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

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
.

er was born in Claremont
Claremont, California

Claremont is a college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, California, United States, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, California at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
, in California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
's Pomona Valley
Pomona Valley

The Pomona Valley, located between the San Gabriel Valley and San Bernardino Valley in Southern California, straddles the border between Los Angeles County, California and San Bernardino County, California....
. He began playing guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
 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 of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, Order of Canada, National Order of Quebec is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963....
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who goes by the stage name Taj Mahal, is an internationally recognized blues musician who folds various forms of world music into his offerings....
 and David Lindley
David Lindley (musician)

David Lindley is an United States guitarist and multi-instrumentalist . During 1966 to 1970 he was part of the eclectic Psychedelic music band Kaleidoscope ....
 and quotes of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 and Robert Frost
Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech....
 made often by his grandfather.






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

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
.

Early life

Harper was born in Claremont
Claremont, California

Claremont is a college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, California, United States, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, California at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
, in California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
's Pomona Valley
Pomona Valley

The Pomona Valley, located between the San Gabriel Valley and San Bernardino Valley in Southern California, straddles the border between Los Angeles County, California and San Bernardino County, California....
. He began playing guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
 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 of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, Order of Canada, National Order of Quebec is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963....
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal (musician)

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who goes by the stage name Taj Mahal, is an internationally recognized blues musician who folds various forms of world music into his offerings....
 and David Lindley
David Lindley (musician)

David Lindley is an United States guitarist and multi-instrumentalist . During 1966 to 1970 he was part of the eclectic Psychedelic music band Kaleidoscope ....
 and quotes of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 and Robert Frost
Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech....
 made often by his grandfather. During the 80s, in his teen years, Harper began to play the slide guitar, mimicking the style of Robert Johnson, to contrast that of the then-popular heavy metal
Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States. With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by highly amplified Distortion , extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall...
 music. Next, Harper took up the Weissenborn
Weissenborn

Weissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s.These instruments are now highly sought after, and form the base for most non-resonator acoustic lap steel guitars currently produced....
 to provide further distinction between his style and that of other blues musicians, including Johnson's. Harper broke out of the Inland Empire
Inland Empire (California)

The Inland Empire is a region mainly located in Southeast California, particularly the Riverside County, California and San Bernardino County, California counties....
 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)
Follow the Drinkin' Gourd

The Drinkin' Gourd is another name for the Big Dipper Asterism . Folklore has it that fugitive slaves in the United States used to use it as a point of reference so they would not get lost....
 and toured the Fiftieth State
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
.

Career

As a young man, Harper recorded the LP
Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
 Pleasure and Pain
Pleasure and Pain

Pleasure and Pain is the name of an LP released in 1992 as a vinyl record by Ben Harper and Tom Freund , consisting of 11 predominantly standards-based tracks with no backing recorded at the Cardas studio in California....
 with Folk
Traditional music

Traditional music is the term now used in the terminology of Grammy Awards, for what used to be called "folk music". Full details of this change can be found in the article World music terminology....
 multi-instrumentalist Tom Freund
Tom Freund

Tom Freund is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the United States. He left New_york_city in the early 90s and moved to Southern California where he recorded Pleasure and Pain with Ben Harper....
. After this limited edition record, Harper secured a record deal with Virgin Records
Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a United Kingdom record label founded by England entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972 in music. It was later sold to Thorn EMI, and then, in the US, merged with Capitol Records in 2007 to create the Capitol Music Group....
, which released his debut album, Welcome to the Cruel World
Welcome to the Cruel World

Welcome to the Cruel World , Ben Harper's debut record from Virgin Records established Harper as a popular folk musician in the California area....
 (1994).

This was followed by Fight For Your Mind
Fight for Your Mind

Fight for Your Mind is a 1995 album by Ben Harper. It was his last solo album before adding The Innocent Criminals to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple genres, from Traditional music , folk rock , Black Sabbath-style riffing heavy metal music and politically-charged reggae ....
 (1995), which became a college radio favorite and generated an abundance of songs that still fill his set lists to date.

In 1999 at the Santa Barbara Bowl
Santa Barbara Bowl

The Santa Barbara Bowl is a 4,562-seat amphitheater located in Santa Barbara, California. It was built in 1936 as a WPA project. It is used for concerts and other special events....
, Harper met Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson (musician)

Jack Hody Johnson is a Hawaiian-born singer-songwriter, musician, filmmaker, and surfer who has achieved commercial success and a dedicated following, after the release of his debut album, Brushfire Fairytales in 2001....
, 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.

