Pedal steel (ZumSteel D10)

The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal" steel guitar. The word "steel" in the name comes from the metal tone bar, which is called a "steel", and which acts as a moveable fret, shortening the effective length of the string or strings being plucked as the player moves it up and down the neck with one hand. The instrument is horizontal with the strings face up, and is typically plucked with thumbpick and fingers or (two or three) fingerpicks. The pedals are mounted on a cross bar below the body and the knee levers extend from the bottom of the guitar's body and are used to stretch or slacken the strings and thus change the pitch in the process of the guitar being played; the action of the pedals may either be fixed, or may be configurable by the player to select which strings are affected by the pedals. The pedal steel, with its smooth portamenti, bending chords and complex riffs, is one of the most recognizable and characteristic instruments of American country music.

While there are some fairly standard pedal assignments, many advanced players devise their own setups, called copedents. The range of copedents that can be set up varies considerably from guitar to guitar. Aftermarket modifications to make additional copedents possible are common.

The pedal steel was developed from the console steel guitar and lap steel guitar. Like the console steel, a pedal steel may have multiple necks, but the pedals make even a single-neck pedal steel a far more versatile instrument than any multiple-neck console steel.

Description[link]

A pedal steel guitar is typically rectangular in shape, and has no specific resonant chamber or conventional guitar body but only one or more guitar necks. These are mounted on a stand and equipped with foot pedals and usually knee levers. Many models feature two necks, the nearer to the player most often using a C6 tuning and the farther away using an E9 tuning. The most common configuration is one or two necks of ten strings each, but eight-string and twelve-string necks are also popular, and even models with 14 strings on one neck can be found. Three-neck instruments are less common than those with one or two, but are not unknown.

The pedals and/or knee levers (engaged by moving the knees left, right or vertically) on the underside allow the performer to tighten or relax one or more strings in combination to specific tuned notes, changing the instrument's tuning during performance.

History[link]

The pedal steel guitar is the latest development in a story that started with the invention of a technique of playing used in Hawaii in the late 19th century, wherein the strings were not fretted in the normal manner by the left hand, but rather by sliding an object such as a comb or the back edge of a knife blade along the strings above the neck of the guitar. Several people have been credited with the innovation.

The Hawaiian style of playing was very popular in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. To increase the volume of the guitar, a resonator cone was added by the Dopyera Brothers to create the resophonic guitar (Dobro).

By the 30's, the hollow guitar body was abandoned for a flat slab of wood or metal and the addition of an electric pickup; this was the lap steel guitar. It was the first electric guitar to achieve commercial success. Several pioneering manufacturers of the electric guitar were first famous for their work on the then more popular electric steel guitar, among them Adolph Rickenbacker, Paul Bigsby and Leo Fender.

The limitations of chord shapes imposed by the use of the steel slide (or "tone bar") led to the addition of multiple necks, resulting in the console steel guitar. The Gibson Guitar Corporation used a system of pedals to change the tuning of the strings on one of their console steels beginning in 1940.^[1] This instrument, the Electraharp, had a cluster of pedals radiating from its left rear leg that operated similarly to the pedals on a harp. Alvino Rey was an early player of the Electraharp.^[1]

In about 1948, Paul Bigsby began making custom pedal steel guitars that featured pedals mounted to a rack between the front legs of the instrument.^[1] Speedy West got the second of Bigsby's creations, the first of his guitars to feature pedals, and used it extensively in his work with Jimmy Bryant. Zane Beck began adding knee levers to console steel guitars, and in 1952, added a set of four knee levers to Ray Noren's console steel.^[1] Beck's knee levers lowered the pitches of the strings they operated, which was an action opposite of what the pedals accomplished.^[1]

Around 1953, a console steel player named Bud Isaacs attached a pedal to one of the necks of his guitar. The function of the pedal was to change the pitch of two of the strings, whereby Isaacs would have two of the most common steel guitar tunings available on one neck. When he used this pedal to change his tuning while sustaining a chord during the recording of Webb Pierce's hit "Slowly," he touched off a revolution among steel guitarists. Isaacs used a Bigsby model for some time, however. ^[2]

The steel guitar seems to have an unusually high number of mechanically inclined players, and a period of extensive tinkering followed Isaac's initial idea. Two of these tinkering musicians were Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day, and their playing and mechanical innovations alike have done more for the development of the pedal steel guitar than any other contributors.

