John Clayton Mayer was born to Margaret and Richard Mayer, on October 16, 1977, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The middle child of three sibblings, his two brothers are named Ben and Carl. Strangely enough John wasn't always into music, when he was a young child. Of course that didn't last long. Eventually he started playing various instruments including the violin, and clarinet. He soon grew a love for pop music. Then, his next door neighbor then gave him jazz and blues tapes and he became captivated by them. His determination to play the guitar started after seeing the movie Back to the Future, "when Michael J. Fox played 'Johnny Be Goode'. He was always such a dork and then there's this explosion of cool. I think after that I was definitely into playing guitar".
Afterwards John started listening to artists like Sting, and the Police, Jimi Hendrix, and most of all Stevie Ray Vaughan, whom became his idol, and biggest inspiration in guitar playing. When John was a young teenager, he use to practice playing every single night until his mom gave him a curfew. In the beginning, his parents did not support his idea to be famous, very well, they thought it was a big fantasy and he should not be putting his hopes up too much.
John officially started to play guitar at age 13, and 3 years later, at 16, began performing at clubs. In John's senior year, he becomes part of a band known as Villanova Junction, but he did not stay in it for long.
The summer after graduating high school, John worked at a Mobil Gas station, doing various tasks, washing car windows, pumping gas, stealing muffins! (Until a new boss came along)
After High school, Mayer went to the Berklee College of Music, in Boston. This is where he met Clay Cook, a future band member. He soon dropped out after a year, starting to feel as if the classes no longer challenged him. In fact, John always had the confidence he would succeed, no matter what anyone said. He even went around practicing his own signature!
He then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he started playing at local clubs, along with Clay Cook. He also started making demos and sending out copies.
John released his first album in 1999, titled Inside wants out, a year later, he released his breakthrough CD, "Room for Squares", with the smash hit "No Such Thing" (which actually came from a conversation with his mom!).
In 2000, John got signed with Columbia Records, and in 2001 releases a two versions of Room For Squares, the original did not include 3x5.
In 2003, John won his first Grammy award for "Best pop vocal performance", for the ever popular "Your Body is a Wonderland". He also released his first concert DVD that year "Any Given Thursday".
On September 9th of the same year, "Heavier Things" was released. A big surprise for the music industry, as it had a very different sound, and evidence of growth and continuous honesty in the lyrics.
In 2004, Mayer releases a series of live CD's, known as AS/IS. They were available on iTunes and then the last one ended up being sold in stores. John's live cd's hold memories for those who were there, and comfort for those who couldn't go.
In the summer of that year, John was apart of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, where he rubbed elbows with all the greatest guitar players of our time. He has truly become "one of them".
John toured North America, Asia, and Europe, for three full years. In early 2005, John won not one, but two Grammys, (Best Pop Vocal Performance, and Song of the Year, for "Daughters"), which has brought his fans to tears of pride.
He is now one of the most respected guitarists of our time and many musicians look up to him, old and young alike. He even gained respect from hip-hop artists like Kayne West. Everyone wants a piece of this incredible talent.
He has finally stopped to record his 4th cd, "Continuum", due out in 2006. During this time, he will continue to surprise us with collaborations, duets, and brand new songs.
John will always have our hearts because of his honesty, closeness, and amusing personality. He is both insecure and secure. He embraces his fame but, misses a routine life. He is now constantly in teen magazines, and some tabloids, but he warns us in a sarcastic way, "If it's on print, than it's true".
