Charles T. Harmon (born December 18, 1979),Gerrick D. Kennedy, "Hitmakers Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony debut as Louis York," Los Angeles Times, February 24, 2015. known professionally as Chuck Harmony, is an American record producer and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He is a three-time Grammy Award nominee, and won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song for his contributions to Fantasia's 2010 single "Bittersweet".
Early life Harmon was born and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois. He grew up performing in church.Kevin C. Johnson, "E. St. Louisan gets second try at Grammy," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 13, 2011. At age 4, he learned to play the drums, which quickly led to Harmon playing the trombone, tuba, piano, in addition to singing in the church choir. He studied music at Alabama State University, where he took piano lessons with the goal of becoming a jazz pianist. After college, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia."5 Questions With… Chuck Harmony," Grammy.com, April 6, 2012.
Career Songwriting and producing (2007-present) Harmon's first major songwriting credit was as a co-writer alongside Ne-Yo on Celine Dion's "I Got Nothin' Left" from her 2007 album Taking Chances. He has since earned production, composition, songwriting and instrumentation credits on songs by artists including Ne-Yo, Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Janet Jackson, John Legend, Rihanna, Kelly Rowland, Anthony Hamilton, Johnny Gill, Keyshia Cole, Keri Hilson, K'naan, Bono and Corinne Bailey Rae.Stacy-Ann Ellis, "Get Your Blessing With Anthony Hamilton's New Single, 'Amen'," Vibe, January 21, 2016.Gail Mitchell, "Johnny Gill Talks 'Game Changer' Success, Bobby Brown, Jamie Foxx & New Edition Biopic," Billboard, March 8, 2016.Rebecca Thomas, "Keyshia Cole Says Calling All Hearts Shows 'Both Sides' of Love," MTV.com, December 21, 2010."K'NAAN ft. Bono – Bulletproof Pride," DJBooth.net, 2013.
Harmony was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award for Album of the Year for co-producing Ne-Yo's Year of the Gentleman;"Grammy Awards: List of Winners," The New York Times, February 8, 2009. for Best R&B Song at the 2011 Grammy Awards for co-writing Fantasia’s "Bittersweet";Latifah Muhammad, "Ledisi Grammy Nominations: Singer Says 'It's an Honor'," The Boombox, December 2, 2011. and for Best R&B Song at the 2012 Grammy Awards for co-writing Ledisi's "Pieces of Me".Kevin C. Johnson, "Ledisi rises from underground to mainstream success," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 13, 2012. He won a 2011 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song for "Bittersweet".Brian Mansfield, "Fantasia wins Image Award for 'Bittersweet'," USA Today, March 7, 2011. He produced "Work in Progress (Growing Pains)" on Mary J. Blige's album Growing Pains, which won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album.Caroline Simionescu-Marin, "Chuck Harmony on Saving R&B, Jessie J and why Drake is the ish…" The IMC Magazine, November 18, 2013. He and Ne-Yo wrote and produced Rihanna's "Russian Roulette", the lead single from her 2009 album Rated R.Alim Kheraj, "Rihanna: The surprising stories behind six of her biggest hits," Digital Spy, September 18, 2016.Jocelyn Vena, "Rihanna May Have Released 'Russian Roulette' for 'Shock Value,' Producer Says," MTV News, October 21, 2009. He produced the single "One in a Million" from Ne-Yo's 2010 album Libra Scale,Sean Fennessey, "Ne-Yo Records Concept Album About Superheroes," Rolling Stone, July 14, 2010. and produced and co-wrote Keri Hilson's 2010 single "Pretty Girl Rock".
Louis York (2015-present) Harmony and Claude Kelly met while working on R&B singer Chrisette Michele's 2009 album Epiphany. They went on to write and produce together for artists including Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Jessie J, Faith Evans, Ledisi and Fantasia.
In 2015, Harmony and Kelly formed the progressive band Louis York. Their debut EP, Masterpiece Theater – Act I, was released in 2015. Harmony plays keyboards, guitars, drums and the vocoder on the album.Aggi Ashagre, "Rihanna Hitmakers Louis York Ready for Spotlight on 'Masterpiece Theater': Exclusive EP Premiere," Billboard, September 17, 2015. The follow-up, Masterpiece Theater – Act II, was released in 2016, following the EP's lead single "Don't Play"."Louis York Premiere New Single 'Don't Play'," thisisrnb.com, September 22, 2016. Louis York is the first act on their artist collective and record label Weirdo Workshop, which is distributed by Sony-owned RED Distribution."Kelly, Harmony, Night Agency Launching Indie Artist Collective," Music Connection, August 27, 2015.
Awards Year Award Category Work Result 2009 Grammy Award Album of the Year Year of the Gentleman by Ne-Yo 2011 Grammy Award Best R&B Song "Bittersweet" by Fantasia NAACP Image Award Outstanding Song 2012 Grammy Award Best R&B Song "Pieces of Me" by Ledisi
Discography Louis York Title Album details Masterpiece Theater – Act I Released: September 18, 2015 Formats: Digital download Label: Weirdo Workshop Masterpiece Theater – Act II Released: November 18, 2016 Formats: Digital download Label: Weirdo Workshop
As writer and producer
References
External links
Weirdo Workshop website