John Mayer Finds a Serene Groove on Rothbury's Closing Night

Perhaps the Zen spirit of Rothbury's jammy vibe engulfed John Mayer. The singer-guitarist with the biting wit was in chill-out mode for his Sunday evening set. "Waiting on the World to Change," as smooth and serene as the nearby lake, came across like the most passive-aggressive protest anthem ever written. Guitar licks fell as slow and steady as teardrops on a shuffling "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room." Even a cover of the blues standard "Crossroads" sounded unnervingly polite. Still, the set wasn't without its highlights, including the soul-flecked ballad "Gravity," a song far more weightless than its titles might suggest.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Tonight's the Night”

The Shirelles | 1960

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter