Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

, folk,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances, and activism. He has released twelve regular studio albums, mostly through

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a world ...

, and has toured internationally. Harper is a three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

winner and seven-time nominee, with awards for

Best Pop Instrumental Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

and Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album in 2004 and Best Blues Album in 2013. At the 40th

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Hand ...

s ceremony, Harper's joint composition with

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal ...

, "No Mercy in This Land", was named Song of the Year.

Early life

Harper was born in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyt ...

. His late father, Leonard Harper, was of African-American and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Harper Verdries ( Chase), is Jewish. His maternal great-grandmother was a Russian- Lithuanian Jew. His parents divorced when he was five years old, and he grew up with his mother's family. Harper has two brothers, Joel and Peter Harper. Harper began playing guitar as a child. 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 Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...

, John Darnielle, and David Lindley and quotes of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American collo ...

made often by his grandfather.Appleford, Steve. "I'll Rise: The Music and Message of Ben Harper" Page 5. Essay published in th
Ben Harper CD Box Collection
Released April 6 , 2000. In 1978, at the age of 9, Harper attended

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...

's performance in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

, where Marley was joined by former bandmate

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963 ...

for the encore. It was, according to Harper, an important influence.

Career

At the age of twelve, Harper played his first gig. During the 1980s, in his teen years, Harper began to play the

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos t ...

, mimicking the style of

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

. Harper refined his style, taking up the

Weissenborn Weissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s. These instruments are now highly sought after, and form the base for most non-resonator acoustic lap steel ...

slide guitar. Harper escaped from the Inland Empire after being offered an invitation by

to tour with the artist. They recorded Taj Mahal's album ''

Follow the Drinking Gourd ''Follow the Drinking Gourd'' is an African-American folk song first published in 1928. The ''Drinking Gourd'' is another name for the Big Dipper asterism. Folklore has it that enslaved people in the United States used it as a point of reference ...

'', released in November 1990, and toured Hawaii. Ben Harper FIJM 2003

In 1992, Harper recorded the LP ''Pleasure and Pain'' with folk multi-instrumentalist

Tom Freund Tom Freund (born August 28, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Freund's music consists of elements of folk rock, americana and alternative rock. Freund met Ben Harper when he was attending Pitzer College in Clare ...

. After this limited-edition record, Harper secured a lifetime record deal with

, which released his debut album, '' Welcome to the Cruel World'', in 1994. This allowed him to be invited to the

Rencontres Trans Musicales Les Rencontres Trans Musicales (generally referred to as ''Les Transmusicales de Rennes'') is a music festival that lasts for 3 or 4 days. It is held annually in December. The festival takes place in Rennes, Brittany, France. Since the festival's b ...

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

in France in December 1993 where he went up on a large stage for the first time. His first album was followed by ''

Fight For Your Mind ''Fight for Your Mind'' is the second album by Ben Harper. Released on August 1, 1995, it was his last solo album before adding the Innocent Criminals to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple g ...

'' in 1995, with Juan Nelson on bass, which became a

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

favorite and included several songs that Harper still plays live regularly. In 1999, at the

Santa Barbara Bowl The Santa Barbara Bowl is a 4,562-seat amphitheater, located in Santa Barbara, California. The amphitheater is open for concerts from approximately April through approximately October with an average of about 27 concerts per season. Booked exclu ...

, Harper met Jack Johnson and sent a demo tape of Johnson's songs to his producer, J. P. Plunier, who then produced Johnson's first album, '' Brushfire Fairytales'', in December 2000. Jack Johnson became the opening act in late February 2001 for the last 23 cities of Ben Harper's “Innocent Criminals” tour of the United States. Early in Harper's career, his music received more attention in Europe and was widely played in Australia (first on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

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 also 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 became wide enough that he was French ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's Artist of the Year (''Artiste De L'Année'') in 2003, and his Australian tour that year for '' Diamonds on the Inside'' was highly successful with record sales. In 2002, Harper was one of the featured singers covering Motown hits by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

in the documentary, '' Standing in the Shadows of Motown'' (a history of

The Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

). Harper was featured on the album ''True Love'' by

Toots and the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

, which won the

in 2004 for Best Reggae Album, and showcased many notable musicians including

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a fo ...

