Artist · chart history · #151 in indie & aaa artist polls
Ben Harper
Solo artist Pomona United States singer, guitarist, The Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper is an artist from Pomona. Ben Harper has 82 chart appearances on 62 radio countdowns from 25 stations on RockLists, spanning 1996–2026. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “With My Own Two Hands”, which appears on 17 lists with a best position of #29. The station that charted Ben Harper most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 19 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 2003.
Ben Harper, born in Pomona in 1969, plays like he's got a century of American music in his fingers and no intention of picking just one decade. Blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock all run through his records, and alongside the regular guitar he works a Weissenborn, which moans and shimmers under his voice. Pleasure and Pain came out in 1992, and Fight for Your Mind in 1995 dug deeper, with the loose, smoky groove of "Burn One Down" and the rootsy push of "Ground on Down".
He built his name on the stage as much as in the studio, known for live shows that stretch and burn and for an activist streak. The songs kept coming, often billed with his band the Innocent Criminals: "Faded", "Steal My Kisses", "Burn to Shine", and later "Diamonds on the Inside" and "With My Own Two Hands" from the 2003 album Diamonds on the Inside.
He has never sat still. Side projects include Relentless7, Fistful of Mercy and a partnership with Charlie Musselwhite, whose shared composition "No Mercy in This Land" was named Song of the Year at the 40th Blues Music Awards. He has 3 Grammys on the shelf, 2 from 2004 and a Best Blues Album win in 2013.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Ben Harper on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | With My Own Two Hands | 17 | #29 | – | 2003 | |
| 2 | Faded | 20 | #51 | – | 1997 | |
| 3 | Diamonds on the Inside | 12 | #18 | – | 2003 | |
| 4 | Ground on Down | 3 | #249 | – | – | |
| 5 | Better Way | 5 | #87 | – | 2006 | |
| 6 | Rock N' Roll Is Free | 2 | #36 | – | 2011 | |
| 7 | Drugs Don't Work | 1 | #22 | – | 2001 | |
| 8 | Yard Sale | 1 | #36 | – | 2023 | |
| 9 | Fight Outta You | 2 | #505 | – | – | |
| 10 | I Don't Believe A Word You Say | 1 | #78 | – | 2012 | |
| 11 | Forever | 1 | #272 | – | – | |
| 12 | Brown Eyed Blues | 1 | #496 | – | – | |
| 13 | Get It Like You Like You Like | 1 | #502 | – | – | |
| 14 | Shimmer and Shine | 1 | #59 | – | 2009 | |
| 15 | Like A Locomotive | 1 | #59 | – | 2021 | |
| 16 | When She Believes | 1 | #142 | – | 2004 | |
| 17 | Gold to Me | 2 | #100 | – | 1996 | |
| 18 | Jamaica Say You Will | 1 | #71 | – | 2014 | |
| 19 | Sexual Healing | 1 | #626 | – | – | |
| 20 | My Own Two Hands | 1 | #81 | – | 2003 | |
| 21 | Burn One Down | 1 | #691 | – | – | |
| 22 | Strawberry Fields Forever | 1 | #82 | – | 2002 | |
| 23 | Get It Like You Like It | 1 | #106 | – | 2007 | |
| 24 | Excuse Me Mr. | 1 | #747 | – | – | |
| 25 | Mama's Trippin' | 1 | #86 | – | 1998 | |
| 26 | Whipping Boy | 1 | #815 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Featured on
Songs by other artists credited with Ben Harper as a guest.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
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