Mayer Hawthorne

Early life

Cohen grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The stage name "Mayer Hawthorne" is a combination of Cohen's real middle name (Mayer) and Hawthorne Road, the street he grew up on. Cohen is Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah in 1992 at Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Career

Hawthorne started out as a member of the group Athletic Mic League (as DJ Haircut), based in Ann Arbor, before moving to Los Angeles in 2005. He was signed to Stones Throw Records by label head Peanut Butter Wolf. Originally the Mayer Hawthorne tracks were created for sampling purposes and for pleasure, but upon hearing them Peanut Butter Wolf insisted they be made into an album. Hawthorne has had no previous vocal training.

His debut single, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out"/"When I Said Goodbye", was released on a red heart-shaped 7" record on Stones Throw Records on November 4, 2008. His second single "Maybe So, Maybe No"/"I Wish It Would Rain" was released on a 12" record on Stones Throw Records on April 19, 2009. His debut album, A Strange Arrangement was released on CD and LP on Stones Throw Records on September 8, 2009.

The song "When I Said Goodbye", was featured in the Kanye West/Spike Jonze short film We Were Once a Fairytale. In 2011, Hawthorne performed guest vocals for the Sebastian song "Love in Motion" featured on Sebastian's 2011 album Total. On July 15, 2011, Mayer Hawthorne was a guest, along with famed Memphis/Stax Records keyboardist Booker T. Jones, on Episode 43 of Daryl Hall's Live From Daryl's House webcast. Hawthorne, Hall, and Jones combined with Hall's house band on "Strange Arrangement", "Green Onions", "No Strings", "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out", and "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'" and Hall's "You Make My Dreams" and "Private Eyes". During Hall's dinner for the group, Hawthorne stated that, when working as a hip hop DJ, he began recording his own Motown-style tracks to avoid paying fees for sampling other artists' work. He also played all the instruments on each of those tracks, in addition to recording all his own vocals.

Mayer Hawthorne was a musical guest on the Conan TV show on October 17, 2011, and the Late Show with David Letterman on October 25, 2011. On both shows, the group performed "The Walk", his first single from How Do You Do. In 2012 Hawthorne released the six-track live EP KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, as a part of Record Store Day's Black Friday.

In late May 2013, Hawthorne released his single "Her Favorite Song" from his album Where Does This Door Go. It is noted that the album is a departure from his throwback style in his past three albums. Later that year, he received a Grammy nomination for "Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package" for his album How Do You Do.

Musical influences

Mayer Hawthorne is influenced by the music of Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, Barry White, Steely Dan, Smokey Robinson and the songwriting and production trio Holland–Dozier–Holland. Taking umbrage at the notion that his is a purely "throwback" soul sound, however, Hawthorne also cites more contemporary artists, such as J Dilla, Hanne Hukkelberg, and Santigold, as significant influences.

Discussing How Do You Do, Hawthorne says, "I found my own unique sound on this album, which I'm excited about." The album has a vintage sound, which involves twelve 1970s-inspired tracks, filled with orchestral pop and funky bass lines—"I've taken what I can from the classic heroes of soul and updated it with the music I grew up listening to and loving like Public Enemy and Juan Atkins and Cybotron." He first found his musical voice in hip-hop and rap from his father, who plays in a band in Detroit, Michigan.

In popular culture

In July 2009, Hawthorne was featured on the cover of the third anniversary issue of Beyond Race magazine (BRM).

Hawthorne's song, "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'" was included in the fourth season of Ugly Betty in its finale episode, "Hello Goodbye". The song begins in the scene at Betty's goodbye party when Marc asks Troy if he would like to dance.

Hawthorne's track "Do It", released under the alias 'Tuxedo' with Jake One was sampled on Pitbull's track of the same name from his 2013 studio album Global Warming.

The title track from Hawthorne's album, Where Does This Door Go was featured over the closing credits of the season one Masters of Sex episode "Thank You for Coming" in October 2013, and in season two of Netflix's Dear White People during the closing credits of "Chapter VII".

"Love Like That" was included in the video game Forza Horizon 3.

An excerpt of "The Walk" was used in a Blue Moon beer TV commercial in 2017, and in Season 4 episode 10 of the Fox television series Fringe.

"Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" was featured in a scene from the Girls episode "All Adventurous Women Do" (2012).

Discography

Main article: Mayer Hawthorne discography

as Mayer Hawthorne

• A Strange Arrangement (2009)
• How Do You Do (2011)
• Where Does This Door Go (2013)
• Man About Town (2016)
• Rare Changes (2020)
• For All Time (2023)

as Tuxedo

• Tuxedo (2015)
• Tuxedo II (2017)
• Tuxedo III (2019)
• Tuxedo IV (2024)

as Jaded Incorporated

• The Big Knock (2014)

References

References

1. Hammerstein, B.J.. (May 17, 2009). "Chatting With… Mayer Hawthorne". [[Detroit Free Press]].
2. Cohen, Andrew. (May 17, 2009). "Mayer Hawthorne: URB Next 100". URB Magazine.
3. (February 15, 2009). "A chat with Mayer Hawthorne". Future Vintage.
4. "Mayer Hawthorne". AllMusic.
5. "Retro Soul". AllMusic.
6. "Mayer Hawthorne". Stonesthrow.com.
7. (November 4, 2008). "Introducing: Mayer Hawthorne & The County". Stonesthrow.com.
8. [https://thejewishnews.com/2012/03/29/mayer-hawthornes-mom-tells-all-almost/ "Mayer Hawthorne's Mom Tells All (Almost)"] Headapol, Jackie. ''The Detroit Jewish News. https://thejewishnews.com'' Published March 29, 2012. Accessed April 29, 2019.
9. (April 19, 2009). "Mayer Hawthorne "Maybe So, Maybe No"". Stonesthrow.com.
10. "Mayer Hawthorne – "A Strange Arrangement"". Stonesthrow.com.
11. "Episode 43: Mayer Hawthorne :: Live From Daryl's House with Daryl Hall :: Current Episode". Livefromdarylshouse.com.
12. Saeger, John. (November 24, 2012). "Mayer Hawthorne Brings Early Morning Funk In Record Store Day EP". Long After Dark.
13. "Mayer Hawthorne: ''Where Does This Door Go'' review". Pastemagazine.com.
14. "Mayer Hawthorne – Official Site". Mayerhawthorne.com.
15. (July 16, 2013). "Mayer Hawthorne: 'If You Don't Like Steely Dan, I Don't Like You'".
16. Fuchs, Ben. (November 9, 2009). "Mayer Hawthorne: "I'm Not a Throwback Artist"". Dunce Cap Quarterly.
17. Mistry, Anupa. "Mayer Hawthorne's New Good Days • Interviews •". Exclaim.ca.
18. Cohen, Andrew. (July 2009). "Mayer Hawthorne: The Soul Man". [[Beyond Race]].