Jessica Leigh Harp (born February 3, 1982) is an American songwriter and former

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

artist from

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. Between 2005 and 2007, Harp and

Michelle Branch Michelle Jacquet Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals with Santana for their 2002 single, " The Game of Love". As a solo recording artist, Bran ...

recorded and performed as

The Wreckers The Wreckers were an American country music duo formed in 2005 by Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp, both of whom had solo recordings before the duo's foundation. In 2006, the duo released its debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'', which pr ...

, a duo that topped the country charts in 2006 with the Grammy-nominated "

Leave the Pieces "Leave the Pieces" is a song written by Jennifer Hanson and Billy Austin, and recorded by American country music duo The Wreckers for their debut album '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'' for which it served as lead single with a February 7, 2006 relea ...

". After The Wreckers disbanded, Harp began a solo career on

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, the same label to which The Wreckers were signed. Her solo second album single, " Boy Like Me", debuted in March 2009 and was a top 30 hit on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. It was followed by her second album, '' A Woman Needs'', in March 2010.

Biography

Jessica Harp grew up with her parents and her sister, Annie, in Kansas City, Missouri. She began singing when she was 3, wrote lyrics when she was 8, and picked up guitar at 13. In 2002, she pursued a solo career in music, releasing her independent album, ''Preface''. She then worked as a backup vocalist for various country acts.

2005–2007: The Wreckers

She provided backing vocals for her long-time friend

's album, '' Hotel Paper''. After working together, Harp joined up with Branch in 2005 to form a country duo, known as

, whose song "The Good Kind" was featured on '' One Tree Hill'' and its soundtrack. The group's debut country single, "

", was released in February 2006. It was followed by their debut album, '' Stand Still, Look Pretty'', which was released on May 23, 2006. "Leave the Pieces" reached Number One on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart in September 2006. The album produced two additional singles in " My, Oh My" (a Top 10 hit) and "Tennessee" and was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the RIAA for reaching sales of over 500,000. Harp appeared on the very first live game broadcast by the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...

on November 23, 2006, to sing the American national anthem before the

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

game between her hometown

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. They later performed the National Anthem at the 55th Annual NHL All-Star Game on January 24, 2007. Despite the success of their Number One debut single, album sales, and a nomination for the

2007 Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006, in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007, at the Stapl ...

for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song "Leave the Pieces", both Harp and Branch announced in August 2007 that they were putting The Wreckers on hold, while both went forward with solo albums.Archived copy
lenconnect.com This was announced on the band's official message board, which was later closed.

2008–2010: ''A Woman Needs''

On February 4, 2008, she married The Wreckers' fiddle player Jason Mowery. She started recording her second solo

album for Warner Bros. Nashville in July 2008 and announced in January 2009 that it would be titled ''A Woman Needs''. Songwriter Jerry Flowers produced the album and co-wrote several of the songs. The lead-off single, " Boy Like Me," was released to country radio on March 9, 2009. It became her first Top 30 country hit, reaching a peak of No. 30 in June 2009. The album's second single, the title track, was released to radio on January 19, 2010, and the music video was filmed on November 19, 2009. On March 2, 2010, Harp announced that she would retire as a recording artist to focus on becoming a full-time songwriter. To your friends: An Important Announcement
at Jessica Harp official site. Warner Bros. Records released her second album digitally on March 16, 2010. Over a year and a half later, on October 11, 2011, Harp announced on Twitter that Warner Bros. released her from her contract and that she would record music again, either independently or with a label.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Music videos

Awards

References

External links

Official website
(archived)
Official website of The Wreckers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harp, Jessica 1982 births 21st-century American singer-songwriters American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American women guitarists American country guitarists Living people Maverick Records artists Musicians from Kansas City, Missouri Warner Records artists The Wreckers members Country musicians from Missouri Guitarists from Missouri 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from Missouri