Editing Ben Harper (section)

==Early life==
Harper was born in [[Pomona, California]].<ref name=":0" /> His late father, Leonard Harper, was of African-American ancestry, and his mother, Ellen Harper Verdries ({{nee}} Chase),<ref>{{Cite news|title=Ben Harper And Mom Ellen Reflect On A Lifetime Immersed In A Folk Music 'Wonderland'|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/02/01/962774149/ben-harper-and-mom-ellen-reflect-on-a-lifetime-immersed-in-a-folk-music-wonderla|access-date=2021-02-02|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-07-31|title=Folk matriarch Ellen Harper now striking a chord with her music|url=https://www.dailybulletin.com/folk-matriarch-ellen-harper-now-striking-a-chord-with-her-music|access-date=2021-02-02|website=Daily Bulletin|language=en-US}}</ref> is [[Jew]]ish. His maternal great-grandmother was a [[Russian Jewish|Russian]]-[[Lithuanian Jew]].<ref>{{Cite web |title = Ben Harper {{!}} Roots {{!}} Part one |url = http://www.swer.net/english.roots1.html |date = February 3, 2008 |last = Plunier |first = JP|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080203090640/http://www.swer.net/english.roots1.html|archive-date = February 3, 2008|publisher = Les Inrockuptibles (no. 58)|orig-year = 1994|quote = English translation from an article originally in French.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.onewaymagazine.com/coverstory_2-897.html |title=Ben Harper - Every Facet Of The Diamond |publisher=Onewaymagazine.com |access-date=2015-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517124614/http://www.onewaymagazine.com/coverstory_2-897.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,895525,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Blood in the tracks | first=Will | last=Hodgkinson | date=February 14, 2003 | access-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref> His parents divorced when he was five years old, and he grew up with his mother's family. Harper has two younger brothers, Joel and [[Peter Harper (American artist)|Peter Harper]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ellen Harper Looks Back on Family Struggles and Turns Them Into Song—and Prose. |url=https://flame.cgu.edu/grace-notes/ |publisher=Claremont Graduate University Magazine |access-date=15 January 2025 |date=Spring 2022 }}</ref>

Harper began playing guitar as a child.<ref>[http://www.swer.net/english.roots1.html Roots_ Part one] ''www.swer.net'' {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219123120/http://www.swer.net/english.roots1.html|date=December 19, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/24975/edition_id/488/format/html/displaystory.html |title=Celebrity Jews &#124; j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California |publisher=Jewishsf.com |date=February 11, 2005 |access-date=December 31, 2011}}</ref> His maternal grandparents' music store, the Folk Music Center and Museum (Claremont, CA), laid a foundation of folk and blues for the artist, complemented by regular patrons [[Leonard Cohen]], [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]], [[John Darnielle]], and [[David Lindley (musician)|David Lindley]] and quotes of [[William Shakespeare]] and [[Robert Frost]] made often by his grandfather.<ref name=Appleford>Appleford, Steve. "I'll Rise: The Music and Message of Ben Harper" Page 5. Essay published in the [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000030020 Ben Harper CD Box Collection]. Released April 6
, 2000.</ref>{{rp|5}}

In 1978, at the age of 9, Harper attended [[Bob Marley]]'s performance in [[Burbank, California]], where Marley was joined by former bandmate [[Peter Tosh]] for the encore. It was, according to Harper, an important influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohPKqiEfLpI | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211103/ohPKqiEfLpI| archive-date=2021-11-03 | url-status=live|title=BobMarley.com &#124; Ben Harper Discusses Bob Marley |publisher=YouTube |date=2012-05-17 |access-date=2015-09-07}}{{cbignore}}</ref>