Harout Pamboukjian

Harout Pamboukjian (Armenian: Հարութ Փամբուկչյան), (born in 1950 in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union), is an Armenian American pop singer living in Los Angeles. His Armenian dance, folk and revolutionary songs make him a favorite among Armenians.

Early life

In his early teens, he took up lessons for many musical instruments including the guitar, the bouzouki and saz (stringed instruments), the dhol (drums) and the piano, later forming a band called Erebouni. His interest towards music was because his mother was a singer. His band went from village to village playing everything from Charles Aznavour to Deep Purple and Elvis, at weddings and universities. Due to restrictions under the Soviet Union, Harout and most of his family left Soviet Armenia in 1975. After a year in Lebanon, he went to Los Angeles and took up residence in Hollywood.

Music career

Only two months after his arrival in L.A., Harout put together a studio band and recorded his first album, "Our Eyir Astvats" (Where Were You, God?), in reference to the Armenian Genocide at the Quad Teck studio. He never received permission to use any of Arthur Meschian’s work (including the song "Where Were You, God?")

That first album, now considered a classic, barely resembles the trademark sound he has become known for since then. Instead of the usual weepy duduk or synths, you get clarinet, organ and a lot of bass. Only a few of the songs on the first album are dance-oriented, certainly different 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 by artists like Rouben Hakhverdian, Robert Amirkhanian, Arthur Meschian and others. But it’s the centuries-old sacred and grandiose folk tunes about protecting the soil and fighting in the highlands — "Antranik Pasha," "Sassouni Orore," "Msho Aghchig" — that really get his fans blood stirring with nationalistic pride. He's most fond of Rouben Hakhverdian, 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 Spitak Earthquake that 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 and Karen Demirchyan Complex 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" (Brave Armenians), "50 Daree" (50 Years) and "Hey Jan Ghapama"

External links

• Harout Pamboukjian official website