John Mayer - Crossroads
To my husband, I am so sorry! There is a new man in my life but this new man doesn’t know it!! His name is John Mayer.
Okay, let me go back a little. As I have been learning to play the electric guitar by leaning into music I love, the Blues and Blues Rock, I discovered one song that has been covered many different ways, evolving as the Blues have evolved. The song is Crossroads, covered as far back by legendary blues guitarist Robert Johnson. Said to have been recorded in 1936, this feels like the start of the Blues.
The cool part though is that like everything else in life, the Blues evolved with the times. The next version of Crossroads was famously recorded by Eric Clapton’s band Cream. And wow, the tempo and solo’s played by Eric Clapton are mind boggling!! This is now classic Blues Rock. Just the tempo of the riff alone is enough to send any new guitarist screaming. There’s almost a manic nature to the sound…and it’s awesome!!
Today, a few decades later, the sound of the Blues seems to be evolving yet again. I recently discovered John Mayer’s version of Crossroad and I’ve been listening to it on repeat, and practising the guitar riff non-stop along with the music. This version seems to put the Funk into Blues Rock.
But there’s more. Thank goodness for the internet because this is how I discovered the new man in my life, John Mayer. Even my husband who doesn’t always appreciate ;), like I do, Blues Rock keeps commenting how much he is liking listening to John Mayer’s albums. (Good thing too because it’s about all I’m playing these days :)!)
Hold on though, there’s even more. I have a secret and knowing my family won’t read this part of the website before our upcoming winter holiday, after 2 years of the covid-19 pandemic, as a surprise, I’ve arranged for our entire family to attend John Mayer’s concert in LA, March 2022. Yup, tickets, travel arrangements, for those of us that have to travel, and accommodation are all booked! Here’s hoping the pandemic doesn’t keep us from going and that this will be a surprise my family won’t soon forget :)!
