Ben Harper

For other people named Ben Harper, see Ben Harper (disambiguation).

Ben Harper
Born	(1969-10-28) October 28, 1969 Claremont, California United States

Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents. His albums have been commercially successful in North America, Europe and Australia. Harper is a two-time Grammy Award winner as well, winning awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album, in 2005.

Early life

Harper was born in Claremont, in California's Inland Empire. His father, Leonard, was of African-American and Cherokee ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Chase-Verdries, is Jewish. His maternal great-grandmother was Russian, Jewish and emigrated from Lithuania. His parents divorced when he was age five, and he grew up with his mother's family. Harper has two brothers, Joel and Peter.

Harper began playing guitar as a child. 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 Leonard Cohen, Taj Mahal and David Lindley and quotes of William Shakespeare and Robert Frost made often by his grandfather. At the age of 12, Harper played his first gig. During the '80s, in his teen years, Harper began to play the slide guitar, mimicking the style of Robert Johnson. Next, Harper refined his style, taking up the Weissenborn. 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 Hawaii.

Career

Harper's trademark curtain call; 2003

In 1992 Harper recorded the LP Pleasure and Pain with Folk multi-instrumentalist Tom Freund. After this limited edition record, Harper secured a record deal with Virgin Records, which released his debut album, Welcome to the Cruel World in 1994. This was followed by Fight For Your Mind in 1995, which became a college radio favorite and included several songs that Harper still plays live regularly. His 1997 album The Will to Live was the first to feature his backup band the Innocent Criminals.

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 twelve of Johnson's songs that he forwarded to his producer, J.P. Plunier, with whom Johnson recorded his first album.

Harper playing the weissenborn at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario.

Early in Harper's career, his music received more attention in Europe and was widely played in Australia (first on Triple J radio). Harper has made comments on a number of occasions that his career was kicked off in Australia. While he was a well-known and respected figure in the United States, he was a star in countries like Australia, New Zealand, 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 Australian tour that year for Diamonds on the Inside was highly successful.

In 2002, Harper was one of the featured singers covering Motown hits by Marvin Gaye in the documentary, Standing in the Shadows of Motown (a history of The Funk Brothers). In October 2004, Harper participated in the Vote for Change concert tour organized to benefit Moveon.org and encourage people in the swing states to vote during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. In the same month, 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. In 2006, Harper released the double album Both Sides of the Gun which debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts. Though uncredited, he appears briefly in the 2006 David Lynch film Inland Empire, alongside his wife Laura Dern.

After several albums without the Innocent Criminals, Harper reconvened that band for the 2007 album, Lifeline, which was recorded in Paris. Harper also covered John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" on the benefit CD Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. 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". Harper's collaboration "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" with Brazilian singer Vanessa da Mata peaked at #1 in Brazil and Portugal. In Brazil it also won a highly coveted Prêmio Multishow for "Best Song" in 2008. Also in 2008, Harper participated in the benefit album Songs for Tibet.

While recording Both Sides of the Gun in 2005, Harper met the members who would eventually form his new band, Relentless7, with Texas-based musicians Jason Mozersky (guitar), Jesse Ingalls (bass) and Jordan Richardson (drums). The album White Lies for Dark Times, credited to Ben Harper and Relentless7, was released on May 4, 2009. On July 12, 2009, the band performed the closing concert of the 30th Montreal International Jazz Fest. On January 13, 2010, Harper and Relentless7 appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart together with Ringo Starr to perform "Walk With You" and "With a Little Help from My Friends". On January 22, 2010, Harper appeared on the last episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien with Beck and Billy Gibbons playing a Will Ferrell-led rendition of "Freebird".

On August 27, 2010, it was reported that Ben Harper had formed a band called Fistful of Mercy with Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur. Fistful of Mercy released their debut record, As I Call You Down, on October 5, 2010.

Personal life

Harper with now estranged wife, Laura Dern in December 2009

In 1996, Harper married his first wife, Joanna. They had two children, a son and daughter, Charles Joseph and Harris.

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

On October 8, 2010, Harper, having been married for five years, filed for divorce from Dern, citing irreconcilable differences. He is seeking joint custody of their two children, as well as asking for a denial of spousal support for Dern.

