The talented Ben Harper is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist hailing from Claremont, California, and is most known for his musical style that’s a brilliant mixture of folk, rock, blues, reggae, and gospel.

Born on October 28, 1969, in Claremont, California. Harper was highly interested in music as a young child, playing around on the guitar, and then when he was older, specializing in the acoustic slide guitar and focusing on playing and singing folk music. Soon he collaborated with Tom Freund, a folk guitarist, to record the LP Pleasure and Pain, after which Harper released his first official album Welcome to the Cruel World in 1994 through Virgin Records, with whom he had signed a record deal.

His follow-up album, Fight For Your Mind, came just a year later, and The Will to Live, which hit the #89 spot in The Billboard 200, was released in 1997. In 1999, Harper released Burn to Shine, which hit the #67 spot and went certified gold in the U.S. Also that year, Harper met the at-the-time unknown and unrecorded musician Jack Johnson, and allegedly helped him to record his first album through Harper’s producer, J P Plunier.

Harper went on to release Live From Mars in 2001, Diamonds on the Inside in 2003, There Will Be a Light in 2004, Live at the Apollo in 2005, and Both Sides of the Gun in 2006.

Several of Harper’s albums went certified gold, and most of them hit the charts, including The Billboard 200, Top Canadian Albums, Top Gospel Albums, and Top Internet Albums. Both Sides of the Gun went #7 on the Billboard 200.

Although Harper was somewhat renowned and popular in the U.S., he was considered an all-out star in Europe, particularly in France, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as The Netherlands. In 2003, he was actually named the French version of Rolling Stone magazine's "Artist of the Year.

He has two Grammy Awards under his belt, both from 2005; one for the Best Pop Instrumental Performance and one for the Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album.

Harper is also known for his many concerts and tours, the most recent alongside Damian "Jr Gong" Marley in North America as part of his worldwide tour. He also completed his Australian tour for Both Sides of the Gun at Brisbane River Stage on May 20, 2006, where he performed Bob Marley’s "High Tide or Low Tide" with Jack Johnson. In the summer of 2006, Harper tagged along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their tour. Many of Harper’s concerts have been sold out, and he is renowned for performing covers of famous songs by famous artists, such as Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, and Neil Young.

Noted actress Laura Dern, who is most known for her role as Dr. Ellie Sattler on two Jurassic Park movies, is Harper’s wife, whom he married on December 23, 2005, and with whom he has two children. Harper actually has four children in total; two are from a previous marriage.

YUDDY