Singer-songwriter John Mayer was born 40 years ago today, on October 16, 1977.

Mayer's earliest albums, Room for Squares and Heavier Things, were mostly acoustic pop-rock. He had been interested in blues since his teens, and began to shift his focus in that direction, saying in 2005 that he was "closing up shop on acoustic sensitivity." He released a live album, Try!, with a jazz-rock band called the John Mayer Trio, and his third solo album, Continuum, was less acoustic and more blues-oriented than his earlier work.

After the release of his 2009 album Battle Studies, Mayer struggled with severe inflammation of the vocal cords. He spent much of the next two years on vocal rest, including several months where he was not allowed even to speak. Mayer did not sing publicly for almost two years.

When he did return to recording, Born and Raised marked another musical change of direction; the new album was strongly influenced by 60s folk and the Laurel Canyon sound.

Since 2015, Mayer has performed with several former members of the Grateful Dead under the name Dead & Company. The band has yet to record in the studio, but has released many of its live concerts.

Mayer has released an unusually large number of live recordings of his own concerts, as well. In addition to his seven studio albums, he's released seven live albums. He's been nominated nineteen times for Grammy Awards, winning seven, including a Song of the Year award for "Daughters" in 2005.

In addition to the albums highlighted above, Meyer's complete solo discography is available for streaming or download at Freegal.