Jimmy Harnen

Jimmy Harnen is an American adult contemporary singer, songwriter and drummer. He sang lead vocals for the pop rock band Synch's 1989 top ten hit "Where Are You Now?".

Biography

Harnen was born and raised in Plymouth, a small town in northeast Pennsylvania. In high school he played drums in the marching band. In 1985, he became the drummer for the local band Synch, made up of lead vocalist Lou Butwin, guitarist Dave Abraham, bass guitarist James A. Donnelly and keyboard player Chuck Yarmey.

That year, the band recorded some of their songs, with Harnen singing on one song, "Where Are You Now?". He had written the song with a friend named Rich Congdon, and the band decided to release it as a single on the independent label Micki Records, originally backed with the Butwin-sung B-side, "End the Game".^[1]

After receiving local airplay in the Wilkes-Barre market, Synch was signed by Columbia Records and "Where Are You Now" was re-recorded at The Warehouse in Philadelphia with the former Dakota members Bill Kelly and Jerry Hludzik producing and Jon Lorance playing guitar. The band released the album ...Get the Feelin' in 1986, and "Where Are You Now" reached #77 on the Billboard Hot 100, but left the chart the following week. ...Get the Feelin' also included the local single, "Give Love Another Try,"^[2][3] but it did not crack the charts. Synch was soon dropped by Columbia. They spent the next few years trying to recapture the spotlight, before disbanding.

In 1989, "Where Are You Now" resurfaced and began receiving a tremendous amount of airplay, with the song now credited as 'Jimmy Harnen with Synch'. WTG, a new label at the time, signed Harnen and while the song was climbing the charts he began recording a full-length release for the label. The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #3 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

Harnen's first album, Can't Fight The Midnight, featured well-known studio musicians including the future American Idol judge Randy Jackson (bass guitar), Toto's Steve Lukather (guitar) and a guest appearance by one of Harnen's idols, REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin and Synch/Dakota guitar player Jon Lorance. The album and tour flopped and Harnen spent the next couple of years releasing occasional songs and tapes until his move to Nashville, Tennessee.

There, he worked as the national promotional director for DreamWorks Records, and with management at Refugee Records. In early October 2006, Harnen rose from vice president of national promotion to senior vice president of promotion for Capitol Records.

In April 2009, Harnen left Capitol and joined Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Records (label for artists such as Taylor Swift), becoming president of the new label, Republic Nashville. Artists on the label include Florida Georgia Line, whose single "Cruise" was the most digitally downloaded single in the history of country music, The Band Perry, Eli Young Band, Cassadee Pope and A Thousand Horses.

References

External links

• American Artists Entertainment Group Biography
• Additional Info about his first solo album