Harry Connick Jr. Biography
In the years since his rise to musical prominence in the late 1980s, Harry Connick Jr. has also emerged as a celebrity heartthrob and carved out a successful acting career. But music remains the first love of this New Orleans native, who’s maintained his mission of honoring his hometown’s musical traditions. Originally celebrated for his talent as a pianist, Connick quickly branched out to find success as a Sinatra-style crooner, and as a versatile recording artist who’s successfully ventured into a variety of stylistic areas. In the process, Connick has been instrumental in making long-unfashionable musical styles hip and popular with mainstream audiences.
Connick is the son of a former New Orleans District Attorney and a former Louisiana Supreme Court justice, both of whom were music lovers who co-owned a record store. He began playing piano at the age of three, made his public performing debut at six, and recorded with a local jazz band at ten. He later attended the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, and studied with Crescent City piano legends Ellis Marsalis and James Booker. After moving to New York to attend Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music, Connick performed around town and won a deal with Columbia Records. The label released his eponymous debut album, an instrumental, largely unaccompanied collection of pop standards, in 1987. The following year saw the release of his second album 21, which added his vocals to the mix.
His first two albums won Connick substantial acclaim in jazz circles, but it was his 1989 soundtrack for Rob Reiner’s hit film When Harry Met Sally—a set of vintage pop standards, with Connick’s engaging vocals backed by a big band—that introduced him to a mainstream audience. The soundtrack album became double platinum hit, making Connick an instant pop star. In 1990, Connick simultaneously released a pair of albums that reflected his diverse musical interests: We Are in Love, a set of mostly self-penned love songs, and the instrumental jazz effort Lofty’s Roach Soufflé. Connick toured with a big band, and recorded with that group to support 1991’s Blue Light, Red Light. That album maintained Connick’s platinum sales levels, as did such releases as 1992’s 25 and 1993’s holiday-themed When My Heart Finds Christmas. He then experimented with a scrappy New Orleans funk style on 1994’s funk-flavored She and its follow-up Star Turtle, before delivering a set of romantic originals on 1997’s To See You and returning to big-band swing on 1999’s Come by Me.
In the next decade, Connick wrote the score for Susan Stroman’s Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not, and reembraced his early jazz roots on 30 and Songs I Heard, while updating his ballad approach on the 2003 standards collection Only You. After New Orleans was devastated by the effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Connick helped to organize the benefit telethon A Concert for Hurricane Relief and worked closely with charitable relief and rebuilding efforts. His 2007 album Oh, My Nola was a heartfelt expression of grief, love and support for the beleaguered city.
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