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John Popper was born March 29, 1967 in Cleveland, Ohio and is the frontman and a founding member of the jam band Blues Traveler. He performs harmonica and vocals. He is widely considered a harmonica virtuoso, and is listed by harmonica manufacturer Hohner as a "Featured Artist", an accolade reserved for only the best and most successful harmonica players.
John Popper wanted to become a musician after seeing the film The Blues Brothers (1980). Popper tried the piano, the cello, and the guitar, but finally settled on the harmonica. He joined his high school band, where he met the other future members of Blues Traveler. They all enrolled in the jazz program at New York's New School of Social Research. After taking a few classes they dropped out to tour. Popper has remained the lead-man in the band; his trademarks include his strong tenor voice and a U.S. Army ammunition belt hung from the back of his neck over both sides of his chest to hold the variety of harmonicas he uses. He uses Shure microphones and Marshall amplifiers for his harmonica (a setup nearly identical to what Blues Traveler guitarist Chan Kinchla uses himself; Popper noted in an interview that "I just asked Chan what he used.")
He frequently works as a guest musician for other bands. He is known to have performed with Dave Matthews Band, Karl Denson, San Francisco's Culann's Hounds[1], Metallica and even with the Hungarian Ambassador to the United States.
He performed with The Smashing Pumpkins on the second day of their 1997 Bridge School Benefit acoustic gig, contributing harmonica for their song Porcelina of the Vast Oceans. Popper's solo gained major applause from the audience.
Popper also appears on the Spin Doctors' most successful album, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, contributing to the upbeat pop track "More Than She Knows." His harmonica music can be heard in the feature film Blues Brothers 2000 (in which Blues Traveler appears). His harmonica was also featured on "What Would You Say", the second track on the Dave Matthews Band album, Under the Table and Dreaming.
Popper also composed and performed the theme song for the hit TV series Roseanne, which was an instrumental for most of the show's run, but actually featured his vocals during the final season. Additionally, Popper appeared on the show, playing Stingray Wilson on the episode "Of Mice and Dan." In this episode, John Goodman performs the Robert Johnson number, "Sweet Home Chicago" with Blues Traveler.
In 2003 he was arrested for possession of marijuana[2].
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