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Gravity (John Mayer song)
Encyclopedia
"Gravity" is a song by American
singer-songwriter
guitarist
John Mayer
and is featured on three of his releases: the 2005 live album
Try! by the John Mayer Trio
, his 2006 studio
album
Continuum, and his 2008 live album Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles. In 2007, the song was released as the third single
from Continuum.
) as being an early attempt at "writing Gravity". Along with "Vultures", the song is one of only two songs featured on the John Mayer Trio's debut album, Try!, that carried over into the release of Continuum. Alicia Keys
provides background vocals at the end of the song.
."
On February 22, 2007, "Gravity" entered Billboard
's Hot 100
singles chart at #71; at that time, Mayer had two singles charting on the Hot 100 (the other song was "Waiting on the World to Change
"). It also entered Billboard's Hot 100 Digital Songs Chart at #63.
and John Legend
as the end of a medley
. The set began with Rae's "Like a Star
", and continued with Legend's "Coming Home
", before concluding with "Gravity".
Stevie Wonder
introduced the trio's performance, and each artist performed some aspect of every song through the entire medley. For Rae's "Like a Star", Mayer performed various backing guitar licks, while during Legend's "Coming Home" he performed little. For "Gravity", both Rae and Legend performed backing vocals and Legend played piano.
At the awards, Mayer won Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
for the first single from Continuum, "Waiting on the World to Change
".
At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, the live version of "Gravity" that appears on Mayer's Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles won the award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time.
The family of astronaut Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh
chose "Gravity" as the wake-up call for the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on August 11, 2007. (The wake-up call is a tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of Project Gemini
.)
The song was featured in the House
episode, Cane and Able, that aired on September 12, 2006, the day Continuum was released in the United States
Steph Jones on his album "Gravity" 2009
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
John Mayer
John Mayer (musician)
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
and is featured on three of his releases: the 2005 live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Try! by the John Mayer Trio
John Mayer Trio
In February 2005, the trio played Mayer's single "Daughters" at the 47th Grammy Awards, for which Mayer went on to win the award for Best Male Vocal Performance later that night . The Trio released "Come When I Call" exclusively to iTunes...
, his 2006 studio
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Continuum, and his 2008 live album Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles. In 2007, the song was released as the third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from Continuum.
Background and production
Mayer suggested in an interview with the magazine Performing Songwriter that "Gravity" was the song he was always trying to write, using the example of "Come Back to Bed" (from Heavier ThingsHeavier Things
Heavier Things is the second studio album by American musician John Mayer, released September 9, 2003 on Columbia Records in the United States. The title of the album itself is a subtle response to certain criticism of Mayer's music. The album debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart,...
) as being an early attempt at "writing Gravity". Along with "Vultures", the song is one of only two songs featured on the John Mayer Trio's debut album, Try!, that carried over into the release of Continuum. Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
provides background vocals at the end of the song.
Song meaning
In a concert performed in December 2007, Mayer explained the significance and meaning of the song:Reception
Billboard called the single "an easygoing, bluesy number, convincingly conjuring the spirit of his idol Buddy GuyBuddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
."
On February 22, 2007, "Gravity" entered Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart at #71; at that time, Mayer had two singles charting on the Hot 100 (the other song was "Waiting on the World to Change
Waiting on the World to Change
"Waiting on the World to Change" is the first single released from John Mayer's 2006 studio album, Continuum. The song enjoyed commercial success as a single and won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards...
"). It also entered Billboard's Hot 100 Digital Songs Chart at #63.
Grammy Awards performance
At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on February 11, 2007, Mayer performed "Gravity" with Corinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey Rae
Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
and John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
as the end of a medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
. The set began with Rae's "Like a Star
Like a Star
"Like a Star" is a song by English soul singer–songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae from her self-titled debut album, Corinne Bailey Rae . Released in November 2005 as her debut single and re-released in October 2006, the song was nominated for the 2008 Grammy Award for Song of the Year...
", and continued with Legend's "Coming Home
Once Again (John Legend album)
Once Again is the second studio album by American singer John Legend, issued by GOOD Music and Sony Music Entertainment on October 24, 2006...
", before concluding with "Gravity".
Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
introduced the trio's performance, and each artist performed some aspect of every song through the entire medley. For Rae's "Like a Star", Mayer performed various backing guitar licks, while during Legend's "Coming Home" he performed little. For "Gravity", both Rae and Legend performed backing vocals and Legend played piano.
At the awards, Mayer won Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
for the first single from Continuum, "Waiting on the World to Change
Waiting on the World to Change
"Waiting on the World to Change" is the first single released from John Mayer's 2006 studio album, Continuum. The song enjoyed commercial success as a single and won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 49th Grammy Awards...
".
At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, the live version of "Gravity" that appears on Mayer's Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles won the award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.
Cultural influence
The tune was #84 on Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time.
The family of astronaut Pilot Charles O. Hobaugh
Charles O. Hobaugh
Charles Owen "Scorch" Hobaugh is a NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer. He has had three spaceflights, all of which were Space Shuttle missions to the International Space Station, lasting between 10 and 13 days.Hobaugh was selected to be an astronaut in 1996, and his first...
chose "Gravity" as the wake-up call for the astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on August 11, 2007. (The wake-up call is a tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of Project Gemini
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
.)
The song was featured in the House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
episode, Cane and Able, that aired on September 12, 2006, the day Continuum was released in the United States
Cover versions
- OverboardOverboard (a cappella)Overboard is a male a cappella group based in Boston, MA. The group's repertoire consists of a cappella covers of popular contemporary pop/rock artists, such as Train, The Script, and Rascal Flatts, and of a cappella standards, such as "Blue Moon", "In the Still of the Night" and "Stand by Me".-...
(Stranded, 2008)
Steph Jones on his album "Gravity" 2009
External links
- "Gravity" lyrics, at Yahoo! Music