Gravity (John Mayer song)

This article documents a current single. Information is likely to change as the song remains on the charts.

"Gravity"
Single by John Mayer from the album Continuum
Released	January 31, 2007
Format	Digital download, CD single
Recorded	2006
Genre	Blues, Blues rock
Length	4:05
Label	Sony BMG, Aware, Columbia
Writer	John Mayer
Producer	John Mayer, Steve Jordan
John Mayer singles chronology
"Belief" (2006) "Gravity" (2007) "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" (2007)
Continuum track listing
"Belief" (3) "Gravity" (4) "Heart of Life" (5)

"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.

Contents 1 Background and production 2 Reception 3 Grammy Awards performance 4 Cultural influence 5 References 6 See also 7 External links

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.

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.

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" (from his album Once Again), 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".

Cultural influence

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.^[3] (The wake-up call is a tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of Project Gemini.)^[4] 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.

References

See also

• 2007 in music

External links

• "Gravity" lyrics, at Yahoo! Music

John Mayer
Discography
Studio albums:	Room for Squares · Heavier Things · Continuum
EPs:	Inside Wants Out · The Village Sessions
Live albums:	Any Given Thursday · As/Is · 1st Annual Holiday Charity Revue
Singles:	"No Such Thing" · "Your Body Is a Wonderland" · "Why Georgia" · "Bigger Than My Body" · "Clarity" · "Daughters" · "Waiting on the World to Change" · "Belief"  · "Gravity"  · "Dreaming with a Broken Heart" · "Say"
Other songs:	"Neon" · "City Love" · "Something's Missing" · "Come Back To Bed"
John Mayer Trio:	Try! · "Who Did You Think I Was" · "Live @ Yahoo! Music"
Affiliated people:	David LaBruyere · Clay Cook · David Ryan Harris · Pino Palladino · Steve Jordan · Chad Franscoviak · Kanye West · Alicia Keys ·
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