Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick Jr.'s Irish American father - a lawyer, judge and district attorney - also ran a record store and Harry first started playing piano at the age of three, appearing on stage for the first time at five. At the age of nine he performed Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 Opus 37 with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and then duetted with the great pianist Eubie Blake, playing I'm Just Wild About Harry. His breakthrough came in 1989 when he played various standards on the soundtrack of the rom-com movie When Harry Met Sally, followed by his screen debut in Memphis Belle the following year. He became a massively popular live and recording act, giving jazz music the biggest boost it had for years, while his other major movie music contributions included The Godfather 3, Little Man Tate and Sleepless In Seattle. In 1994 he experimented with New Orleans funk music with the album She, and his single (I Could Only) Whisper Your Name, which featured in the Jim Carrey movie The Mask, became his biggest hit single. He subsequently returned recording jazz and standards, starred opposite Renee Zellwegger in New In Town and in 2009 collaborated with Clive Davis on his 2009 album Your Songs.

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