John Clayton Mayer (  /ˈmeɪ.ər/ MAY-ər;born October 16, 1977) is an American pop and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer.Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised in Fairfield, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his skills and gained a following, and he now lives in New York City.His first two studio albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status.In 2003, he won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Your Body Is a Wonderland."

 

Mayer began his career performing mainly acoustic rock, but gradually began a transition towards the blues genre in 2005 by collaborating with renowned blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton, and by forming the John Mayer Trio. The blues influence can be heard throughout his 2005 live album Try! with the John Mayer Trio and his third studio album Continuum, released in September 2006. At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007, Mayer won Best Pop Vocal Album for Continuum and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". He released his fourth studio album, Battle Studies, in November 2009. His fifth album, Born and Raised, which saw another musical style shift, was released in May 2012. He has sold over 10 million albums in the U.S. and over 20 million albums worldwide.

 

Early life

John Clayton Mayer was born on October 16, 1977 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Margaret, an English teacher, and Richard, a high school principal.He grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, the second of three children.His father is Jewish, and Mayer has said that he "relat[es] to Judaism".He attended Fairfield High School in Fairfield although he was enrolled in 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, it is a magnet program for students wanting to learn Japanese).

 

After watching Michael J. Fox's guitar performance as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, Mayer became fascinated with the instrument, and when he turned 13, his father rented one for him.A neighbor gave Mayer a Stevie Ray Vaughan cassette, which cultivated Mayer's love of blues music.Mayer started taking lessons from a local guitar-shop owner, Al Ferrante, and soon became consumed with playing the instrument.His singular focus concerned his parents, and they took him twice to see a psychiatrist—but Mayer was determined to be fine.Mayer says that the contentious nature of his parents' marriage led him to "disappear and create my own world I could believe in".After two years of practice, he started playing at blues bars and other venues in the area, while he was still in high school.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.Mayer considered skipping college to pursue his music, but the disapproval of his parents dissuaded him from doing so.

 

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 got home from the hospital.Shortly thereafter, he began suffering from panic attacks, and lived with the fear of having to enter a mental institution.He continues to manage such episodes with Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug.After graduation, he worked for fifteen months at a gas station until he saved enough money to buy a 1996 Stevie Ray Vaughan signature Stratocaster.

 

Other projects

Philanthropy and activism

In 2002, Mayer began 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 raises funds through the auction of exclusive John Mayer items, such as guitar picks, T-shirts, and signed CDs, made available on Mayer's auction site. The auctions have been successful, with some tickets selling for more than seventeen times their face value.

 

Mayer participated at the East Rutherford, New Jersey location of the Live Earth project, a musical rally to support awareness for global warming held July 7, 2007.He converted his tour bus to bio-diesel fuel.

 

Mayer has performed at a number of benefits and telethons for charity throughout his career. 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.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.Both CDs and DVDs of the first concert were released under the title Where the Light Is in July 2008. It has not been announced whether the DVD proceeds will go to charity or not.Mayer appeared on Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace, a celebrity initiative to support Tibet and the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.

 

Design

"I'm actually into sneakers on a design level. I've got a big design thing going on in my life right now ... I love designing stuff. I mean, my biggest dream, forget Grammys, I want to be able to design an Air Max."

—John Mayer (AP, 2006)

 

In a Rolling Stone interview, Mayer recalled that after former Columbia Records head, Don Ienner, panned Continuum, he briefly considered quitting music and studying design full-time.In 2003, Martin Guitars gave Mayer his own signature model acoustic guitar called the OM-28 John Mayer.The guitar was limited to a run of only 404, an Atlanta area code.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.In August 2006, Fender started manufacturing SERIES II John Mayer Stratocasters. The new Olympic white with mint green pickguard and cream plastics replaced the shoreline gold model.

 

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.June 2007 saw the release of the "album art" guitar, with the Continuum motif repeated on the face of the instrument, as well as 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.In 2010, Fender announced a production model of Mayer's "The Black One" guitar.

 

Writing

With the June 1, 2004, issue of Esquire, Mayer began a column called "Music Lessons with John Mayer". Each article featured a lesson and his (often humorous) take 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.The winner was Tim Fagan of L.A., as announced in the following January's issue.

