"Gravity" is a song by American musician John Mayer. It is written by Mayer and produced by Mayer and Steve Jordan. "Gravity" is featured on three of Mayer's releases: the 2005

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Try! ''Try!'' is the first live album by the John Mayer Trio. It was recorded at the House of Blues, Chicago, Illinois and released by Columbia Records on November 22, 2005. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards ...

'' by the

John Mayer Trio The John Mayer Trio is a blues rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 2005. Comprising singer-songwriter and guitarist John Mayer, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan, the band has released one live album, ''Try!'' in 2005 ...

, his 2006 studio album ''

Continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

'', and his 2008 live album '' Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles''. In 2007, the song was released as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from ''Continuum''.

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 ''Heavier Things'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter John Mayer, released on September 9, 2003 by Aware and Columbia Records. It debuted at #1 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling over 317,000 copies in its first week. Despi ...

'') 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, ''

'', that carried over into the release of ''Continuum''.

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

provides background vocals at the end of the song.

Personnel

* John Mayer - singing, lead guitar *

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific session bassist, he has played bass for acts such as The Who, the John Mayer Trio, Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan, Jeff Beck ...

- bass, backing vocals *

Steve Jordan (drummer) Steve Jordan (born January 14, 1957) is an American musical director, producer, songwriter, and musician. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was a member of the bands for the television shows ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''Late Night with David Lett ...

- drums, percussion *

Larry Goldings Lawrence Sam “Larry” Goldings (born August 28, 1968) is an American jazz keyboardist and composer. His music has explored elements of funk, blues, and fusion. Goldings has a comedic alter ego known as Hans Groiner. Life and career Gold ...

- Hammond B3 organ *

- Backing Vocals

Song meaning

In a concert performed in December 2005, Mayer explained the significance and meaning of the song:

Reception

''Billboard'' called the single "an easygoing, bluesy number, convincingly conjuring the spirit of his idol

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

." On February 22, 2007, "Gravity" entered

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

singles chart at #71; at that time, Mayer had two singles charting on the Hot 100 (the other song was "

Waiting on the World to Change "Waiting on the World to Change" is a song by American singer-songwriter John Mayer. It was released as the lead single from his third studio album, '' Continuum'' (2006), on August 1, 2006. The song enjoyed commercial success as a single and won ...

"). It also entered Billboard's Hot 100 Digital Songs Chart at #63

Grammy Awards performance

At the

49th Annual Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005 and ending September 30, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at the Staples Ce ...

on February 11, 2007, Mayer performed "Gravity" with

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

as the end of a medley. The set began with Rae's "

Like a Star "Like a Star" is a song by English singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, released as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album (2006). It was written by Bailey Rae and produced by Steve Chrisanthou. The song was originally releas ...

", and continued with Legend's " Coming Home", before concluding with "Gravity".

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

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 ceremony, Mayer won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the first single from ''Continuum'', "

". At the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, the live version of "Gravity" that appears on Mayer's '' Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles'' won the award for

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing qua ...

Cultural influence

The tune was #84 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

s list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs Of All Time. 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. (The wake-up call is a tradition for NASA spaceflights since the days of

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

Cover versions

* Overboard (Stranded, 2008) * Main Squeeze (available by searching the internet for Fsqq495jiYw, 2021)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

*
"Gravity"
lyrics, at Yahoo! Music {{DEFAULTSORT:Gravity (John Mayer Song) 2007 singles John Mayer songs Songs written by John Mayer Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance Sony BMG singles Columbia Records singles American soft rock songs