Emmons and Day split the function of Isaac's pedal into two separate pedals and added two strings to fill in the gaps in the E9 tuning, bringing the number of strings to ten.^[2] Although Emmons' and Day's setups do the same thing, Emmons and Day used the opposite of each other's pedals to raise the strings. To this day, when one buys a pedal steel, the manufacturer will ask whether the player wants an Emmons Setup or a Day Setup. Emmons incorporated a third pedal to his setup, based on a change Ralph Mooney had used on his instrument.^[2] Emmons joined forces in 1957 with another steel-playing machinist named Harold "Shot" Jackson and formed the Sho-Bud company, the first pedal steel guitar manufacturer.^[3] Sho-Bud guitars incorporated all the innovations that had taken place during the 1950s, including Emmons's third pedal, Beck's knee levers, and ten strings. The single-neck pedal steel guitar was now standardized with three pedals and (up to) four knee levers.

Both lap and pedal steel guitars were closely associated with the development of country music and Western swing. The pedal steel's liquid, yearning sound has begun in recent years to be coveted by many modern musicians, beginning in jazz and blues. In particular the rising popularity of alternative country has brought the instrument's beautiful sound to a much wider audience, and it has been used in many different musical genres. Jùjú music, a form from Nigeria, uses pedal steel extensively.

A Concerto for Pedal Steel Guitar and Orchestra has been written by Los Angeles composer Michael A. Levine. It was premiered on April 16, 2005, in a performance by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, with Gary Morse (of Dierks Bentley's and Dwight Yoakam's bands) as soloist, and Paul Gambill conducting. The piece is believed to be the first concerto ever written for the solo steel guitar.^{[citation needed]}

Playing[link]

A performer typically sits on a stool or seat at the instrument. The right foot is used mainly to operate a volume pedal. The left foot is primarily used to press one or more of the instrument's foot pedals. The knees are positioned under the instrument's body so that by moving them left, right or even vertically, they can push levers that are mounted from underneath the body of the steel guitar.

The strings are positioned high above the neck of the instrument. Rather than being pressed to a fret on the neck, the player's left hand holds a polished metal bar called the steel or "tone bar" on the strings. The steel can be slid up and down the length of the neck, while still touching (effectively fretting) the strings. This raises and lowers the pitch of the notes heard when the strings are played. If the bar is kept perpendicular to the neck (in the orientation of a fret), all strings touched have had their effective length changed equally. The technique of angling the bar so that the strings played are unequal in length and different intervals between the notes are played is called "slanting". The right hand plucks the strings, usually with a set of thumb and finger picks. A technique used by either hand to mute the vibration of the plucked strings is called "blocking" or muting. In combination with the variable volume pedal settings of the right foot different sonic effects are implemented. The volume pedal is used in many ways. One of the more prominent techniques used is to eliminate the attack of the string being plucked. The volume pedal is quickly rocked forward immediately after the string is plucked, effectively fading it from no volume to full volume and creating a new, smoother attack envelope.

The pedals and knee levers raise and lower the pitch of certain strings "on the fly" while the instrument is being played. The exact action of these pedals and levers—which strings are affected—can be set by the player to their preference.

Characteristic effects are obtained by changing pitch of one or more strings while other strings' pitches are static or change at differing rates. Melodic lines are composed primarily of dyads (two-note chords). In the E9 tuning, many characteristic idioms involve tonic-dominant and tonic-subdominant harmonic relationships.

