Give me a freaking break. Mayer is an asshole. He IS a very good guitarist, he knows how to write bubblegum pop that sells to the swoony-girl crowd, but, beyond that, he's a jerk.

Son House, for example, was vastly undereducated in comparison to someone like Mr. Mayer, was by far more underprivileged in just about every way. Oddly, Mr. House never succumbed to the stupid, tasteless and ridiculous racist themes that Mr. Mayer seems to think are de rigeur. Neither, for that matter, have DL Menard, Michael Doucet, Pete Seeger or many other CAUCASIAN artists who have, by virtue of their careers and legitimate credibility, definitely earned whatever "pass" Mayer dreams he's entitled to.

I have met BB King, and he comports himself as a true gentleman. I have met other LEGENDARY rock, folk and country artists, and none of them have ever had anything controversial to say PURELY FOR THE SAKE OF SHOCK VALUE or because they felt they had some non-existent "pass" to denigrate people. The things I have heard many of these people say have often been controversial, but they have been thought-provoking and the right to say them has been EARNED over LIFETIMES of work, struggle and varying success and failure. These men and women STILL did not lower themselves to act like morons.

When or IF Mr. Mayer ever earns the right to speak his mind so frankly, he will, deo volente, also have learned to say things that MATTER, not just things that will garner him more press.

P.S. I have played basketball in prison with black men. They complimented me on my ability to play. I have also played blues with seasoned veterans (also black) of the genre and sung Gospel music in front of award-winning black choir directors. Do you think for a minute that I all of a sudden earned some "pass" to start calling everyone "boy" or to do a black-face routine? This stupid white-boy fantasy of "earning a hood pass" is bullshit. I earned my stripes by playing and singing my heart out and my ass off, and white and black and all of that rot vanished. We respected each other. Mr. Mayer doesn't want real respect, he wants to be able to play-act the part of the "blues man" and still go back to his spoiled-brat rock star life at night.

He won't be remembered in 50 years as any more important or impactful than Dion or any of the others who earned their rep doing a pastiche of stereotypical "blues music" combined with blatantly derivative playing styles.