul and Rhythm & Blues. With blues at the core, he has evolved a complex musical gumbo, with the flavors of Cajun, Rock, Gospel, Pop, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Country, classical, with a deep love of the traditions, and culture of New Orleans.
John Lee has shared the stage, opened for, recorded or toured with some of the legends last 50 years, including Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Starship, Bill Withers, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, Tower of Power, and many more.
Er arbeite zusammen mit einer Reihe legendärer Musiker wie John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Freddie King, Dr. John, The Meters, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Page, Robben Ford, Tower of Power & Stevie Wonder. Während der 90er Jahre tourte er mit längere Zeit mit Jefferson Starship, Roy Rogers & the Delta Rhythm Kings, Paul Williams, Mary Wells, Sam Moore und Long John Baldry. Bei letzterem übernahm er den Platz am Klavier von niemand geringerem als Elton John.
John Lee Sanders Musik bewegt sich zwischen US-amerikanischem Soul, Rhythm & Blues and New Orleans root music. Er reichert diese Stile immer wieder gekonnt mit zeitgenössichen Sounds und Rhythmen an und gilt als der Nachfolger der legendären Stars des New Orleans Sounds – Dr. John und Professor Longhair.
Multi-instrumentalist, Composer, Arranger, Saxophone, Guitar, Piano, vocalist, and Emmy nominated composer, John Lee Sanders comes from the deep roots of jazz, blues and roots music through his early years in the Mississippi Delta, Alabama, the Bayous of Louisiana and the plains of Texas. John Lee has a universal gift to reach audiences from a broad and diverse musical spectrum. He's a 2007 Emmy nominated Composer. Winner of three 2009 Canadian Music Awards. His 2004 blues hit, Foreclose on the house of love recieved a Blues Music Award in Memphis for song of the year and was recorded by Marcia BAll.
Now headlining blues and Jazz festivals across Europe, the press has credited John Lee for bringing the blues into the 21st Century with it's deep lyric content, and fusing the best in Gospel, New Orleans Street Rhythms, Funk, Soul and Rhythm & Blues. With blues at the core, he has evolved a complex musical gumbo, with the flavors of Cajun, Rock, Gospel, Pop, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Country, classical, with a deep love of the traditions, and culture of New Orleans.
John Lee has shared the stage, opened for, recorded or toured with some of the legends last 50 years, including Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Starship, Bill Withers, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, Tower of Power, and many more.
Multi-instrumentalist, Composer, Arranger, Saxophone, Guitar, Piano, vocalist, and Emmy nominated composer, John Lee Sanders comes from the deep roots of jazz, blues and roots music through his early years in the Mississippi Delta, Alabama, the Bayous of Louisiana, and The plains of Texas. John Lee has a universal gift to reach audiences from a broad and diverse musical spectrum.
With blues at the core, he has evolved a complex musical gumbo, with the flavors of Cajun, Rock, Gospel, Pop, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Country, classical, with a deep love of the traditions, and culture of New Orleans.
John received a degree in classical and jazz composition from the University of North Texas, and the University of Louisiana, and Film Scoring at San Jose State University. John has 12 CD releases since 1995, and learned record production from Grammy Producer of the year, Narada Michael Walden, the most successful record producer of the 80s and 90s.
He Comes from a gifted Memphis musical family with ties to WC Handy, father of the blues. His aunt lived only a few doors down from Elvis Presley, and a young Aretha Franklin living a mere 4 blocks from his Grandmother's house in Memphis, He spent his formative teen years in Birmingham, Ala, whose great Gospel Quartet traditions later help form the Motown Vocal Sound. Birmingham concert promoters in the early 60s billed 13 year old “Little John” as Birmingham’s answer to “Little Stevie Wonder”, Upon graduation, John left Texas & Louisiana with the Bay Area legendary band, Uncle Rainbow in 1977, upon a production contract with the Late Michael Hossack of the Doobie Brothers. On the band’s first visit to Hollywood for recording, John Lee surprised everyone, auditioned for the Gong Show, and won!
John signed a large recording contract in 1980 with Rod Stewarts, Riva Records. From 1977-2006, John Lee performed, and worked in the studios with hundreds of CDs demos, commercials, soundtracks.
A gifted composer/lyricist, John has a 2004 Blues Award Nomination for song of the year, 2007 Emmy nomination, song of the year, 3 BC Interior Music Awards. His childhood encounters with the likes of Elvis Presley and Dr. Martin Luther King are part of the landscape that influenced this gifted performer and composer.
John Lee has shared the stage, opened for, recorded or toured with some of the legends last 50 years, including Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Starship, Bill Withers, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, Tower of Power, and many more. His songs have been recorded by Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, Aretha Franklin, and Marsha Ball, who received a Grammy nomination, for blues CD of the year, with the hit single from Sanders. He is a 2012 Canadian Maple Blues award nominee for Piano Player of the Year!
With blues at the core, he has evolved a complex musical gumbo, with the flavors of Cajun, Rock, Gospel, Pop, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Country, classical, with a deep love of the traditions, and culture of New Orleans.
John received a degree in classical and jazz composition from the University of North Texas, and the University of Louisiana, and Film Scoring at San Jose State University. John has 12 CD releases since 1995, and learned record production from Grammy Producer of the year, Narada Michael Walden, the most successful record producer of the 80s and 90s.
He Comes from a gifted Memphis musical family with ties to WC Handy, father of the blues. His aunt lived only a few doors down from Elvis Presley, and a young Aretha Franklin living a mere 4 blocks from his Grandmother's house in Memphis, He spent his formative teen years in Birmingham, Ala, whose great Gospel Quartet traditions later help form the Motown Vocal Sound. Birmingham concert promoters in the early 60s billed 13 year old “Little John” as Birmingham’s answer to “Little Stevie Wonder”, Upon graduation, John left Texas & Louisiana with the Bay Area legendary band, Uncle Rainbow in 1977, upon a production contract with the Late Michael Hossack of the Doobie Brothers. On the band’s first visit to Hollywood for recording, John Lee surprised everyone, auditioned for the Gong Show, and won!
John signed a large recording contract in 1980 with Rod Stewarts, Riva Records. From 1977-2006, John Lee performed, and worked in the studios with hundreds of CDs demos, commercials, soundtracks.
A gifted composer/lyricist, John has a 2004 Blues Award Nomination for song of the year, 2007 Emmy nomination, song of the year, 3 BC Interior Music Awards. His childhood encounters with the likes of Elvis Presley and Dr. Martin Luther King are part of the landscape that influenced this gifted performer and composer.
John Lee has shared the stage, opened for, recorded or toured with some of the legends last 50 years, including Jimmy Page, Stevie Wonder, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Starship, Bill Withers, Chuck Berry, Bonnie Raitt, Freddie King, John Lee Hooker, Tower of Power, and many more. His songs have been recorded by Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, Aretha Franklin, and Marsha Ball, who received a Grammy nomination, for blues CD of the year, with the hit single from Sanders. He is a 2012 Canadian Maple Blues award nominee for Piano Player of the Year!
One Crazy Night, John Lee Sanders & Rad Gumbo, Maribor Lent Festival 2013
Sunnyland
Slim (September 5, 1906 – March 17, 1995) and jimmy Walker ( right)
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