Mastering the pedal steel guitar can take time due to its technical and complex harmonic innerworkings and unique physical techniques utilized to create the trademark sounds of the instrument. In country music, where the pedal steel guitar is most commonly heard, talented players are highly esteemed.

For a table of several tunings of the pedal steel guitar, see copedent.

See also[link]

Guitar portal

• Pedal Steel Guitar Association

References[link]

External links[link]

• The British Steelies Society Forum
• Steel Guitar Forum - A discussion site for pedal steel, lap steel, and related musical instruments
• Steel Guitar Jazz - A website featuring pedal and nonpedal steel guitar in jazz music - run by Jim Cohen
• www.pedalsteel.co.uk - website run by Bob Adams
• Pete Drake Member of the Musician's Hall of Fame for Steel Guitar

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Steel guitars

Resonator guitar played lap steel fashion.

Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use of a bar or slide called a steel (generally made of metal, but also of glass or other materials). The term steel guitar is often mistakenly used to describe any metal body resophonic guitar.

Steel guitar can describe:

• A method of playing slide guitar using a steel. Resonator guitars, including round necked varieties, are particularly suitable for this style, yet are seldom referred to as "steel guitars", but rather referred to generally as a Dobro, acoustic slide guitar, or square neck resonator guitars. Dobro is also a brand name of one of the leading manufacturers of resonator guitars.
• A specialised instrument built for playing in steel guitar fashion. These are of several types:
  • Lap steel guitar, which may be:
    • Lap slide guitar, with a conventional wooden guitar box.
    • The square-necked variety of resonator guitar.
    • Electric lap steel guitar.
  • Electric console steel guitar.
  • Electric pedal steel guitar.

Technique[link]

Steel guitar refers to a method of playing on a guitar held horizontally, with the strings uppermost and the bass strings towards the player, and using a type of slide called a steel above the fingerboard rather than fretting the strings with the fingers. This may be done with any guitar, but is most common on instruments designed and produced for this style of play.

The technique was invented and popularized in Hawaii. Thus, the lap steel guitar is sometimes known as the Hawaiian guitar, particularly in documents from the early 20th century, and today any steel guitar is frequently called a Hawaiian steel guitar. However, in Hawaiian music, Hawaiian guitar means slack string guitar, played in the conventional or Spanish position.

Bottleneck guitar may have actually developed from Steel guitar technique. It is similar, with the exception that the guitar is held in the conventional position, and using a different form of slide to accommodate this playing position.

Instruments[link]

A steel guitar is one designed to be played in steel-guitar fashion.

Historically, these have been of many types, but two dominate:

• Resonator guitars, particularly the square-necked variety which can only be played in steel guitar fashion.
• Electric instruments, starting with electric lap steel guitars and developing through the console steel guitar to the pedal steel guitar.

Lap steel guitar[link]

The lap steel typically has 6 strings and is tuned to either standard guitar tuning, or an open chord. It differs from a conventional or Spanish guitar in having a higher action and often a neck that is square in cross section. The frets, unused in steel style playing, may be replaced by markers.

There are three main types:

• Lap slide guitars, which are acoustic instruments but may have electric pickups for amplification in addition.
• Resonator guitars, which are also acoustic instruments but may have pickups for amplification in addition.
• Electric lap steel guitars, which are normally solid body.

Early lap steel guitars were Spanish guitars modified by raising both the bridge and head nut. The string height at the head nut was raised to about half an inch by using a head nut converter or converter nut. This type of guitar is claimed to have been invented in about 1889 by Joseph Kekuku in Hawaii.^[1]

Some lap slide guitars, particularly those of Weissenborn and their imitators, have two 6-string necks, but electric and resonator lap steel guitars are normally single neck instruments.

Square-necked resonator guitars are always played in lap steel fashion, and so are specialised lap steel guitars. Round-necked varieties can be played in lap steel fashion, with some restrictions on the available tunings, but can also be played in Spanish position.

