Song:Another Day
Album:Hats Off
British folk singer Roy Harper is better known for his collaborations with famous musicians who admire him than any of his own recordings. This 2001 comp from Capitol is a good starting point for folk fans not familiar with him. He was born June 12, 1941 in Rusholme, Manchester, England. He joined the Royal Air Force at age 15 and busked around Europe after his discharge. He first recorded in 1966 on Strike Records and then signed with CBS and his next two albums were produced by Shel Talmy. After meeting Pink Floyd's manager Peter Jenner, he signed with Harvest Records and released Flat Baroque and Berserk in 1970. The Nice appeared on the album. Another Day was on that album. Like a lot of Harper's music, it was admired by critics and other musicians but it didn't sell. Harper got a lot of attention when Jimmy Page wrote a song called Hats Off To Harper for Led Zeppelin III. Page said he admired Harper for not selling out his music for commercial reasons. Page, Ronnie Lane and Keith Moon appeared on Harper's 1974 live album Flashes From the Archives of Oblivion and Harper sang lead on Have A Cigar from Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. David Gilmour, Chris Spedding, Bill Bruford and John Paul Jones appeared on Harper's 1976 album HQ and Harper appeared on Gilmour's 1978 solo debut. Harper signed with Chrysalis Records in the US in 1976 and moved to the US for a few years. Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush performed Another Day on her 1979 TV special. Harper moved back to England to work with her. His son Nick Harper is also a folksinger and a new generation of artists like Joanna Newsome have acknowledged Harper as an influence. Harper appeared on her 2007 Royal Albert Hall concert and has since gone into semi retirement. A Roy Harper tribute CD is in the works and Harper is currently working on a documentary DVD. Here's Roy Harper performing Another Day on the German TV show Rockpalast 1978.
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