 

Mayer has been active online, and has maintained four blogs: a Myspace page, a blog at his official site, another at Honeyee.com, one at tumblr.com, and a photoblog at StunningNikon.com. He also is one of the most-followed persons on the micro-blogging site Twitter,reaching 3 million followers in January 2010. Although his posts often deal with career-related matters, they also contain jokes, videos, photos, his convictions, and his personal activities; they sometimes overlap in content. He is noted for writing the blogs himself, and not through a publicist.On January 23, 2008, he posted a graphic that read, "Done & Dusted & Self Conscious & Back to Work." on his official blog, followed by 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.

 

In the mid-2000s he did stand-up comedy sporadically making random appearances at the famed Comedy Cellar in New York and at other venues. He stated that it helped him write better but that increased media attention made him too careful in his technique.

 

He co-wrote "Worlds of Chance" with Demi Lovato for her second album Here We Go Again.

 

Television

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. The American network CBS announced on January 14, 2009 that they were in negotiations with Mayer for a variety show; it may air as a special or as a regular series.In an interview with Rolling Stone, posted online on January 22, 2010, Mayer confirmed that the program, also called John Mayer Has a TV Show, was still in development, and that personnel were being hired. He described the concept as "a high quality music performance show, where I could also steer it a little bit. It's about there being a bastion of artists being made to look good and sound good.".

 

Mayer has 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 has written the theme song to the upcoming show Rollin' with Zach on the OWN network.

 

Touring

Mayer has toured with many musical groups, including Maroon 5,Guster, Howie Day, Mat Kearney, Counting Crows,Ben Folds, The Wallflowers, Teitur,Brett Dennen, Sheryl Crow, Colbie Caillat, Train, Ellie Goulding, OneRepublic and Paramore. Crow and Mayer, who had just previously appeared on the Cars Soundtrack together, co-headlined a tour that ran from August to October 2006.[95] In 2007, Mayer toured Europe, hoping to reach the popularity abroad that he enjoys in North America.The initial North American Continuum tour ended on February 28, 2007, with a show at Madison Square Garden, a performance which the New York Post described as "career-defining."In 2010, Mayer and Keith Urban performed at a CMT Crossroads concert which saw Mayer and Urban performing a medley of their own songs together and a rendition of George Michael's single, "Faith". This performance was led to Urban and Mayer teaming up again for future performances, including at the 2010 CMT Music Awards.

 

Mayer allows audio taping at most of his live performances, and he also allows for the non-commercial trading of those recordings. He does this to give fans the opportunity to recreate the live experience, and to encourage fan interaction.

 

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.He has made appearances throughout the Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York areas, including shows at The Laugh Factory,Eddie's Attic,and the Village Underground.His latest surprise appearance was on January 8, 2011 at Hotel Cafe where he played seven new unreleased songs. In 2004, after being asked for numerous past years, he performed for over 1000 students at the Pennsbury High School Senior Prom. Wonderland, a book written by Micheal Bamberger, describes the world- famous prom and John Mayer's performance.

 

Touring band members

Current members

• David Ryan Harris – guitar, backing vocals (2003–present)

• Sean Hurley – bass, backing vocals (2008–present)

• Chuck Leavell – keyboards (2011–present)

• Aaron Sterling – drums (2011–present)

 

Former members

• Bob Reynolds – saxophones, flute (2006–2008, 2010)

• Robbie McIntosh – guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals (2006–2010)

• Pino Palladino – Bass (2010)

• Keith Carlock – drums, percussion (2010–2011)

• David LaBruyere – bass (1999–2008)

• Nir Z – drums (2001)

• Matt Mangano – guitar (2001)

• Matt Johnson – drums (2002)

• Stephen Chopek – drums, percussion (2001–2002)

• Michael Chaves – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2001–2005)

• Kevin Lovejoy – keyboards (2003–2004)

• Erik Jekabsen – trumpet, flugelhorn (2003–2004)

• Chris Karlic – saxophone, flute (2003–2005)

• J.J. Johnson – drums (2003–2005, 2006–2008)

• Onree Gill – keyboards (2004–2005)

