Harout Pamboukjian

Harout Pamboukjian
Ruben Hakhverdyan (left) and Harout Pamboukjian (right), Yerevan, 2012
Background information
Native name	Հարութ Փամբուկչյան
Born	1950 Yerevan, Armenia SSR, Soviet Union
Genres	Pop, folk, patriotic
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1970–present
Website	haroutpamboukjian.com
Notable instruments
Bouzouki, saz, dhol and piano

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

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 in music was initially influenced by his mother, a singer. Erebouni 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.

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.

That first album barely resembles the sound he has since become known for. Instead of the duduk or synths, there areclarinet, organ and a lot of bass. Only a few of the songs on the first album 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".