Gravity (John Mayer song)
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| “Gravity” | |||||
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| Single by John Mayer from the album Continuum |
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| Released | January 31, 2007 | ||||
| Format | Digital download, CD single | ||||
| Recorded | 2006 | ||||
| Genre | Blues, Blues rock | ||||
| Length | 4:05 | ||||
| Label | Sony BMG, Aware, Columbia | ||||
| Writer(s) | John Mayer | ||||
| Producer | John Mayer, Steve Jordan | ||||
| John Mayer singles chronology | |||||
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| Continuum track listing | |||||
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| Audio sample | |||||
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"Gravity" is a song by American singer-songwriter guitarist John Mayer and is featured on two of his releases: the 2005 live album Try! by the John Mayer Trio and his 2006 studio album Continuum. In 2007, the song was released as the third single from Continuum.
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[edit] 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 Things) 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.
[edit] Reception
Billboard called the single "an easygoing, bluesy number, convincingly conjuring the spirit of his idol Buddy Guy."[1]
On February 22, 2007, "Gravity" entered Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart at #71;[2] 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. To date, it has sold 68,115[update needed] in digital downloads.
[edit] Grammy Awards performance
At the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on February 11, 2007, Mayer performed "Gravity" with Corinne Bailey Rae 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".
[edit] Cultural influence
The tune was #84 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time.[3] 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.[4] (The wake-up call is a tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of Project Gemini.)[5]
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.
[edit] References
- ^ Taylor, Chuck (2007-01-27), "Gravity". Billboard. 119 (4):55
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2007-02-22). Timberlake Scores Third Hot 100 No. 1 From 'FutureSex'. Billboard.com.
- ^ No byline (2008-05-28), "100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time". RollingStone.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
- ^ AP associate. "Shuttle Endeavor met by 'Gravity'" (2007). [Online video]. AP.
- ^ Fries, Colin. "Chronology of Wakeup Calls", NASA, 2007-06-25. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "Gravity" lyrics, at Yahoo! Music
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