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John Wesley Harding Profile | |
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Pop is one genre of music where the past decade has been much kinder to female artists than male. Quality guitar-oriented pop music has been the forte of such artists as Jewel and Sarah McLachlan rather that the modern equivalent of a Cat Stevens or Paul Simon. This may soon change, however, with the emergence of England-born John Wesley Harding from the limbo-land of the singer/songwriter masses.
Part of Harding's musical evolution is no doubt due to the cultured diversity of his parents: his father is a classics scholar in England and his mother is a singing teacher and musical examiner. Harding is self-taught, however, learning guitar and counting among his influences David Bowie, Abba and Bob Dylan.
Intellectually sound but driven by larger goals, John Wesley Harding left Cambridge University early to pursue his musical passion. Earning opening spots for various artists helped propel Harding to the attention of London's Demon Records, who released his debut album It Happened One Night. This release further propelled Harding up the label chain, earning him an American debut on Sire Records. Here Comes the Groom was well- received and even proclaimed "the first great album of the 1990's" by the Los Angeles Times.
John Wesley Harding decided to relocate to America, moving to San Francisco which naturally had profound influences on the artist's music.
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Harding's brand of acoustic folk/pop, combined with relentless touring throughout the city and country, earned him a large, dedicated fan base.
His next two albums, The Name Above the Title and Why We Fight only furthered his strong reputation and big-name attention. The latter album so impressed Bruce Springsteen that he invited John Wesley Harding to open some of his 1995 concert dates, the first opening act Springsteen has had since 1974.
Harding continued with his pursuit of an acclaimed and diversified folk music career. 1996 saw the release of his "Gangsta Folk" New Deal record and was followed by 1997's touching Awake release.
After a stint in Seattle, Harding ended up in Nashville with a new label and a new album. The Confessions of St.Ace may be Harding's boldest and best release to date, drawing parallels to artists as diverse as the Barenaked Ladies, the Beatles and the Wallflowers. Women take notice: there's a new boy on the pop block.
By Dave Brosha, CanEHdian.com. Copyright 2001
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