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Born John Clayton Mayer in Bridgeport, Connecticut, John is a singer-songwriter of pop music. In 2003 he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the 2002 release of the single "Your Body Is a Wonderland."
In February of 2005, he also won a Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy for his song "Daughters" of the album Heavier Things. He beat out, Elvis Costello, Josh Groban, Prince and Seal. He also took home the Grammy Award for Song Of The Year which is awarded to song writers, for the song "Daughters." He dedicated that award to his Grandma, Annie Hoffman, who passed away in May of 2004.
While growing up in Fairfield, Connecticut, Mayer listened to pop music, but it was not until the age of thirteen that his inspiration for playing the guitar began. When a neighbor gave him a Stevie Ray Vaughan tape, Mayer discovered the blues and learned how to play the guitar. After two years of practice, he started playing at blues bars and other venues in the area. While in high school, he was in a band called Villanova Junction with Joe Beleznay, Tim Procaccini, and Rich Wolf.
After playing the guitar for several years, Mayer enrolled in the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts at the age of 19. He soon realized that instead of studying music, he was more interested in writing and playing it, and chose to cut his studies short in favor of moving to Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career in earnest there, quickly making a name for himself in the local coffeehouse and club circuit.
Mayer has toured with many groups, including Maroon 5, Guster, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, and Teitur. Some of his most popular and well-known songs include "Clarity," "Bigger Than My Body," "No Such Thing" and "Your Body Is a Wonderland."
Although John has maintained a reputation for being a sensitive singer-song writer, his real talent lies in his excellent guitar playing. Influenced by Jimi Hendrix and SRV, it has been argued that John's electric guitar playing is truly what makes him a musical genius and what makes him gain respect from his peers.
John allows audio taping at most 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. He also does this to encourage fan interaction. Trading recordings is what helped John become more well known in the early days.
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 previous studio sessions. The trio played a combination of blues and rock music. In October 2005, the Trio opened for The Rolling Stones during a sold-out club tour of their own, and that November, released a live album called Try! The band took a break in mid-2006. In September 2006, Mayer announced plans for the Trio to begin work on a future studio album.
Mayer's third studio album, titled Continuum, was released on September 12, 2006. Mayer said the album was intended to combine his signature pop music with the feel, sound, groove, and sensibilities of the blues. In that vein, two of the tracks from his trio release "Try!," "Vultures" and the blues centerpiece "Gravity" also were included on Continuum. Mayer said that "Gravity" is the most important song he's ever written.
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Reports indicate that the follow-up to Battle Studies will be called Born and Raised, and will be released in October 2011.
On September 16th, 2011 Mayer posted on his blog that his new record, Born and Raised, was being delayed due to granulomas discovered in his throat. The granulomas were found next to the vocal cords and are treatable. Mayer described this as a "temporary setback" and that recording and mixing of Born and Raised was entirely finished except for a few remaining vocal tracks. He expects the album to be out in early 2012.
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