Ben Harper Early Life

As a boy benny, he began playing guitar in his hometown of Claremont (in California's Inland Empire) - eventually specializing in the acoustic slide guitar (weissenborn guitars). As a young man, he recorded an LP (Pleasure and Pain) with fellow folk guitarist Tom Freund, which spurred record label attention. After this limited edition record, Harper received a record deal from Virgin Records, releasing his debut album, Welcome to the Cruel World (1994).

In 1999 at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Harper met Jack Johnson, who was unknown at the time and had not recorded. As a result of the meeting, Harper obtained a demo tape of 12 of Johnson's songs that he forwarded to his producer, J.P. Plunier, with whom he recorded his first album, thereby starting Johnson's musical career. (ref)

In October of 2004, Ben 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.

Over the summer of 2005, when the Zooma tour that had been scheduled with Trey Anastasio and various side stage performers was cancelled, Harper took on a tour of more private clubs/venues such as the Avalon Ballroom in Boston, and the Tabernacle in Atlanta. This series of concerts saw the debut of a number of new Harper songs, such as "Get It Like You Like It" and "Dressed In Black."

In December of 2005, Harper married his long-time girlfriend, actress Laura Dern, best known for her role in Jurassic Park. They have two children together, son Ellery and daughter Jaya.

In 2006, Harper released the album Both Sides of the Gun which debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts. A worldwide tour is scheduled, with support from Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley on the North American leg.