Harout Pamboukjian ( hy, Հարութ Փամբուկչյան; hyw, Յարութ Փամպուքճեան; born July 1, 1950), known as Dzakh Harut ( hy, Ձախ Հարութ, literally "Left Harout"), is an Armenian

pop singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. His Armenian dance, folk, and

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

and romantic songs make him a favorite among Armenians worldwide.

Early life

Harout Pamboukjian was born on July 1, 1950, in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

(then part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

). In his early teens, he took lessons in many musical instruments including the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, the

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

and saz (stringed instruments), the dhol (drums) and the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, later forming a band called Erebouni. His interest in music was initially influenced by his mother Tsaghik Shahakyan, who was also a singer. Erebouni went from village to village playing everything from

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Originally formed as ...

and Elvis, at weddings and universities. Due to restrictions under the

, Harout and most of his family left

Soviet Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

in 1975. After a year in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, he went to Los Angeles and took up residence in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. He has one son, who was born in 1980.

Music career

Harout Pamboukjian and Ruben Hakhverdyan

Only two months after his arrival in Los Angeles, Harout put together a studio band and recorded his first album, "Our Eyir Astvats" (Where Were You, God?), in reference to the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

at the Quad Teck studio. That first album barely resembles the sound he has since become known for. Instead of the

duduk The duduk ( ; hy, դուդուկ ) or tsiranapogh ( hy, ծիրանափող, meaning “apricot-made wind instrument”), is an ancient Armenian double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. It is indigenous to Armenia. Variations of th ...

or synths, there are clarinet, organ and a lot of bass. Only a few of the songs on the first are dance-oriented, differing from the material that later made him popular at weddings. This made him popular and branded him the nickname "The Armenian Wedding Singer". Harout has interpreted songs composed by artists such as

Ruben Hakhverdyan Ruben Hakhverdyan ( hy, Ռուբեն Հախվերդյան; born December 3, 1950) is a popular Armenian poet, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and lyricist. He attended Yerevan's theater institute and in 1975, earned his degree in television and t ...

, Harout Bedrossian and

Arthur Meschian Arthur (Artashes) Meschian ( hy, Արթուր Մեսչյան; born March 3, 1949) is an Armenian architect, musician, composer, poet, singer and painter. He is also known as one of the founders of Armenian rock. He was the founder and the lead s ...

. But it's the centuries-old folk tunes about protecting the soil and fighting in the highlands—"

Antranik Pasha Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;. Also spelled Antranik or Antranig 25 February 186531 August 1927), was an Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known '' fedayi'' and a key figure of the ...

", " Sassouni Orore", " Msho Aghchig"—that appeal to his fans' nationalistic pride. He is most fond of Ruben Hakhverdyan, including the 1996 almost all-acoustic "Yerke Nayev Aghotk Eh" (Songs Are Also Prayers). Harout has also covered favorites like "Nuné". A year after the

1988 Armenian earthquake The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake ( hy, Սպիտակի երկրաշարժ, ), occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (''Devastating''). The shock occurre ...

, which killed 25,000 people and left many more homeless, hundreds of thousands of fans looking for some kind of temporary diversion from the devastation, packed the

Hrazdan Stadium Hrazdan Stadium ( hy, Հրազդան մարզադաշտ) is a multi-use, all-seater stadium in Yerevan, Armenia, opened in 1970. Being the largest sports venue in Armenia, Hrazdan was mostly used for football matches. It was the home stadium of t ...

and

Karen Demirchyan Complex Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concerts Complex (Armenian: ), also known as Demirchyan Arena, Sports & Music Complex, or simply Hamalir (for complex in Armenian), is a large multi-purpose sports and concert complex with 184 stairs leading up Tsitsern ...

to hear 28 concerts by Harout. In 2008, Harout appeared as children's music singer Bread Harrity on the sketch comedy show '' Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!'', performing a song about spaghetti and meatballs. Pamboukjian has released over 20 albums. Some of his famous interpretations include "Asmar Aghchig" (Dark Skinned Girl), "Zokanch" (Mother-in-law), "Msho Aghchig" (Girl from Mush), "Msho Dashter" (Fields of Mush), "Hye Kacher" (Armenian Heroes), "50 Daree" (50 Years) and "Hey Jan Ghapama"

Discography

Studio albums

*Oour Eyir Ahstvats (1976) *Ballad Hayrenyatz (1977) *Aravoditz Irigoun (1978) *Harout (1979) *Minchev Ekouts (1980) *In Memory Of Those Who Gave Their Lives (1980) *Kedi Ayn Apin (1981) *Yerp Alegodz Dzovu Vra (1982) *Top’82 (1982) *Heratsadz Engerner (1983) *Vol 12 (1984) *Hayi Achker (1986) *Hay Baliknerin (1988) *Knas Parov (1989) *Yeregoyan Yerevan (1991) *Pari Daretarts (1993) *Jambanere Bingyoli (feat. Rouzan Pamboukjian) (1994) *The Golden Album (1997) *Yerke Nayev Aghotk E (feat. Ruben Hakhverdyan) (2000) *Harout 2000/Haroutn Hayots (2000) *My Life (2013)

Live albums

*Live In Beirut (1980) *Live In Concert Vol. 1 (1987) *Live In Los Angeles (1988) *National & Patriotic Songs Vol. 1 Live (1997) *National & Patriotic Songs Vol. 2 Live (1997) *National & Patriotic Songs Vol. 3 Live (1997) *Live In Concert Vol. 2 (1997) *Live In California (2001) *Live In Dolby Theatre (2017) *Live In France (2018)

Compilation albums

*Harout Box Set - The Best of 1974-1984 (1984) *25 Dance Hits (1998) *Hit Romances: 50 Daris (1999) *Romantic Flashback (1999) *Patriotic Songs (2000) *Patriotic Collection (2000) *Love Songs (2000) *Dance Party Mix (2000) *Toukh Achker (2003) *Paylogh Asdgher (2005)

Singles and EPs

*Marali Bes (1981) *Sari Jampov (1981) *Ser Jan (1981) *Toukh Acher (1981) *Im Arajin Ser (1981) *Mer Hayrenik (1997) *Menag Es Mnatsel (feat. Silvi) (2006) *Sareri Kami (feat. Rouben Hakhverdyan) (2012) *Tariner (feat.

Sirusho Siranush Harutyunyan ( hy, Սիրանուշ Հարությունյան; born 7 January 1987), known professionally as Sirusho ( hy, Սիրուշո), is an Armenian singer and songwriter. She received her first award when she was nine years old f ...

) (2014) *Ancir Ay Getak (feat. Armenchik) (2014) *Angakh Hayastan (feat. Tigran Asatryan & Sammy Flash) (2016) *Te Acheres (feat. Super Sako) (2016) *Zoqanch (feat. Dj Donz) (2017) *Te Achers Kez Voronem (2017) *Karmir Tsaghik Me Garuni (feat. Anna Boyrazyan) (2017) *Tebi Sassoun (feat. Karnig Sarkissian) (2018) *Ha Nina Nina (feat. Sammy Flash) (2018) *Es Arantz Kez (2018) *Yerp Siroum Es Indz (2018) *Karmir Tsaghik (feat. Anna Boyrazyan) (2019) *Tsovn E Sharachum (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pamboukjian, Harout 1950 births Living people Musicians from Yerevan Soviet emigrants to the United States American male pop singers 20th-century Armenian male singers American musicians of Armenian descent Armenian pop singers 21st-century Armenian male singers