The Rickenbacker frying pan, an electric lap steel guitar produced from 1931 to 1939, was the first commercially successful solid body electric guitar.

Console steel guitar[link]

The console steel guitar (also known as a table steel guitar) is an electric instrument, intermediate between the lap steel from which it developed and the pedal steel which in turn developed from the console steel. There are no pedals, so the player has only as many tunings available as there are necks.

The development of the lap steel guitar into the console steel guitar saw the introduction of amplification as standard, multiple necks, and additional strings on each neck, first to seven, and eight strings per neck is now common. One, two, three and four neck instruments are not uncommon. The two neck, eight string per neck configuration is particularly favoured in Hawaiian music.

The distinction between console steel guitar and lap steel guitar is fuzzy at best, and some makers and authorities do not use the term console steel guitar at all, but refer to any steel guitar without pedals as a lap steel guitar even if playing it in lap steel position would be quite impossible.

Pedal steel guitar[link]

The pedal steel guitar is an electric instrument normally with 10 to 14 strings per neck, and sometimes two or even three necks, each in a different tuning. Up to eight pedals (not counting the volume pedal) and up to eight knee-levers are used to alter the tunings of different strings, which gives the instrument its distinctive voice, most often heard in country music.

The extra strings and use of pedals gives even a single neck pedal steel guitar far more versatility than any table steel guitar, but at the same time makes playing far more complex.

Steels[link]

The type of slide called a steel which gives the technique its name was probably originally made of steel, or the name may come from the legend that the first steel was a railroad track.

Many materials are used, but nickel-plated brass is popular for the highest-quality slides, which are shaped to fit the hand and as a result have a cross-section not unlike a railroad track. Another traditional and popular variety is a cylindrical shaped steel bar that needs to be balanced between the thumb and the middle finger with the forefinger providing for varying degrees of pressure on the string.

Some cautions on terminology[link]

The term steel guitar should not be confused with steel-strung guitar, which is a standard acoustic guitar that has steel rather than the nylon, cat-gut or brass/nickel strings used for classical guitar or standard acoustic guitar, and is built with extra bracing, a stronger neck, and higher-geared machine heads to compensate for the much higher tension of steel strings. The steel guitar takes its name from the type of slide used, not from the material of the strings.

The term Hawaiian guitar is often used for various types of steel guitar, but in Hawaiian music Hawaiian guitar means slack-key guitar, a way of tuning a steel stringed acoustic guitar which is then played in the conventional position.

See also slide (guitar).

See also[link]

• Slide guitar
• Resonator guitar
• Lap steel ukulele
• Lap slide guitar
• Lap steel guitar
• Pedal steel guitar
• Dobro

References[link]

External links[link]

• Central Illinois Steel Guitar Association Information about central Illinois steel guitar players, events, and shows.
• Steel Radio A Web radio station dedicated to the steel guitar.
• Steel Guitar Forum A forum where steel players and enthusiasts get together and discuss steel guitar.
• Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association An organization which promotes the development of steel guitar with worldwide membership.

Sarah Jory (born Sarah Elizabeth Jory, 20 November 1969, Reading, Berkshire, England) is an English musician and vocalist.

Early life[link]

Sarah Jory began to learn to play musical instruments at the age of five, when she obtained her first steel guitar.^[1]

In 1978, she was backed by the group Poacher when she was featured on the BBC Radio 2's Live from Golder's. Also at the age of nine, she joined the band Colorado Country after her father, Arthur Jory, secured her an audition. Jory played with the band for four years while completing her schooling. During this time, the band changed their name to Sarah and the Colorado Country. Jory's first album, Sarah's Steel Line, which she recorded with the band Poacher, was released by Crow Records in 1980, when she was eleven years old. After the album's release, she was asked to play at the Petersborough Festival of Music, having appeared earlier at Neil Coppendale's British Country Music Festival at the Brighton Centre.^[2]

At thirteen, Jory first visited the United States of America where she played at the Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis with Buddy Emmons.^[2]

