Ben Harper Biography

Ben Harper
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

For other persons named Ben Harper, see Ben Harper (disambiguation).
Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Background information
Birth name Benjamin Chase Harper
Born October 28, 1969 (1969-10-28) (age 39)
Claremont, California,
USA
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Folk rock
Blues
Gospel
Reggae
Occupation(s) Musician, Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, Multi-instrumentalist
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, keyboards, Piano, Bass, Drums, percussion
Years active 1992 — present
Label(s) Virgin/EMI Records
Associated acts Vanessa da Mata
Website benharper.net
Notable instrument(s)
Fender Telecaster

Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American musician.

Contents

Early life

Harper was born in Claremont, in California's Pomona Valley. He began playing guitar as a child.1 His maternal grandparents' music store The Folk Music Center and Museum laid a foundation of folk and blues for the artist, complemented by regular patrons of Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal and David Lindley and quotes of William Shakespeare and Robert Frost made often by his grandfather.2 As a teen in the 80's, Harper began to play the slide guitar, mimicking the style of Robert Johnson, to contrast that of the then-popular heavy metal music. Next, Harper took up the Weissenborn to provide further distinction between his style and that of other blues musicians, including Johnson's.3 Harper broke out of the Inland Empire after being offered an invitation by Taj Mahal to tour with the artist. The 20 year-old Harper and the blues legend then recorded Follow the Drinking Ghour(d) and toured the fiftieth state.4

Career

As a young man, Harper recorded the LP Pleasure and Pain with fellow Folk guitarist Tom Freund. After this limited edition record, Harper got a record deal with Virgin Records, which released his debut album, Welcome to the Cruel World (1994).

This was followed by Fight For Your Mind (1995) which became a college radio favorite and generated an abundance of songs which still fill his set list to this day.

In 1999 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Harper met Jack Johnson, who was unknown at the time and had not recorded. Harper obtained a demo tape of 12 of Johnson's songs that he forwarded to his producer, J.P. Plunier, with whom Johnson recorded his first album.5

Ben Harper, Massey Hall, Toronto, ON

From early on in Harper's career, his music received more attention in Europe than it did in his home country. While he was a well-known and respected figure in the United States (his musicianship put him on the lineup of featured singers covering Motown hits by Marvin Gaye on the classic 2002 documentary, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," the story of the Funk Brothers) he was a star in countries like France, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, and The Netherlands, receiving a great deal of airplay and critical acclaim. His popularity in Europe is such that he was French Rolling Stone magazine's Artist of the Year (Artiste De L'Année) in 2003, and his tour that year for Diamonds on the Inside played to packed arenas across the continent.

In October 2004, Harper participated in the Vote for Change concert tour organised to benefit Moveon.org and encourage people in the swing states to vote during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Also in October, Harper contributed a live recording of the song "Oppression" to For The Lady, a benefit album for jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burmese pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Over the summer of 2005, when the Zooma tour scheduled with Trey Anastasio and various side stage performers was canceled, Harper engaged in a tour of more private clubs/venues such as the Avalon Ballroom in Boston, the Tabernacle in Atlanta, and a full-band acoustic performance at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. This series of concerts saw the debut of a number of new songs, such as "Get It Like You Like It" and "Dressed In Black."

In 2006, Harper released the double album Both Sides of the Gun which debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts.

Harper finished a worldwide tour in support of the album in 2006, with support from Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley on the North American leg.

Though uncredited, he appears briefly in the 2006 David Lynch film Inland Empire, alongside his wife Laura Dern.

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals recorded a new album, Lifeline, in Paris. It was released in 2007. He also covered John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" on the benefit CD Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur.

Ben has achieved great success in Brazil and Portugal, because of his collaboration "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" with Brazilian singer Vanessa da Mata, which peaked at #1 in the Portuguese charts.

Harper is part of the No Nukes group which is against the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007 the group recorded a music video of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth".67

Ben Harper formed a new band in 2008, Relentless7, and is expected to release its debut album in May 2009.

Personal life

Ben Harper is multi-ethnic. His father, Leonard, was of African-American and Cherokee Indian ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Chase-Verdries, was Jewish.8910 His parents divorced when he was five. Harper has two brothers, Joel and Peter Harper.

From 1996 to 2001, Harper was married to Joanna. They have two children, son Charles James and daughter Harris.

On December 23, 2005 Harper married his girlfriend of five years, actress Laura Dern. They have two children together, son Ellery Walker Harper (August 21, 2001) and daughter Jaya (November 24, 2004).

Charity

In 2008 he participated in a music album called Songs for Tibet, which is an initiative to support Tibet, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and to underline the human rights situation in Tibet. The album was issued on August 5 via iTunes and on August 19 in music stores around the world.11

Awards and nominations

Year Award Show Award/Nomination
2003 Rolling Stone (France) Artist of the Year
2005 Grammy Award Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance
2005 Grammy Award Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album

Certifications

Year Album Certification
1995 Fight for Your Mind RIAA Gold-US
1999 Burn to Shine RIAA Gold-US #67
2001 Live from Mars RIAA Gold-US #70

Discography

Albums

Album information
Pleasure and Pain
  • Released: , 1992
Welcome to the Cruel World
Fight for Your Mind
  • Released: 1995
  • RIAA Certification: Gold
The Will to Live
Burn to Shine
Live From Mars
  • Released: 2001
  • RIAA Certification: Gold #70 U.S
Diamonds on the Inside
There Will Be a Light
Live at the Apollo
Both Sides of the Gun
Lifeline
Live At Twist & Shout

Virtual albums

Singles

Special appearances

Harper played a slide guitar version of the Star-Spangled Banner prior to Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals on June 12 in Cleveland.

DVDs

References

  1. ^ [1][2]
  2. ^ Appleford, Steve. "I'll Rise: The Music and Message of Ben Harper" Page 5. Essay published in the Ben Harper CD Box Collection. Released April 4, 2000.
  3. ^ ibid, page 11
  4. ^ ibid, page 13
  5. ^ Harper takes both sides - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper
  6. ^ “For What It’s Worth,” No Nukes Reunite After Thirty Years
  7. ^ Musicians Act to Stop New Atomic Reactors
  8. ^ Ben Harper | Roots | Part one
  9. ^ Ben Harper - Every Facet Of The Diamond
  10. ^ Ben Harper | Culture | The Guardian
  11. ^ E-Online (July 22, 2008) Sting, Matthews, Mayer Gamer for Tibet Than Beijing

External links