From early on in Harper's career, his music received more attention in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 than it did in his home country. While he was a well-known and respected figure in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 (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
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
, Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of 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
Diamonds on the Inside

Diamonds on the Inside is Ben Harper's first work without crediting the Innocent Criminals in almost 10 years, although all the touring members continue to support him on the album, with several additions....
 played to packed arenas across the continent.

In October 2004, Harper participated in the Vote for Change
Vote for Change

The Vote for Change tour was a politically-motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together....
 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
For the Lady

For The Lady is a benefit CD set dedicated to freeing Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the people of Burma, released by Rhino Records on October 26, 2004....
, a benefit album for jailed Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will , the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for :wikt:fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the h...
 winner and Burmese pro-democracy
Democracy

Democracy is a form of government in which power is held directly or indirectly by citizens under a free electoral system. It is derived from the Greek language d?????at?a , "popular government" which was coined from d???? , "people" and ???t?? , "rule, strength" in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC to denote the political syst...
 advocate Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi Companion of the Order of Australia ; born 19 June 1945 in Rangoon, is a pro-democracy activist and leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma, and a noted prisoner of conscience and advocate of nonviolence resistance....
.

Over the summer of 2005, when the Zooma tour scheduled with Trey Anastasio
Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio is an United States guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish original songs, 140 of them as a solo credit, in addition to 41 credits attributed to the band as a whole....
 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
Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the Capital and most populous city in Georgia , as well as the 33rd largest city in the United States of America with a population of 519,145....
, and a full-band acoustic performance at the historic Ryman Auditorium
Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue located at 116 Fifth Avenue North in Nashville, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States, and is best-known as the one-time home of the Grand Ole Opry....
 in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the Capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis, Tennessee....
. 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
Both Sides of the Gun

Both Sides of the Gun, is a Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals 2-disc album released in 2006....
 which debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts
Billboard charts

The Billboard charts are music sales, airplay and digital ranking reports distributed to the general public by Billboard magazine. Billboard is considered the foremost authority worldwide in these song sales, airplay, digital reports, or Record chart....
.

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

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
n leg.

Though uncredited, he appears briefly in the 2006 David Lynch
David Lynch

David Keith Lynch is an United States film director, screenwriter, Film producer, Painting, cartoonist, composer, video artist and performance artist....
 film Inland Empire
Inland Empire (film)

Inland Empire is a surrealism, psychological thriller film, written and directed by David Lynch. It was his first feature-length film since 2001's Mulholland Drive , and shares many similarities with that film....
, alongside his wife Laura Dern
Laura Dern

Laura Elizabeth Dern is an Academy Award-nominated United States actress, film director and film producer. Dern is well known for numerous roles in major films, including Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park , October Sky and others....
.

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals recorded a new album, Lifeline
Lifeline (Ben Harper album)

Lifeline is an album by Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals. The album was recorded in Paris in the fall of 2006 after the lengthy European leg of the Both Sides of the Gun tour....
, in Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
. It was released in 2007. He also covered
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
 John Lennon
John Lennon

John Winston Ono Lennon, Order of the British Empire was an English Rock music musician, singer, songwriter, artist, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles....
's "Beautiful Boy" on the benefit CD Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur
Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur

Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur is a compilation album of Various Artists covering songs of John Lennon to benefit Amnesty International's campaign to alleviate the Darfur conflict....
.

Ben has achieved great success in Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
 and Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, because of his collaboration "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" with Brazilian
Brazilian people

Brazilians are all people born in Brazil. A Brazilian can be also a person born abroad from a Brazilian parent or a foreigner living in Brazil who applied for the Brazilian citizenship....
 singer Vanessa da Mata
Vanessa da Mata

Vanessa da Mata is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian M?sica Popular Brasileira singer, songwriter. She has released three studio albums and the songs "Ai, Ai, Ai", "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" and "Amado" became number-one hits in her country....
, which peaked at #1 in the Portuguese charts.

Harper is part of the No Nukes group
No Nukes group

Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash and Jackson Browne are part of the No Nukes group which is against the expansion of nuclear power. In 2007 they recorded a music video of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield song "For What It's Worth "....
 which is against the expansion of nuclear power
Nuclear power

Nuclear power is any nuclear technology designed to extract usable energy from atomic nucleus via controlled nuclear reactions. The only method in use today is through nuclear fission, though other methods might one day include nuclear fusion and radioactive decay ....
. In 2007 the group recorded a music video
Music video

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a pop music or rock music song with lyrics. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings....
 of a new version of the Buffalo Springfield
Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield was a short-lived but influential folk rock group that served as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina , and is most famous for the song "For What It's Worth "....
 song "For What It's Worth
For What It's Worth

"For What It's Worth" is a song written by Stephen Stills. It was performed by Buffalo Springfield and released as a single in January 1967; it was later added to the re-release of their first album, Buffalo Springfield . The single peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart....
".