Musical career and honours[link]

From 1984 to 1992, Jory played thirteen steel guitar conventions in the US, appearing with Buddy Emmons, Lloyd Green and Paul Franklin and worked with Ricky Scaggs, Porter Waggoner and Gene Watson.^[2]

In 1985, the British Country Music Association voted Jory "The Most Promising New Act", followed by being voted the "Female Vocalist of the Year" for nine consecutive years by the BCMA. She also was voted "European Country Rock Entertainer of the Year". In 1995, 1996 and 1997, BCMA also voted her "British Female Vocalist of the Year".^[2]

In 1988, Jory worked in Bristol and formed her own professional band, opening for Eric Clapton in Dublin, among others and toured with Glen Campbell.^[2]

Jory played with the Van Morrison band during 2006 and 2009 and performed on his albums Keep It Simple and Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl and on the DVD Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl: The Concert Film.

In 2009, she performed with the group Essence of Ireland.^[2][3]

Discography[link]

• Sarah's Steel Line (LP 1980)
• Sarah On Steel (LP 1984)
• Cross Country (LP 1985)
• The Way To Survive (LP 1987)
• Deep In The Heart Of Texas (CD 1988)
• Wind Beneath My Wings (EP 1988)
• No Time At All (LP 1988)
• Dallas City Lights (CD 1989)
• Sarah's Dream (CD 1990)
• Especially For You (LP 1990)
• New Rising Star (Video 1990)
• New Horizons (CD 1992)
• Never Had It So Good (SCD 1992)
• The Early Years 20 Steel Guitar Favourites (CD 1993)
• The Early Years 20 Classic Songs (CD 1993)
• Daniel O'Donnel & Friends Live (Comp. Video 1993)
• An Evening With Sarah (Video 1993)
• Web Of Love (CD 1994)
• The Best Of Country And Irish (Comp. CD 1994)
• Web Of Love (SCD 1994)
• Web Of Love (MC 1994)
• When You Walk In The Room (MC 1994)
• Love With Attitude (CD 1995)
• The Winners (Comp. CD 1995)
• Love With Attitude (MC 1995)
• If I Love You (SCD 1995)
• If I Had Any Pride Left At All (SCD 1995)
• When Promises Made Are Promises Kept (SCD 1995)
• Kiss My Innocence (CD 1999)
• Country Love Vol. 1 (Comp. CD 1995)
• The Best Of Country And Irish Live (Comp DVD 1999)
• Rhythm In The Rain (SCD 1999)
• Always The Same In Love (SCD 1999)
• Always The Same In Love (Video 1999)
• The Sarah Jory Band Live! (CD 2000)
• What I Really Meant To Say (CD 2003)
• Steelin' From The Blue Room (CD 2004)

Appearances with other artists:

• The Dean Brothers - Same Train Different Track(SCD 1995)
• Claire Gaynor - Devotion (CD 2000)
• Elkie Brooks - Live with Friends (CD 2006)
• Riem de Wolff - Back On Track (CD 2006)
• Bob The Builder - Built To Be Wild (DVD 2006)
• Elkie Brooks & Friends - Pearls (DVD 2006)
• Lucie Diamond - Kilimanjaro (SCD 2006)
• Alan West - Songs From A Neophyte (CD 2007)
• Chris Farlow - Hotel Eingang (CD 2008)
• Van Morrison - Keep It Simple (CD 2008)
• Nathan Carter - On The Road (CD 2008)
• Van Morrison - Astral Weeks: Live At The Hollywood Bowl(CD 2009)
• Van Morrison - Astral Weeks: Live At The Hollywood Bowl(DVD 2009)
• Mark Travis - Mother (SCD 2009)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sarah Jory Official Website
• Sarah Jory at Last.fm
• Sarah Jory article
• allmusic: Sarah Jory - Discography

