Who Did You Think I Was
Encyclopedia
"Who Did You Think I Was" was the first single released by blues
-rock
group John Mayer Trio
from their first album, Try!. As it is from a live album, the single itself is a live recording. Speculation that Mayer
was moving away from his known field of sensitive acoustic pop rock
into blues
was confirmed by the release of this single, being that it's a moderately heavy blues-rock song. Furthermore, the line from the first verse, "Got a brand new blues that I can't explain", indicates Mayer exploring blues unlike before.
The song also appeared as the B-side on the Trio's subsequent EP
, "Live @ Yahoo! Music", after the track, "Out of My Mind", a heavily blues-influenced song written by Mayer which also appears on Try!.
The B-side to "Who Did You Think I Was" is "Come When I Call", which did not appear on the album Try!, but was frequently played throughout the trio live performances, like the song, "I Don't Need No Doctor
".
The guitar Mayer plays in the video is one he had custom-made by veteran graffiti and graphic artist Crash, designed and presented to Mayer in September 2006, indicating the video was shot and released after that of the Jimi Hendrix
guitar that Crash based his design on.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group 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...
from their first album, Try!. As it is from a live album, the single itself is a live recording. Speculation that Mayer
John Mayer
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...
was moving away from his known field of sensitive acoustic pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
into blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
was confirmed by the release of this single, being that it's a moderately heavy blues-rock song. Furthermore, the line from the first verse, "Got a brand new blues that I can't explain", indicates Mayer exploring blues unlike before.
The song also appeared as the B-side on the Trio's subsequent EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, "Live @ Yahoo! Music", after the track, "Out of My Mind", a heavily blues-influenced song written by Mayer which also appears on Try!.
The B-side to "Who Did You Think I Was" is "Come When I Call", which did not appear on the album Try!, but was frequently played throughout the trio live performances, like the song, "I Don't Need No Doctor
I Don't Need No Doctor
"I Don't Need No Doctor" was a hit song written by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson and Jo Armstead, and first recorded by Ray Charles in 1966. Over the years, it has been covered by bands such as garage rock band The Chocolate Watch Band in 1969, Humble Pie in 1971, New Riders of the Purple Sage in...
".
Audio sample
This audio sample shows the end of the last chorus of the song, through the outro and almost until the end.Music video
Despite the single for "Who Did You Think I Was" being the version from the trio's live album, the music video of the song was a studio recording specifically for the purpose of the video itself. The music video features the trio in a worn-down factory or warehouse playing the song. In certain shots, the cameras are intentionally clearly visible to make the video have a "put-together" feel.The guitar Mayer plays in the video is one he had custom-made by veteran graffiti and graphic artist Crash, designed and presented to Mayer in September 2006, indicating the video was shot and released after that of the Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
guitar that Crash based his design on.
External links
- John Mayer Trio - Official Site
- "Who Did You Think I Was?" lyrics, at Yahoo! Music