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
Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native Americans in the United States people orginally from the Southeastern United States . They are linguistically connected to speakers of the Iroquoian language....
 Indian ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Chase-Verdries, was Jew
Jew

A Jew is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group that traces its ancestry to the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East....
ish . His parents divorce
Divorce

Divorce or dissolution of marriage is a legal process in which a judge or other authority dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing between two persons, thus restoring them to the marital status of being single....
d when he was five, and he grew up with his mother's family. 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 5 years, actress Laura Dern
Laura Dern

Laura Elizabeth Dern is an Academy Award-nominated United States actress, film director and film producer. Dern is well known for numerous roles in major films, including Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park , October Sky and others....
. 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
Songs for Tibet

Songs for Tibet ? The Art of Peace is a music album with contributions from number of musicians from throughout the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and South Africa....
, which is an initiative to support Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
, Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and was the political leader of Lhasa-based Tibetan government between the 17th century and 1959....
 Tenzin Gyatso and to underline the human rights
Human rights

Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedom to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, i...
 situation in Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
. The album was issued on August 5 via iTunes
ITunes

iTunes is a Proprietary software digital media media player application, used for playing and organizing digital music and video files. The program is also an interface to manage the contents on Apple's popular iPod digital media players as well as the iPhone....
 and on August 19 in music stores around the world.

Awards and nominations


Year
Year

A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. By extension, this can be applied to any planet: for example, a "Martian year" is the time in which Mars completes its own orbit....
 Award
Award

An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified...
 Show
Show

Show can refer to:* A television program* A theatre production* A concert* A radio program* A donkey show* Show , a live album by British band The Cure...
 Award
Award

An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified...
/Nomination
Nomination

Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party....
2003Rolling Stone (France)Artist of the Year
2005Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance
Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance has been awarded since 1969.*In 1969 it was awarded as Best Contemporary-Pop Performance, Instrumental...
2005Grammy AwardGrammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album
Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album

The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album has been awarded since 1991. A similar award, the Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional was awarded from 1978 to 1983....


Certifications

YearAlbumCertification
RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and single sold through retail and other ancillary markets....
1995Fight for Your Mind
Fight for Your Mind

Fight for Your Mind is a 1995 album by Ben Harper. It was his last solo album before adding The Innocent Criminals to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple genres, from Traditional music , folk rock , Black Sabbath-style riffing heavy metal music and politically-charged reggae ....
RIAA Gold-US
RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and single sold through retail and other ancillary markets....
1999Burn to ShineRIAA Gold-US #67
RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and single sold through retail and other ancillary markets....
2001Live from Mars
Live from Mars

Live From Mars is a two disc live concert release from Ben Harper which takes tracks from unnamed venues throughout his 2000 tour and places them on either an electric or acoustic disc....
RIAA Gold-US #70
RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and single sold through retail and other ancillary markets....


Discography


Albums

Album information
Pleasure and Pain
Pleasure and Pain

Pleasure and Pain is the name of an LP released in 1992 as a vinyl record by Ben Harper and Tom Freund , consisting of 11 predominantly standards-based tracks with no backing recorded at the Cardas studio in California....
  • Released: , 1992
Welcome to the Cruel World
Welcome to the Cruel World

Welcome to the Cruel World , Ben Harper's debut record from Virgin Records established Harper as a popular folk musician in the California area....
  • Released: February 8, 1994
    • Fight for Your Mind
    Fight for Your Mind

    Fight for Your Mind is a 1995 album by Ben Harper. It was his last solo album before adding The Innocent Criminals to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple genres, from Traditional music , folk rock , Black Sabbath-style riffing heavy metal music and politically-charged reggae ....
  • Released: 1995
  • RIAA Certification: Gold
    • The Will to Live
    The Will to Live

    The Will to Live , an album by Ben Harper which showed his continuing folk-centric focus, while at the same time expanding on his rock talents....
  • Released: June 17, 1997
  • The Billboard 200 #89, 1997
    • Burn to Shine
  • Released: September 21, 1999
  • The Billboard 200 #67, 1999
  • RIAA Certification: Gold #67 U.S.
    • Live From Mars
    Live from Mars

    Live From Mars is a two disc live concert release from Ben Harper which takes tracks from unnamed venues throughout his 2000 tour and places them on either an electric or acoustic disc....
  • Released: 2001
  • RIAA Certification: Gold #70 U.S
    • Diamonds on the Inside
    Diamonds on the Inside