, Trey Anastasio,

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderweb ...

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, ...

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

, Manu Chao,

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams lef ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, Toots Hibbert, Paul Douglas, Jackie Jackson,

Ken Boothe Kenneth George Boothe OD (born 22 March 1948) is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appeal ...

, and The Skatalites. On April 3, 2004, Harper and Jack Johnson performed with

on Saturday Night Live (season 29, episode 16), a show hosted by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. 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 The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Che ...

. 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 The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

winner and Burmese pro-democracy advocate

Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...

. In 2006, Harper released the double album '' Both Sides of the Gun'' which debuted at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Though uncredited, he appears briefly in the 2006

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

film ''

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the citie ...

'', alongside his wife

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born to actor Bruce Dern and act ...

. Harper is part of the No Nukes group which is against the expansion of

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

. In 2007 the group recorded a music video of a new version of the

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song " For What It's Worth", r ...

song " For What It's Worth". Harper's collaboration "Boa Sorte/Good Luck" with Brazilian singer

Vanessa da Mata Vanessa Sigiane da Mata Ferreira (born February 10, 1976), professionally known as Vanessa da Mata, is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian MPB singer, songwriter, and novelist. She has released four studio albums and the songs "Ai, Ai, Ai" ...

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 A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

''. On August 27, 2010, it was reported that Harper had formed a band called Fistful of Mercy with Dhani Harrison and

Joseph Arthur Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through ...

. Fistful of Mercy released their debut record, ''As I Call You Down'', on October 5, 2010. On May 17, 2011, 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. On October 1, 2012, a new album from Harper with

was announced entitled ''Get Up!'' on Stax Records / Concord Music Group. The official release date for the album was January 29, 2013. ''Get Up!'' was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Harper. It is Harper's 12th studio album and first new recording since 2011's ''Give Till It's Gone'' (Virgin). In December 2012, it was announced that Harper had co-produced lead vocalist Natalie Maines of the

Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) an ...

first solo rock album ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

''. It was released on May 7, 2013. In early 2015, it was announced that Harper and The Innocent Criminals would perform at the Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2015. Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals performed at Rock Werchter Festival 2015 on June 28, 2015. Harper has five albums and one single that have been certified Gold by the RIAA: ''Welcome The Cruel World''/Virgin, ''Burn To Shine''/Virgin, ''Fight For Your Mind''/Virgin, ''Live From Mars''/Virgin, ''Diamonds On The Inside''/Capitol-Virgin and ''You Found Another Lover''/Stax (single) On February 12, 2016, Harper released (as a YouTube video) his new single "Call It What It Is", the first track taken from his upcoming new studio album '' Call It What It Is'' due for release on April 8, 2016. On April 8, 2019, Harper performed as a guest artist on the seventeenth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...

'' during the second night of the “Top 20 Duets” episode. Harper sang with contestant

Alejandro Aranda Alejandro Aranda (born August 11, 1994), known by his stage name Scarypoolparty, is an American singer, musician, and reality television personality from Pomona, California, and runner-up on the seventeenth season of ''American Idol''. His deb ...

, playing " There Will Be a Light". At the 40th

s ceremony, Harper's joint composition with

, "No Mercy In This Land", was named as 'Song of the Year'. On March 20, 2019,

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Duri ...

announced a new album '' We Get By'', featuring eleven tracks written and produced by Harper. The title track, which features Harper on vocals and in the music video, was released on May 15, 2019. In 2020 Harper released ''Winter Is for Lovers'', an album recorded with solo Monteleone lap steel songs. "It started out as an exploration of steel guitar," Harper told ''Acoustic Guitar'' magazine in a 2020 interview, "''Winter Is for Lovers'' is written as one piece of music; let's define that in the way that the old classical guitarists would have, on a single guitar (the Monteleone lap steel)." On June 9, 2021, Harper's longtime bassist, collaborator, and Innocent Criminals member, Juan Nelson, died at the age 62. Harper paid tribute to him, stating on Twitter: "Beloved husband, father, musical genius, BHIC band member of 27 years, and the finest man I've ever known. It's near impossible for me to put words to this pain and loss. Rest in Glory our beloved Reverend Juan." No cause of death has been confirmed. On July 22, 2022, Harper released the album ''Bloodline Maintenance''. The album is dedicated to the memory of Juan Nelson.

