Previously, we brought you part one of our list of 15 interesting facts about John Mayer. Now, we bring you part two, with eight more facts about the gravel-voiced singer/songwriter who catapulted to fame with his debut full-length, Room for Squares, in 2001.
Number Eight: John Mayer Almost Lost the Ability to Sing
In 2011, John Mayer was diagnosed with a granuloma on his vocal chords and had to have two surgeries to remove it. Unfortunately, the granuloma came back in early 2012, hampering all planned efforts to tour behind Born and Raised. Mayer did not sing publicly after the initial scare for nearly two years.
Number Seven: He Has Designed His Own Signature Instruments
Mayer worked with Martin Guitars in 2003 to produce a limited run of his own signature acoustic guitar, the OM-28 John Mayer, and again in 2006 when he created the OMJM John Mayer acoustic guitar, which had a better price point than the first. Starting in 2005, he created three signature Fender Stratocasters, with the third having a very limited run of 100 ever made. Mayer also designed a limited edition amp with Two Rock in 2007. Each of the 25 amps made were signed by Mayer.
Number Six: He Played at a High School Prom
In 2004, he responded to a high school’s public campaign to have him play their prom by… showing up to their prom. He played a short, three-song set for the students.
Number Five: He Gave Half a Grammy to Alicia Keys
When he won Song of the Year for “Daughters” at the 2005 Grammy Awards, he later told Ellen DeGeneres that he did not think he should have won the award. To remedy this, he gave the top half of the award to Alicia Keys, whose “If I Ain’t Got You” he felt deserved it instead.
Number Four: ‘Room for Squares’ is His Best Selling Album to Date
John Mayer’s first studio album, Room for Squares is also his best-selling album to date. Propelled by singles “No Such Thing,” “Your Body is a Wonderland” and “Why Georgia,” the album has sold nearly five million copies.
Number Three: ‘Daughters’ Was His First Number One Single
Despite Room for Squares being his best-selling album, it wasn’t until his second album, Heavier Things, that he would have his biggest hit. “Daughters” reached number one on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, even though he didn’t really want to release it as a single to begin with. He ended up re-tooling the song with his blues/jazz band, the John Mayer Trio, in 2005.
Number Two: He’s Funny
For a while in the mid-2000s, Mayer performed stand-up comedy, claiming that it helped him write better songs. He also hosted a half-hour special on VH1 in 2004, where he showed off his comedic antics. Furthermore, he showed his comedy chops again when he hosted The Late, Late Show for three nights in 2015.
Number One: He Considers Himself a ‘Recovering Ego Addict’
It’s not hard to remember a few years ago when John Mayer was in all the tabloids for his loose lips and endless list of celebrity girlfriends. However, Mayer told MSNBC in March 2015 that this is no longer him and that he no longer tries to be concerned with Hollywood and social media. He currently resides in Montana, away from the glitz and glam. Thank you for reading our list of 15 interesting facts about John Mayer. We hope you enjoyed it!