    Diamonds on the Inside is Ben Harper's first work without crediting the Innocent Criminals in almost 10 years, although all the touring members continue to support him on the album, with several additions....
  • Released: March 11, 2003
  • The Billboard 200 #19, 2003
  • Top Canadian Albums #8, 2003
  • Top Internet Albums #19, 2003
    • There Will Be a Light
    There Will Be a Light

    There Will Be a Light is a gospel music album by Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama, released in 2004....
  • Released: September 21, 2004
  • The Billboard 200 #81, 2004
  • Top Gospel Albums #1, 2004
  • Top Internet Albums #113, 2004
    • Live at the Apollo
    Live at the Apollo (Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama)

    Live at the Apollo was a concert by Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama filmed at the Apollo Theater , on October 12 2004 and released as a DVD and a CD....
  • Released: March 14, 2005
  • RIAA Certification: Gold #70 U.S
    • Both Sides of the Gun
    Both Sides of the Gun

    Both Sides of the Gun, is a Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals 2-disc album released in 2006....
  • Released: March 21, 2006
  • The Billboard 200 #7, 2006
  • ARIA Weekly Top 100
    Australian Recording Industry Association

    The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australia recording industry. It oversees the collection, administration and distribution of music licenses and royalties....
     #1. 2006
    • Lifeline
    Lifeline (Ben Harper album)

    Lifeline is an album by Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals. The album was recorded in Paris in the fall of 2006 after the lengthy European leg of the Both Sides of the Gun tour....
  • Released: August 282007
  • The Billboard 200 #9, 2007
  • European Top Albums #6, September 6, 2007
    • Live At Twist & Shout
  • Released: December 4, 2007
    • White Lies For Dark Times
  • Released: May 2009


    • Virtual albums

    • iTunes Originals - Ben Harper


    Singles

    • "Like A King / Whipping Boy" (1994)
    • "Ground on Down" (1995)
    • "Excuse Me Mr." (1996)
    • "Gold To Me" (1996)
    • "Faded
      Faded

      "Faded" may refer to:*"Faded " a song originally sung by Kate DeAraugo and covered by Cascada*"Faded " a song by soulDecision...
      " (1997)
    • "Jah Work" (1997)
    • "Glory & Consequence" (1997)
    • "Please Bleed" (1999)
    • "Burn to Shine" (1999)
    • "Forgiven" (2000)
    • "Steal My Kisses
      Steal My Kisses

      "Steal My Kisses" is a single by American singer Ben Harper released in 2000.The beat of the title song is formed with mouth noises....
      " (2000) #15 U.S. Adult Top 40
    • "With My Own Two Hands
      With My Own Two Hands

      "With My Own Two Hands" is a single from Ben Harper's 2003 release Diamonds on the Inside.The lyrics focus on the how changes in the world can come about when single person decides to take action....
      " (2003)
    • "Diamonds On The Inside
      Diamonds On The Inside (song)

      "Diamonds on the Inside" was the second single released from the album Diamonds on the Inside by Ben Harper.The song was ranked #18 on the Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2003....
      " (2003) #31 U.S. Adult Top 40
    • "Brown Eyed Blues" (2004)
    • "Wicked Man
      Wicked Man

      Wicked Man is a song by Eric Burdon released on the album Power Company in 1983. It was written by The Eric Burdon Band in the early 1970s....
      " (2004)
    • "There Will Be A Light" (2004)
    • "Better Way" (2006)
    • "Both Sides Of The Gun" (2006)
    • "Morning Yearning" (2006)
    • "Fight Outta You" (2007)
    • "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" (2007) (with Vanessa da Mata
      Vanessa da Mata

      Vanessa da Mata is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian M?sica Popular Brasileira singer, songwriter. She has released three studio albums and the songs "Ai, Ai, Ai", "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" and "Amado" became number-one hits in her country....
      ) (#1 Portugal)(#1 Brazil)
    • "In The Colors" (2007)
    • "Fool For A Lonesome Train" (2007)


    Special appearances


    Harper played a slide guitar
    Slide guitar

    Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide is in reference to the sliding motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides, which were the necks of glass bottles....
     version of the Star-Spangled Banner prior to Game 3 of the 2007 NBA Finals
    2007 NBA Finals

    The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2006-07 NBA season, and was the conclusion of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers....
     on June 12 in Cleveland.

    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"

    DVDs

    • Pleasure and Pain
      Pleasure and Pain

      Pleasure and Pain is the name of an LP released in 1992 as a vinyl record by Ben Harper and Tom Freund , consisting of 11 predominantly standards-based tracks with no backing recorded at the Cardas studio in California....
       (2002)
    • Live at the Hollywood Bowl (2003)
    • Live at the Apollo (2005)


    External links

    (French fan forum)
    • on Stereo Warning