Harry Connick, Jr. Biography, Songs, & Albums |

Harry Connick Jr. is a Grammy Award-winning American musician, singer, and actor. He began his career as the lead vocalist for New Orleans’ saxophone-driven jazz band, The Harry Connick Jr. Band.

Harry Connick, Jr. is an American singer, actor, and pianist. He has won four Emmy Awards for his work on the talk show The Late Show with David Letterman.

Harry Connick, Jr. helped bring New Orleans stride, jazz, and classic pop back into the mainstream with his swinging piano abilities and warm baritone voice, an accomplishment that earned him notoriety and renown beyond music. Connick had grown into a captivating jazz musician by his teens, having initially emerged as a piano prodigy at the age of 10. He gained worldwide recognition with a series of Columbia Records recordings, notably the soundtrack of the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, for which he won his first Grammy. He was influenced by Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. He went on to have a string of Top 20 jazz albums, including the Grammy-winning We Are in Love in 1990, the Grammy-winning Songs I Heard in 2002, and the number five Billboard 200-charting Only You in 2004; all of which helped define the neo-crooner sound and paved the way for artists like Michael Buble, Jamie Cullum, and Norah Jones. Connick began acting at the same period, starring on Will & Grace and in films such as Memphis Belle and Independence Day. While standards remain his specialty, as shown by 2009’s Your Songs, he has dabbled in pop, R&B, gospel, and funk, as evidenced by 2015’s That Would Be Me and the intimate Alone with My Faith in 2024.

Connick grew up as the son of two attorneys who ran a record shop in New Orleans, where he was born on September 11, 1967. He began playing keyboards at the age of three, and at the age of six, he had his first public performance, and at the age of 10, he recorded with a local jazz band. Connick trained under Ellis Marsalis and James Booker at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. Connick’s relocation to New York to study at Hunter College and the Manhattan School of Music allowed him to track down a Columbia Records executive who had inquired about him, and his self-titled album debut — a collection of mainly solo classics — was released in 1987. Connick’s maturity and engaging approach, as well as his prolonged stays in New York hot places throughout the year, were lauded by jazz reviewers. In 1988, he released his second album, which was titled after his age and featured him on vocals for the first time.

Connick, who was already well-known in jazz circles, shot to fame in the United States with the soundtrack to the blockbuster film When Harry Met Sally in 1989. Connick was invited to write it by director Rob Reiner, and he recorded many warm classics with a big-band accompaniment (“It Had to Be You,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore”). When Harry Met Sally was followed by a global tour, and the album ultimately went double platinum. With his fame growing, Connick pursued a career as an actor, starring as a tail gunner in the 1990 film Memphis Belle. In the same year, he issued two albums simultaneously: We Are in Love, a vocal album featuring standards comparable to those on When Harry Met Sally, and Lofty’s Roach Souffle, an all-instrumental record. (Of course, the vocal album did considerably better on the mainstream charts, reaching quadruple platinum, while the instrumentals were more popular with jazz fans.) Connick traveled again, this time with a large band, and the ensemble was captured on Blue Light, Red Light, released in 1991. Connick’s albums continued to achieve platinum status throughout the mid-’90s, including 1992’s 25, a 1993 Christmas album, and 1994’s She, despite his fame waning somewhat. Connick resumed his acting career by appearing in Copycat (as a serial murderer) in 1995, and he married actress Jill Goodacre. He had a short part in Independence Day, the year’s greatest movie, but his record Star Turtle failed to resonate with mainstream listeners. In 1999, he released Come by Me, a return to big-band sounds. Connick alternated between recordings that explored his jazz origins and those that included songbook classics in the new century.

After 2001, Connick split his time between Columbia and saxophonist Branford Marsalis’ Marsalis Music label, releasing albums on both labels. The big-band album Only You, which included popular songs from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the more intimate albums Other Hours: Connick on Piano, Vol. 1 (2003) and Occasion: Connick on Piano, Vol. 2 (2005), focusing on the artist’s instrumental skills, were among them. Connick continued to perform in addition to producing records, and he was a regular on the television comedy Will & Grace until it ended in 2006. Connick, who was always loyal to his city, was also actively engaged in the post-Hurricane Katrina assistance and reconstruction of New Orleans. He arranged the benefit telethon A Concert for Hurricane Relief on NBC in early September 2005 to collect money for and raise awareness for the suffering people of New Orleans. Following that, he worked closely with Habitat for Humanity to assist Katrina victims.

With the release of his New Orleans tribute CD, Oh, My Nola, on Columbia in 2007, Connick once again showed his profound affection for his city. In 2007, the New Orleans-themed Chanson du Vieux Carré was released. Connick followed up with What a Night! A Christmas Album, his third holiday album, a year later. With 2009’s Your Songs, he explored a collection of American popular music oldies and current pop standards. Connick released the live CD and DVD In Concert on Broadway in 2011 as part of WNET’s Great Performances series on PBS. Connick performed at the Neil Simon Theater in New York City, accompanied by his large band and orchestra. In 2013, he released Smokey Mary, a funk-oriented album. The release of the album coincided with the 20th anniversary of Connick’s Mardi Gras super krewe, the Krewe of Orpheus, which he co-founded in 1993. The song “Smokey Mary Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train,” written by Connick in honor of the krewe’s trademark float, was included on the CD. Connick also published Every Man Should Know, an eclectic collection of all-original songs, in 2013.

Connick joined the 13th season of American Idol as a judge in 2014. He remained with the program until its last season, which aired from 2015 to 2016, although he announced plans to return to television with Harry, a daytime variety show that premiered in September 2016. During this time, he recorded the pop album That Would Be Me in the autumn of 2015, before returning to his big band in 2019 with True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter. Connick released Alone with My Faith in 2024, an intimate album he recorded completely on his lonesome amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

Harry Connick, Jr. is an American jazz singer-songwriter and actor. He has won four Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Reference: harry connick jr wife.

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Harry Connick Jr is best known for being a singer, actor, and pianist.”}},{“@type”:”Question”,”name”:”Does Harry Connick Jr write his own songs?”,”acceptedAnswer”:{“@type”:”Answer”,”text”:”
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Harry Connick Jr best known for?

Harry Connick Jr is best known for being a singer, actor, and pianist.

Does Harry Connick Jr write his own songs?

Yes, he is a famous singer and songwriter.

Where is Harry Connick from?

Harry Connick Jr. is an American actor, singer, and composer. He was born in New Orleans on April 13th, 1956.

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