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	Certifications
1995	Fight for Your Mind	RIAA: Gold
1999	Burn to Shine	RIAA: Gold
2001	Live from Mars	RIAA: Gold
2003	Diamonds on the Inside	CRIA: Gold
2005	Live at the Apollo	RIAA: Gold
2006	Both Sides of the Gun	CRIA: Gold

Discography

Albums

Album	Attribution	Released	Chart position
Pleasure and Pain	Ben Harper	1992
Welcome to the Cruel World	Ben Harper	February 8, 1994
Fight for Your Mind	Ben Harper	1995	ARIA Albums Chart #34 RIAA certification: Gold
The Will to Live	Ben Harper	June 17, 1997	Billboard 200 #89, 1997 ARIA Albums Chart #17
Burn to Shine	Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals	September 21, 1999	Billboard 200 #67, 1999 ARIA Albums Chart #2 RIAA certification: Gold
Live from Mars	Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals	2001	ARIA Albums Chart #2 RIAA certification: Gold
Diamonds on the Inside	Ben Harper	March 11, 2003	Billboard 200 #19, 2003 Top Canadian Albums #8, 2003 Top Internet Albums #19, 2003 ARIA Albums Chart #2
There Will Be a Light	Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama	September 21, 2004	Billboard 200 #81, 2004 Top Gospel Albums #1, 2004 Top Internet Albums #113, 2004 ARIA Albums Chart #6
Live at the Apollo	Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama	March 14, 2005	RIAA certification: Gold
Both Sides of the Gun	Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals	March 21, 2006	Billboard 200 #7, 2006 ARIA Albums Chart #1
Lifeline	Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals	August 28, 2007	Billboard 200 #9 European Top Albums #6 ARIA Albums Chart #7
Live at Twist & Shout	Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals	December 4, 2007
White Lies for Dark Times	Ben Harper and Relentless7	May 5, 2009	Billboard 200 #9 ARIA Albums Chart #17
Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival	Ben Harper and Relentless7	March 9, 2010	Billboard 200 #151 Rock Albums #45
As I Call You Down	Fistful of Mercy	October 5, 2010	Billboard Folk Albums #2

Virtual albums

• iTunes Originals - Ben Harper
• "iTunes Must Haves - Ben Harper"

Singles

• "Like A King / Whipping Boy" (1994)
• "Ground on Down" (1995)
• "Excuse Me Mr." (1996)
• "Gold to Me" (1996)
• "Faded" (1997) #54 UK
• "Jah Work" (1997)
• "Glory & Consequence" (1997)
• "Please Bleed" (1999)
• "Burn to Shine" (1999)
• "Forgiven" (2000)
• "Steal My Kisses" (2000) #15 U.S. Adult Top 40
• "With My Own Two Hands" (2003)
• "Diamonds On the Inside" (2003) #31 U.S. Adult Top 40
• "Brown Eyed Blues" (2004)
• "Wicked Man" (2004)
• "There Will Be a Light" (2004)
• "Better Way" (2006)
• "Both Sides Of The Gun" (2006)
• "Morning Yearning" (2006)
• "Fight Outta You" (2007) #61 Hot Canadian Digital Charts
• "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" (2007) (with Vanessa da Mata) #1 Portugal; #1 Brazil
• "In The Colors" (2008)
• "Fool For A Lonesome Train" (2008)
• "Shimmer & Shine" (2009)
• "Fly One Time" (2009)
• "Lay There & Hate Me" (2010)
• "Skin Thin" (2010)
• "The Word Suicide" (2010)
• "Never Tear Us Apart" (with INXS) (2010)

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.

He can also be seen playing a slide guitar in the video for the song "Flake" by Jack Johnson.

Harper performed alongside Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and John Paul Jones at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2007. The jam session included songs by Stevie Wonder, The Isley Brothers, and several Led Zeppelin hits.

Harper performed a cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles for the soundtrack of the film I Am Sam.

He also appears on the 2003 Pearl Jam DVD Live at the Garden where Harper plays alongside friends Pearl Jam for the songs "Daughter" & "Indifference".

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals performed a cover of The Beatles' "Michelle" on the 2005 album This Bird Has Flown – A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul.

Harper also performed at several "Vote Obama" rallies, including one at University of Colorado at Boulder.

Harper performed on the Willie Nelson show Outlaws & Angels.

Harper teamed with the Skatalites to perform Fats Domino's "Be My Guest" on Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino.

Harper is featured in the iPhone / iPod touch Application "Tap Tap Revenge 2" with his singles "Steal my Kisses" and "Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart)."

Harper performed a cover of "My Father's House" by Bruce Springsteen for the album Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen.

Harper was featured, alongside Jack Johnson, playing slide guitar with Toots and the Maytals, performing their 1970s reggae hit "Pressure Drop" on Saturday Night Live.

Harper helped Conan O'Brien end his tenure on The Tonight Show by playing slide guitar on "Free Bird".

In 2006, Harper was featured on the song "Belief" on John Mayer's album Continuum.

In January 2010, Harper and his band Relentless7 performed at the Grammy Museum with Ringo Starr in support of the Beatles drummer's self-produced album, Y Not.

His song "Suzie Blue" is currently featured in a Cadillac commercial.

DVDs

• Pleasure and Pain (2002)
• Live at the Hollywood Bowl (2003)
• Live at the Apollo (2005)

External links

• Official website
• Official Ben Harper Shop
• Ben Harper on Facebook
• Template:Myspace
• Ben Harper Live for Earth Day on National Geographic
• Ben Harper at RollingStone.com
• Ben Harper on Twitter