Ben Harper
Background information
Birth name	Benjamin Chase Harper
Born	(1969-10-28) October 28, 1969 (age 42) Claremont, California United States
Genres	Folk rock, blues rock, alternative rock, soul, funk rock, gospel, reggae, jam rock, neofolk
Occupations	Musician, Singer-songwriter, Humanitarian
Instruments	Vocals, electric guitar, lap steel guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar, drums, percussion, vibes
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Virgin, EMI Records
Associated acts	Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama Relentless7 Vanessa da Mata Ringo Starr Fistful of Mercy
Website	www.benharper.com
Notable instruments
Weissenborn lap steel guitar

Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music^[1] and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism.^[2] Harper's fan base spans several continents.^[3] His albums have been commercially successful in North America, Europe and Oceania. 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[link]

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 a Russian-Lithuanian Jew.^[4][5][6] 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.^[7][8] 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.^[9] At the age of 12, Harper played his first gig.^[10] 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 slide guitar.^[11] Harper broke out of the Inland Empire after being offered an invitation by Taj Mahal to tour with the artist. They recorded Taj Mahal's album Follow the Drinking Gourd, released in November 1990, and toured Hawaii.^[12]

Career[link]

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, with Juan Nelson on bass, which became a college radio favorite and included several songs that Harper still plays live regularly. .^[13]

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.^[14]

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,^[15] 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.

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".^[16][17] 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.

On August 27, 2010, it was reported that Ben Harper had formed a band called Fistful of Mercy with Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur.^[18] Fistful of Mercy released their debut record, As I Call You Down, on October 5, 2010.^[19]

On May 17, 2011, Ben Harper's official site posted that his next album was released, entitled Give Till It's Gone. The album is a continuation of recording with Relentless7.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

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.^[21]

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.^[22]

On February 7, 2012, after being spotted at the Golden Globes, it was reported that Harper and Dern had reconciled. Divorce papers have not been formally withdrawn yet.^{[citation needed]}

Awards and nominations[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Live albums[link]

Other albums[link]

Virtual albums[link]

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

Singles[link]

• "Like A King / Whipping Boy" (1994)
• "Ground on Down" (1995)
• "Excuse Me Mr." (1996)
• "Gold to Me" (1996)
• "Faded" (1997) #54 UK^[62]
• "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)^[63]
• "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)
• "Rock N' Roll Is Free" (2011)
• "Don't Give Up on Me Now (2011, Italy only)
• "Walk Away" ("")

Special appearances[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

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. Harper performed alongside Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and John Paul Jones at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2007. 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".

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

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.^[64] In early 2010, Harper also performed "Ohio" at the MusiCares tribute to Neil Young.^[65]

Filmography[link]

• 1998-2001: Daria (TV) – Camp Fear ("Born to Shine"/"Faded")
• 2001: I am Sam ("Strawberry Fields Forever")
• 2002: Standing in the Shadows of Motown ("Ain't Too Proud To Beg"/"I Heard It Through the Grapevine")
• 2003: One Tree Hill (TV) – Crash Into You
• 2004: Sleepover ("Way Away")
• 2005: Trust the Man ("Everything")
• 2006: Akeelah and the Bee ("Everything")
• 2006: Newport Beach (TV) – The Dawn Patrol ("Waiting For You")
• 2006: CSI: NY (TV) – And Here's to You, Mrs. Azrael ("Walk Away")
• 2008: Daylight Robbery ("Diamonds On The Inside")
• 2009: State of Play ("Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating")
• 2009: Dr House (TV) – Brave Heart ("Faithfully Remain")
• 2010: Conan (TV) – Dead Men Don't Wear Spanx ("Father's Son")
• 2010: Les Petits Mouchoirs (French Movie) - Ludo's death ("Amen Omen")
• 2010: Vampire Diaries (TV) – Katerina ("Amen Omen")
• 2010: The Fighter ("Glory & Consequence")

DVDs[link]

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

References[link]

Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (April 2010)

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Ben Harper

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ben Harper

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