Ben Harper returned to school in triumph last Saturday, as he and friends Jackson Browne and Taj Mahal headlined the Claremont Folk Festival at Harper's childhood alma mater, Claremont Elementary School.

Browne, who Harper called a "friend and a hero," opened with a stunning version of 'The Barricades of Heaven,' and continued with an acoustic set that mixed old classics such as 'For Everyman' and 'These Days,' with the rare 'Drums of War.' Browne also performed a new song, which he introduced as having written for his girlfriend. "It doesn't have a title and it might could use another verse," he told the crowd. He then dedicated the final song, an achingly beautiful rendition of 'Something Fine' to Alma, a little girl seated on the bales of hay that provided the makeshift barricade to the stage.

The backdrop brought up nostalgia for Harper as the festival, now in its 28th year, was started by his grandparents, Dorothy and Charles Chase. Before his opening 'Pleasure and Pain,' he spoke of getting his grandmother's approval. "This is the first song I wrote where my grandmother Dot said, 'You might be able to make something of this.'" Grandma and grandpa would've been more than proud that day.

A celebration marking a half century since the opening of the seminal Los Angeles folk/blues/world club the Ash Grove brought something home: The roots of American roots music is in rootlessness.

All night long, in the first of two evening concerts marking this milestone, artists who in more recent years shaped modern American roots music -- Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, Dave Alvin -- reminisced warmly on the stage at UCLA's Royce Hall about teenage journeys to the Melrose Ave. music spot to worship and learn at the feet of the masters: bluesmen including Lightnin' Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee and Rev. Gary Davis, such mountain music mainstays as the Stanley Brothers, plains balladeers such as Ramblin' Jack Elliott, even Eastern European folk music revived under the direction of musicologist Mike Janusz.

"The Ash Grove," noted Alvin this night in a scorching electric blues song he wrote in tribute to the old club he and his brother Phil made regular pilgrimages to from nearby Downey, "that's where I come from."

• Heath Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on Tuesday. He was 28. The Academy Award-nominated actor recently served as one of six portrayals of Bob Dylan in the Todd Haynes-directed film 'I'm Not There.' Ledger also co-founded the record label Music Masses Co with Ben Harper, as well as directed the music video for Harper's 'Morning Yearning.' An autopsy will be performed today to determine the cause of death.

• Ringo Starr walked off the set of 'Live With Regis and Kelly' on Tuesday, after he was told that the song he was to perform -- 'Liverpool 8' -- was to be cut from its four-minute, 15-seconds to under two-and-a-half minutes. A spokeswoman for the show told the AP that the producers tried to work with the former Beatle, and the song's time requirement had been repeatedly expressed since he was booked in November.

• Blur bassist Alex James and KT Tunstall are among the celebrities teaming to write a children's book for British charity the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Each star will write ten lines of the story before passing it off to the next individual.

• Lil' Kim has ended her relationship with Atlantic Records -- the label she called home for more than 10 years. The rapper plans to release her forthcoming project through another outlet. According to rumors, Kim may sign a deal with Imperial Records, which is under Capitol Music Group.

Academy Award-nominated actor Heath Ledger was found dead in New York today from an apparent drug overdose. He was 28.

Though he was most well-known for roles in 'Brokeback Mountain,' 'Monster's Ball' and his hotly anticipated turn as the Joker in the upcoming Batman film 'The Dark Knight,' Ledger was also a music lover. He founded his own record label with singer-songwriter Ben Harper and played one of the many faces of Bob Dylan in 2007's 'I'm Not There.'

Watch Harper's 'Morning Yearning' video, directed by the late Ledger.

Seasoned soul-rocker Ben Harper recently dropped by our Los Angeles studio to perform songs from his eighth studio album, 'Lifeline,' and discuss the making of that album, most of which took place in one of Harper's favorite cities: Paris. "You're not only a product of where you're from, but a product of where you're at," the California native told Spinner. "Being in Paris brought out a sound and a feel to this record."

Watch Harper's five sparkling live performances and don't miss the interview, which finds Harper listing his favorite songs to cover, including Pearl Jam's 'Indifference,' and weighing in on the upcoming Presidential election.

