John Mayer

About

Also known as: John Clayton Mayer

Few guitarists have moved as fluidly across genres as John Mayer. The Connecticut born singer, songwriter and guitarist broke through with Room for Squares in 2001, scoring a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance with "Your Body Is a Wonderland", then followed up with Heavier Things, which hit number one on the Billboard 200. By the mid 2000s he had pivoted sharply toward blues and rock, forming the John Mayer Trio and releasing Continuum, a critically praised set that won him two more Grammys including Album of the Year nomination. His later albums kept shifting shape: Born and Raised leaned into the Laurel Canyon sounds of the 1970s, Paradise Valley brought in country and Americana textures, The Search for Everything worked through a romantic breakup as a loose concept album, and Sob Rock drew on 1980s soft rock. Away from his solo work, Mayer joined surviving members of the Grateful Dead to form Dead and Company in 2015, and has collaborated or produced for artists ranging from Frank Ocean to Barbra Streisand. Rolling Stone placed him at number 61 on their 250 Greatest Guitarists list in 2023.