Mayer spent months in the hospital fighting complications from a stroke he’d suffered in April, according to a posting on his MySpace page, but had appeared to be recovering.

He took a decades-long break from recording until 2004, when he released “I Just Want to Be Held” for Fat Possum Records and toured with The Black Keys, gaining attention from a new generation of fans. His last album, Why Don’t You Give It To Me?, was released on Alive Records in 2005.