Personal life

In 1996, Harper married his first wife, Joanna. They have two children together, son Charles (born circa 1997) and daughter Harris (born circa 2000). Harper and Joanna separated in 2000, and were divorced in 2001. Harper began dating actress

after they met at one of his concerts in fall 2000. Harper and Dern married on December 23, 2005, at their home in Los Angeles. They have two children, son Ellery Walker (born August 2001) and daughter Jaya (born November 2004). In October 2010, Harper filed for divorce from Dern, citing irreconcilable differences. They briefly reconciled and attended the 2012 Golden Globe Awards together, but Dern reactivated the divorce by filing a legal response in July 2012. The divorce was finalized in September 2013. Harper married his third wife, social advocate Jaclyn Matfus, on January 1, 2015. Their son Besso was born in June 2017. Harper is a skateboarder who has trained with

Rodney Mullen John Rodney Mullen (born August 17, 1966) is an American professional skateboarder who practices freestyle skateboarding and street skateboarding. He is considered one of the most influential skaters in the history of the sport, being credited ...

and he also owns a warehouse for his personal skateboarding. Harper co-owns the skateboarding brand Roller Horror with professional skateboarder Mike York. In September 2016, Harper appeared on ''The Nine Club'' skateboard podcast, hosted by Chris Roberts, where he discussed his relationship and history with skateboarding. On ''The Nine Club'', he also reveals that he went to school and began skateboarding with Chris Miller in

. Harper's cousin is Washington State Supreme Court Justice

Steven Gonzalez Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

Philanthropy

Harper supports

Little Kids Rock Music Will, formerly known as Little Kids Rock (LKR), is a nonprofit charity based in Montclair, New Jersey, that encourages and enables children to play popular music. It provides free music instruction and instruments to public school districts ...

, a national nonprofit organization that works to restore and revitalize music education in disadvantaged U.S. public schools. In 2013, he donated items to their San Francisco Bay Area benefit concert. On December 11, 2016, he played an acoustic benefit concert at Bimbos in San Francisco supporting New Light India's "Boys Home Project". Founded in 2000 by Urmi Basu, New Light India provides shelter, educational opportunities, recreational facilities, healthcare and legal aid for the girls and women in Kalighat, notorious for its red light district.

Awards and nominations

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Welcome to the Cruel World'' (1994) * ''

Fight for Your Mind ''Fight for Your Mind'' is the second album by Ben Harper. Released on August 1, 1995, it was his last solo album before adding the Innocent Criminals to his line-up. Reviews were generally very positive, praising Harper's fusion of multiple g ...

'' (1995) * '' The Will to Live'' (1997) * '' Burn to Shine'' (with The Innocent Criminals) (1999) * '' Diamonds on the Inside'' (2003) * '' There Will Be a Light'' (with The Blind Boys of Alabama) (2004) * '' Both Sides of the Gun'' (2006) * '' Lifeline'' (with The Innocent Criminals) (2007) * '' White Lies for Dark Times'' (with Relentless7) (2009) * '' Give Till It's Gone'' (2011) * '' Get Up!'' (with Charlie Musselwhite) (2013) * '' Childhood Home'' (with Ellen Harper) (2014) * '' Call It What It Is'' (with The Innocent Criminals) (2016) * '' No Mercy in This Land'' (with Charlie Musselwhite) (2018) * '' Winter Is for Lovers'' (2020) * '' Bloodline Maintenance'' (2022)

Filmography

References

External links

*
Official Ben Harper shop

Ben Harper International Forum

Ben Harper Live for Earth Day on National Geographic

Ben Harper at RollingStone.com
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Ben 1969 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American guitarists African-American guitarists African-American Jews African-American male singer-songwriters African-American record producers African-American rock musicians American blues guitarists American blues singers American folk guitarists American folk singers American male guitarists American multi-instrumentalists American people of Cherokee descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters Dern family Fingerstyle guitarists Fistful of Mercy members Grammy Award winners Guitarists from California Jewish American musicians Real World Records artists Record producers from California Singer-songwriters from California Slide guitarists Steel guitarists Virgin Records artists Weissenborn players