Harper Ben Lyrics  Harper Ben Bio   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
immigrated from Lithuania. His parents divorced when he was
five, and he grew up with his mother's family. Harper has two
brothers, Joel and Peter.  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, Taj Mahal
and David Lindley and quotes of William Shakespeare and Robert
Frost made often by his grandfather. 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. Harper broke out of the Inland Empire after
being offered an invitation by Taj Mahal to tour with the
artist. The 20 year-old Harper and