Born 59 Years Ago In New Orleans, This Singer Snapped Jazz Back Into The Mainstream

Very few musicians can claim they returned a niche genre to popularity, even if for a little while. That achievement goes to Harry Connick Jr., who brought jazz music back into the mainstream after it had been pushed to the sidelines in favor of rock music. And this modern jazz legend was born 59 years ago today on September 11, 1967.

Connick Jr.'s career includes massive acting and music credits. On the acting side, he's voiced animated characters in films, played Grace Adler's husband in the sitcom "Will & Grace," and had parts in several feature films. He even hosted his own daytime talk show, "Harry," from 2016 to 2018 and was a judge on "American Idol" for 11 years. For this alone, Connick Jr. has earned his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but he (obviously) isn't just an actor.

This artist's musical resume is at least as grand as his on-screen portfolio. In 1990 and '91, Connick Jr. won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. He'd go on to win another Grammy in 2002 and be nominated 13 additional times — which might seem surprising for a musician who couldn't stand the Beatles. As if the awards weren't enough, Connick Jr. has had multiple albums peak in the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 200. And the album that kicked off Connick Jr.'s fame and helped bring jazz into the mainstream was, of all things, the "When Harry Met Sally..." soundtrack.

Sure, there have been fans of jazz since the genre first evolved, but the fanbase wasn't exactly packing record stores when Harry Connick Jr. got popular. When Columbia Records released the "When Harry Met Sally..." soundtrack in 1989 — an album co-produced by and featuring Connick Jr. — things changed.

Even though the soundtrack was the score to a romantic comedy movie, it's a fine example of modern jazz that became widely popular. Jazz had been in a popularity slump for some time, but Connick Jr. was one of the musicians ahead of their time where modern jazz was concerned. And this Connick Jr. album sold over 2 million copies and would go on to peak at No. 1 on the Billboard jazz chart. While that's not surprising for a jazz album, "When Harry Met Sally..." ranked on the Hot 200 — a chart that ranks the most popular music in the United States. And it's not genre-specific.

From there, Connick Jr. would encounter massive success again with his jazz Christmas album "When My Heart Finds Christmas," released in 1994. The album would peak at No. 13 on the Hot 200 and sell more than 3 million copies. It was the '90s, and jazz had become popular enough to go multi-platinum. Connick Jr. would end up with several multi-platinum albums throughout his still-thriving career, possibly with more to come. This really goes to show how one talented musician can reignite the masses' love for a once niche genre and even change the course of music for generations.