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Celebrate John Mayer’s 41st Birthday By Reliving His Trip Down The Grateful Dead Rabbit Hole [Videos]

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While October 16th is undoubtedly Bob Weir‘s day in the world of the Dead, he’s not the only member of his current band celebrating today: today is also John Mayer‘s 41st birthday!

The guitar player, songwriter, and current Dead & Company member has come a long way since releasing his debut record Room for Squares way back in 2001. He started out as a young pop star, transformed himself into an expert blues guitar player with the John Mayer Trio, caught the attention of all-time greats like Eric Clapton and Herbie Hancock, and finally embraced his improvisational side when he joined Bob WeirBill KreutzmannMickey HartJeff Chimenti, and Oteil Burbridge in Dead & Co. Over the three years since the band’s inception, Mayer has made leaps and bounds maturing in his new role “playing in the band” (vs. his background as a frontman), winning over countless notoriously critical Deadheads. We’ve seen him party down in a unicorn onesie at a Phish  show in Las Vegas, sit in with acts like Joe Russo‘s Almost Dead on multiple occasions, and generally embrace the jam scene with the sincerity and humility that many decried him for lacking in his earlier years.

John Mayer Uses Full Page In Billboard Magazine To Express His Gratitude To The Grateful Dead

If you’ve been listening over the last few years, it’s clear that John Mayer at 41 is quite different from the John Mayer the world met way back around the turn of the century. Take a look below at a few videos that show John Mayer progressing as a player and Grateful Dead fan over the years. First up, check out John Mayer with his single “No Such Thing” from his debut record Room For Squares, and remind yourself where he started out. Then watch a full set by the John Mayer Trio performing at Bowery Ballroom back in 2005–a video that starts with an introductory interview that explains why Mayer is experimenting with new styles outside of the realm of pop music. Next up, watch him perform “Human Nature” at Michael Jackson‘s funeral, filling in for Jackson by performing the vocal part on his guitar. Also included are videos of Mayer performing “Vultures” with the Trio back in 2010 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles and a performance of “High Time We Went” with Eric Clapton, Doyle Bramhall IIDerek Trucks, and Jimmy Vaughan, and a video of him playing the blues with Trucks, BB KingSusan Tedeschi and more in 2012.

While it’s clear that Mayer has always been a prolific guitarist, only recently was he “turned on” by the Grateful Dead music. That switch seemed to happen sometime in the early 2010’s. As Mayer tells it, that switch first flipped when “Althea” popped up on a Pandora playlist at a pool party, prompting him to drop what he was doing and run to find out what the song was. By 2013, “Althea had worked its way into his solo band repertoire, as you can see from video of his well-executed “Althea” at Red Rocks that year. Just a couple years later, and he’d be the hosting a public jam session on late night TV with Bob Weir. Then, watch Mayer leading Dead & Company at Madison Square Square Garden in 2017, with a final video of Mayer in a full performance from Dead & Company’s most recent tour, showcasing the impressive strides that he’s made in his Grateful new role:

John Mayer – “No Such Thing”

[Video: John Mayer]

John Mayer Trio – Bowery Ballroom – 11/23/2005

[Video: odwin Egbuonu]

John Mayer –  “Human Nature” – Michael Jackson’s funeral

[Video: theguitardude17]

John Mayer Trio – “Vultures”

[Video: aDOCTORbutWHO]

Eric Clapton’s 70th Birthday – “High Time We Went”

[Video: AKESSOULSHINE]

B.B. King w/ John Mayer, Derek Trucks, & Susan Tedeschi – Hollywood Bowl – 9/5/2012

[Video: ladiva44]

John Mayer – “Althea” – 7/17/2013

[Video: A.C. Lao]

The Late Late Show w/ John Mayer & Bob Weir – “Althea”

[Video: juju]

Dead & Company – Madison Square Garden – 11/12/2017

[Video: Darryl Houston Smith]

Dead & Company – Dodger Stadium – 7/7/2018

[Video: Ryan Martin]

Happy 41st, John Mayer! We’re grateful you started comin’ around…

[Photo: Phierce Photo by Keith G.]

The post Celebrate John Mayer’s 41st Birthday By Reliving His Trip Down The Grateful Dead Rabbit Hole [Videos] appeared first on L4LM.