• Chuck McKinnon – trumpet, flugelhorn (2004–2005)

• Ricky Peterson – keyboards, organ, backing vocals (2006–2007)

• Charlie Wilson – keyboards (2009–2011)

• Tim Bradshaw – keyboards, organ, lap steel guitar, backing vocals (2007–2008)

• Kenna Ramsey – backing vocals (2009–2010)

• Melanie Taylor – backing vocals (2009–2010)

• Steve Jordan – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2003, 2005–2006, 2009–2010)

• Brad Mason – trumpet, flugelhorn (2006–2008)

 

Personal life

Mayer has a number of tattoos. These include: "Home" and "Life" (from the song title) on the back of his left and right arms respectively, "77" (his year of birth) on the left side of his chest, and a koi-like fish on his right shoulder. His entire left arm is covered in a sleeve tattoo that he acquired gradually, ending in April 2008; it includes: "SRV" (for his idol, Stevie Ray Vaughan) on his shoulder, a decorated rectangle on his biceps, a dragon-like figure on his inner arm, and various other floral designs. In 2003, he got a tattoo of three squares on his right forearm, which, he has explained, he will fill in gradually.

 

Mayer has followed the discipline of Krav Maga. He is an avid collector of watches and owns timepieces worth tens of thousands of dollars.Mayer also has an extensive collection of sneakers, estimated (in 2006) at more than 200 pairs.

 

Mayer's parents concluded an uncontested divorce on May 27, 2009. After the divorce, Mayer moved his (82-year-old) father to an assisted-living facility in Los Angeles.

 

In September 2011, according to a Rolling Stone magazine article, Mayer has granuloma in his throat which must be treated surgically – this has caused him to cancel various planned shows.

 

Mayer sold his home in the Los Angeles suburbs in 2011.He also recently sold his apartment in New York City's SoHo neighborhood and, following his throat surgery, moved to Montana where he has purchased a home.

 

Romantic relationships

His relationships with high-profile celebrities has led to his having a reputation as a "womanizer."

 

Mayer dated Jennifer Love Hewitt briefly in 2002. In a comedy routine at the Hollywood Laugh Factory in May 2006, he said that they never consummated their relationship; he later said that he immediately apologized to her for the raunchy routine.Mayer dated Jessica Simpson for about nine months, beginning in the middle of 2006. Rumors started in August of that year with a People magazine article, but kicked into high gear when Mayer and Simpson spent New Year's holiday together in New York City, both attending Christina Aguilera's New Year's Eve party.When Ryan Seacrest asked Mayer on the red carpet of the 2007 Grammy Awards, about his relationship with Simpson, Mayer responded in Japanese. Despite some initially conflicting translations, he said, "Jessica is a lovely woman, and I'm glad to be with her."However, the couple split in May 2007.He began dating actress Minka Kelly in September 2007,but they split up before the year's end.Mayer began dating actress Jennifer Aniston in April 2008,but Mayer broke it off the following August.They resumed dating in October 2008 and split up again in March 2009.He was also romantically linked to Taylor Swift from late 2009 until June 2010.They recorded together the song "Half of My Heart".She wrote a song about her relationship with him, "Dear John", which appears on her 2010 Speak Now album. In June 2012, Mayer criticized the song, "I will say as a songwriter that I think it's kind of cheap songwriting."

 

Mayer's relationship with Jessica Simpson coincided with some personal behavior changes that served to significantly increase his tabloid exposure.Previously, Mayer had expressed his resolve to completely avoid drugs, alcohol, clubbing, "red-carpet" events, dating celebrities and anything else that he felt would detract from his focus on his music. In interviews, however, Mayer has alluded to experiencing an extreme "anxiety bender" episode in his twenties that motivated him to be less reclusive.He later said he realized that, "If I wanted to see Jessica more, I had to grow up," and not be afraid to be without his guitar.He called his relationship with her "sexual napalm" and said she had the power to "change [his] values."He began making appearances at clubs in Los Angeles and New York (where he would stage pranks for the paparazzi), and in a Rolling Stone interview from 2006, he first mentioned that he had begun using marijuana.

 

In late 2012, it was reported in 3 News NZ that Mayer was romantically involved with pop star Katy Perry.