Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Happy 71st Birthday To Roy Harper

Roy Harper (born 12 June 1941) is an English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been a professional musician since 1964. Harper is known for his distinctive finger-style playing and lengthy, lyrical, complex compositions. 

His influence has been acknowledged by many musicians including Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin (who named the song "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" after him), Pete Townshend of The Who, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd (who invited him to sing guest lead vocals on their song "Have a Cigar"), and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull; who stated Harper was his "...primary influence as an acoustic guitarist and songwriter." 

More recently, Harper's influence has reached across the Atlantic and been acknowledged by Seattle-based acoustic band Fleet Foxes and Californian harpist Joanna Newsom, with whom he has also toured. Harper turned 70 in 2011 and performed a celebratory concert at London's Royal Festival Hall. 

On the occasion of his 71st birthday, I have created 1600x900 Art/Wallpaper:

Happy 71st Birthday To Roy Harper - A Bit Of Groovy! 

For more information on Roy Harper, visit:
Official Website: http://www.royharper.co.uk/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/harperroy/

-Source for this post: Wikipedia

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes indeed. I went on quite a Roy Harper tear a few months ago. Time well spent :)

Unknown said...

Cool, Ravenval! I've always know about Roy Harper through his association with Floyd, Zep, etc. but haven'y yet gotten into his own stuff - now I definitely will! Thx for bringin him back to my attention!

Is / are there any particular albums of his you'd recommend?

Ravenval said...

To James Stafford,

Thanks for visiting and commenting! :)

To David Bronson,

My thanks to you also! :)
To answer your question, Roy's albums are drastically varied; liking one might not necessarily mean you'll like the next.
My favorite is 'Stormcock' (with Page credited as S. Flavius Mercurius - until it was re-released in 2007).
For a great guide to Roy's albums, see this page: http://ectoguide.org/artists/harper.roy Enjoy!

Unknown said...

Thanks Rav!! I can't wait to pick up Stormcock - gonna see if my local vinyl supplier buddy has or can get a copy! I'll let you know what I think once I can get it.