Full Set


'Fight Outta You'

'In the Colors'

'Fool For a Lonesome Train'

'Having Wings'

Interview

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New Orleans, 2007: I just worked on this thing with Fats Domino, and I photographed him at his house in New Orleans in the Ninth Ward. It's a great record where all these artists do Fats Domino songs. They're raising money to build a community center down there and put more instruments in the hands of high school kids. John Lennon does 'Ain't That a Shame,' and Tom Petty is on there, B.B. King, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, Lucinda Williams, Ben Harper.

There's a beautiful documentary photograph I took that's on the cover, and it's the first time that Fats has gone back up to his bedroom since Katrina -- where he was rescued from his balcony. I was there with a bunch of people and he was like, "I want to go up and look at the bedroom." I grabbed my camera and I followed him up there -- he had gotten up there ahead of me. I was kind of hoping to get in front of him, but I couldn't. I took this photograph from the back of him walking down this hallway into his bedroom, which was still completely moldy, with a pile of pajamas sitting on the floor. It's really a pretty grueling image.



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Danny Clinch, in his career as one of the premier popular-music photographers working today, has had his iconic photos appear in publications such as Vanity Fair, Spin, Rolling Stone, GQ, Esquire, The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine. His work has also appeared on hundreds of album covers. He has presented his work in numerous galleries and has published two books: 'Discovery Inn' (1998) and 'When the Iron Bird Flies' (2000). Clinch has also recently made an impression in the film world, directing the video portion for Bruce Springsteen's 'Devils and Dust' dual-disc release, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2005. He also directed the music video for the disc's title track.

Through his production company, Three on the Tree Productions, he has directed several music documentaries and concert films. His latest music documentary is 'Skin & Bones' for the Foo Fighters. He is currently completing a documentary/concert film for Pearl Jam. He has also directed 'We Have Arrived,' about the 2004 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, and '270 Miles to Graceland,' documenting Bonnaroo 2003. His 2002 feature-length documentary about musician Ben Harper, 'Pleasure and Pain,' played to packed houses on the international film festival circuit.

Score one for the good guys! And let it be known that there is no guy gooder than Lyle Lovett. The long, tall Texan, ably assisted by his little-bit-country, little-bit-everything-else Large Band, secured a Top 20 debut with his 'It's Not Big It's Large' album. Not a lot of people could recover from either a failed marriage with Julia Roberts or being gored by a bull -- but the lanky Lovett has not only survived both but subsequently bounced back to see his latest release enter the charts at No. 18, selling 25,000 in its first week. Sorry, Hollywood -- Lyle's still got a lot of fine music to make before he completely succumbs to the siren's song of the silver screen.

Yes, you read the headline correctly. Rock legend Elvis Costello recorded a cover of Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful,' to be featured on the soundtrack to FOX's hit show, 'House.' The compilation will also include Sarah McLachlan's cover of the XTC classic, 'Dear God,' along with previously released hits from artists including Ben Harper, Joe Cocker, Lucinda Williams and Josh Rouse.

'House' star Hugh Laurie also lends his vocals to the disc, joining the jam-band dubbed 'Band From TV,' on a mean cover of the Rolling Stones' 'You Can't Always Get What You Want.' Band From TV is actually a group of actors-turned-musicians including Laurie, James Denton ('Desperate Housewives'), Greg Grunberg ('Heroes'), Bonnie Somerville ('Cashmere Mafia') and Bob Guiney ('The Bachelor').

The 'House' soundtrack hits stores Sept. 18.

At Pearl Jam's Lollapalooza-closing set, frontman and grunge icon Eddie Vedder said there was a "deep amount of meaning" for him to play in Chicago's Grant Park, given the amount of time that, as a kid, he would take the "El train" -- the city's subway -- while listening to his walkman. It was a meaningful Pearl Jam show for many other reasons as well: the performance was the band's only U.S. date this year, it was the fifteenth anniversary of when PJ first toured with the festival during its first incarnation as a multi-city, one-night-only summer shed touring production and, of course, the politics.