Ben Harper biography

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 "Why Must You Always Dress 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".

Ben Harper formed a new band in 2008, 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.


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