John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler. Early life John Popper was born in Chardon, Ohio. His father was a Hungarian immigrant who left Budapest in 1948. Through him, Popper is related to David Popper, a 19th-century European cellist whose many solo works for the cello are staples of the instrument's repertoire. Popper's mother and brother are lawyers. Popper was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. He attended Davenport Ridge School, Stamford Catholic High School (now Trinity Catholic High School), and Princeton High School, from which he graduated in 1986. He took lessons on the piano, the cello, and the guitar, but none of those instruments appealed to him, and he hated being forced to practice. He originally wanted to become a comedian, finding he could use humor to make friends and avoid bullies, but when he and a friend performed a routine as the Blues Brothers, he found that he enjoyed musical performance. From there, he took up the harmonica. Popper played trumpet in the Princeton High School Studio Jazz Band and convinced the teacher to let him play harmonica instead, after an in-class solo on the song "She Blinded Me with Science." He formed several garage bands with friends in Princeton, New Jersey, one of which evolved into Blues Traveler in 1987. After graduating from high school, the group's members all moved to New York City, where Popper enrolled in the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, along with two of his bandmates as well as high school friend Chris Barron. Popper attended for three years but devoted himself to the band full-time once they signed a record contract, in 1990. Career Blues Traveler Popper is a founding member of Blues Traveler, serving as the band's frontman with lead vocals and harmonica. For some songs, he forgoes the harmonica in favor of guitar, most often a 12-string acoustic. In addition, Popper has played the tin whistle on some recordings. A prolific songwriter, he has composed the majority of the lyrics and music of Blues Traveler's songs. The band grew a following with its extensive touring, sometimes with over 300 dates a year, and gained a reputation in the jam band scene of the 1990s. Blues Traveler crossed over into mainstream pop/rock radio success with their