Charles T. Harmon (born December 18, 1979),Gerrick D. Kennedy

''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', February 24, 2015. known professionally as Chuck Harmony, is an American record producer and songwriter from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He is a three-time

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominee, and won an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Song for his contributions to Fantasia's 2010 single " Bittersweet".

Early life

Harmon was born and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois. He grew up performing in church.Kevin C. Johnson
"E. St. Louisan gets second try at Grammy,"
''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

'', February 13, 2011. At age 4, he learned to play the drums, which quickly led to Harmon playing the trombone, tuba, piano, in addition to singing in the church choir. He studied music at Alabama State University, where he took piano lessons with the goal of becoming a jazz pianist. After college, he relocated to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

."5 Questions With… Chuck Harmony,"
Grammy.com, April 6, 2012.

Career

Songwriting and producing (2007-present)

Harmon's first major songwriting credit was as a co-writer alongside

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

's "I Got Nothin' Left" from her 2007 album '' Taking Chances''. He has since earned production, composition, songwriting and instrumentation credits on songs by artists including Ne-Yo,

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven ...

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

, Anthony Hamilton,

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has rel ...

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she began her musical career as a songwriter and backing vocalist for other artists under the wing of record producer Anthony De ...

, K'naan,

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

and

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; née Bailey; born 26 February 1979) is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an a ...

. Harmony was nominated for a 2009

for Album of the Year for co-producing Ne-Yo's '' Year of the Gentleman''; for Best R&B Song at the 2011 Grammy Awards for co-writing Fantasia’s " Bittersweet"; and for Best R&B Song at the 2012 Grammy Awards for co-writing Ledisi's "Pieces of Me". He won a 2011

for Outstanding Song for "Bittersweet". He produced "Work in Progress (Growing Pains)" on Mary J. Blige's album ''

Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that ran on ABC for seven seasons from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The series follows the misadventures of the Seaver family, including psychiatrist and fathe ...

'', which won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album.Caroline Simionescu-Marin
"Chuck Harmony on Saving R&B, Jessie J and why Drake is the ish…"
''The IMC Magazine'', November 18, 2013. He and Ne-Yo wrote and produced Rihanna's "

Russian Roulette Russian roulette () is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body (their opponent's or their own), and pulls the trigger. If the ...

", the lead single from her 2009 album '' Rated R''. He produced the single " One in a Million" from Ne-Yo's 2010 album ''

Libra Scale ''Libra Scale'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. It was released on October 27, 2010 in Japan, followed by a release in the United Kingdom on October 29, as well as a release in the United States on November 22, 2010 ...

'', and produced and co-wrote Keri Hilson's 2010 single " Pretty Girl Rock".

Louis York (2015-present)

Harmony and Claude Kelly met while working on R&B singer

Chrisette Michele Chrisette Michele Payne (born December 8, 1982) is an American R&B and soul singer. She won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song " Be OK" (featuring will.i.am). She was previously signed to Motown Recor ...

's 2009 album '' Epiphany''. They went on to write and produce together for artists including

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Jessie J Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind ...

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 in pursuit of a recording career. Evans initially performed as ...

, Ledisi and Fantasia. In 2015, Harmony and Kelly formed the progressive band Louis York. Their debut EP, ''Masterpiece Theater – Act I'', was released in 2015. Harmony plays keyboards, guitars, drums and the vocoder on the album.Aggi Ashagre
"Rihanna Hitmakers Louis York Ready for Spotlight on 'Masterpiece Theater': Exclusive EP Premiere,"
''Billboard'', September 17, 2015. The follow-up, ''Masterpiece Theater – Act II'', was released in 2016, following the EP's lead single "Don't Play". Louis York is the first act on their artist collective and record label Weirdo Workshop, which is distributed by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

-owned

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...

."Kelly, Harmony, Night Agency Launching Indie Artist Collective,"
Music Connection, August 27, 2015.

Awards

Discography

Louis York

As writer and producer

References

External links

*
Weirdo Workshop website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmony, Chuck Singer-songwriters from Illinois American pop musicians Living people 1979 births African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters African-American record producers Record producers from Illinois People from East St. Louis, Illinois Alabama State University alumni 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)