From Afro-American and Cherokee Indian descent, Ben Harper first started playing
guitar as a child and in his teens specialised in the slide guitar style of one
of his primary heroes, blues legend Robert Johnson.
He played his first gig at the age of 12 and, playing a Weissenborn lap steel
guitar, went on the road with Taj Mahal in his teens, linking up with Tom Freund
to record 'Pleasure & Pain' in 1992. His edgy songs and virtuoso playing won a
lot of fans on his debut solo album 'Welcome to the Cruel World' (1994) and he
became a popular fixture on the college circuit. Seco...