William Zach "Zac" Harmon is an American blues musician from

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, United States. Harmon was signed to Toronto's

NorthernBlues Music NorthernBlues Music is a Canadian independent record label, which specializes in blues music. The label was established in 2001, and a number of its artists and albums have since been nominated for and won Blues Music Awards. President Fred Li ...

until 2015, when he announced his signing to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

–based

Blind Pig Records Blind Pig Records is an American blues independent record label. Blind Pig was formed in 1977 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by Jerry Del Giudice, owner of the Blind Pig Cafe, and his friend Edward Chmelewski. The label is now based in San Francisco. I ...

Biography

While in high school and college, Harmon played guitar for blues musicians

Z. Z. Hill Arzell J. "Z. Z." Hill (September 30, 1935 – April 27, 1984)Dahl, Bill. "Z.Z. Hill" Allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 March 2014. was an American blues singer best known for his recordings in the 1970s and early 1980s, including his 1982 album for Ma ...

Dorothy Moore Dorothy Moore (born October 13, 1946) is an American blues, gospel, and R&B singer best known for her 1976 hit song, " Misty Blue". Career Moore's parents were Mary Moore and Melvin Hendrex Senior. Her father performed under the stage name Me ...

, and

Sam Myers Samuel Joseph Myers (February 19, 1936 – July 17, 2006) was an American blues musician and songwriter. He was an accompanist on dozens of recordings by blues artists over five decades. He began his career as a drummer for Elmore James but was ...

. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, in the 1980s in pursuit of a career in the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

. He worked as a studio musician, and later, built himself to become a writer/producer. Harmon produced tracks for

Black Uhuru Black Uhuru is a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru ( Swahili for 'freedom'). The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Derrick "Duckie" Simpson as the mainstay. They had their most successful pe ...

's album ''The Mystical Truth'', which also received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination in 1994, as well as crafting songs for

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

The Whispers The Whispers are an American vocal group from Los Angeles, California. Scoring hit records since the late 1960s, they are best known for their two number-one R&B singles, " And the Beat Goes On" in 1979 and " Rock Steady" in 1987. The Whispers ...

Karyn White Karyn Layvonne White (born October 14, 1965) is an American singer who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She is known for several hit singles including "Superwoman" (1988), " Secret Rendezvous" (1989), " The Way You Love Me" (19 ...

, and

Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal (born November 15, 1953) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. O'Neal came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist, with eleven top 40 singles on the US R&B char ...

. Compelled by his dream of recording his own blues record, he created his first solo work, ''Live at Babe and Ricky's Inn'', in 2002. Harmon (and the Mid South Blues Revue) won the 2004

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, ...

for Best Unsigned Blues Band, sponsored by the Southern California Blues Society of Los Angeles. In 2005,

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable ...

listeners voted Harmon the Best New Blues Artist in the XM Nation Awards, and in 2006, he was awarded the

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

for Best New Artist Debut for his album, ''The Blues According to Zacariah''. In 2010, Harmon performed at the "Mississippi Celebrates its GRAMMY Legacy" event, hosted by

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he previously ser ...

, where he was presented with a Peavey Award. Harmon made his Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival debut on 12 July 2019. He was granted another Blues Music Award in 2022, when his album ''Long As I Got My Guitar'', was deemed to be "Soul Blues Album of the Year".

Discography

*''Live at Babe and Ricky's Inn'' (2002) *''The Blues According To Zacariah'' (2005) *''Shot in the Kill Zone'' (2008) *''From the Root'' (2009) *''Music is Medicine'' (2012) *''Right Man, Right Now'' (2015) *''Mississippi BarBQ'' (2019) *''Long As I Got My Guitar'' (2021)

Filmography

*''Black and Blue'' (2009)

References

External links

Zac Harmon Official Site Blind Pig Records Official Site
1950s births 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American blues guitarists American male guitarists American male songwriters Blues musicians from Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi Living people Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi Northern Blues Music artists Record producers from Mississippi Songwriters from Mississippi Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-blues-musician-stub