Harout Pamboukjian (; ; born July 1, 1950), also known as Dzakh Harut (, , owing to his left-handed style of playing guitar), is an Armenian pop singer living in Los Angeles, California. His Armenian dance, folk, revolutionary and romantic songs have made him a favorite among Armenians worldwide.
Harout Pamboukjian was born on July 1, 1950, in Yerevan, Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union). In his early teens, he took lessons in 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 Tsaghik Shahakyan, who was also a singer. Erebouni went from village to village playing everything from Charles Aznavour to Deep Purple and Elvis Presley, at weddings and universities. Due to restrictions under the Soviet Union, Harout and most of his family left Soviet Armenia in 1975 and moved to Lebanon. A year later, he moved to Los Angeles, California and resided in Hollywood.
Only two months after his arrival in Los Angeles, Harout put together a studio band and recorded his first album at the Quad Teck studio, called "Our Eyir Astvats" (, meaning "Where Were You, God?"), in reference to the Armenian genocide. His first album contains clarinet, organ, and bass, instead of the duduk or synths, which is the sound that he would since become known for. Only a few of the songs on the album are dance-oriented, differing from the material that later made him popular at weddings, earning him the nickname "The Armenian Wedding Singer".
Harout has interpreted songs composed by artists such as Ruben Hakhverdyan, Harout Bedrossian and Arthur Meschian. His most popular songs include the centuries-old folk tunes about protecting the soil and fighting in the highlands, including "Antranik Pasha" (), "Sassouni Orore" (, meaning "Lullaby of Sasun"), and "Msho Aghchig" (, meaning "Girl from Mush"), that have appealed to his fans' nationalistic pride. He is most fond of Ruben Hakhverdyan, who he produced the almost all-acoustic "Yerke Nayev Aghotk E" (, meaning "Songs Are Also Prayers") album with in the year 2000. Harout has also covered favorites such as "Nuné" ().
A year after the 1988 Armenian earthquake, which killed over 25,000 people and left many more homeless, thousands of fans looking for some kind of temporary diversion from the devastation packed the Hrazdan Stadium and the Karen Demirchyan Complex to hear 28 concerts performed by Harout.
In 2008, Harout appeared as children's music singer Bread Harrity on the Adult Swim sketch comedy show Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, performing a song about spaghetti and meatballs.
Harout has released over 20 albums. Some of his famous interpretations include "Asmar Aghchig" (, meaning "Dark Skinned Girl"), "Zokanch" (, meaning "Mother-in-law"), "Msho Aghchig" (, meaning "Girl from Mush"), "Msho Dashter" (, meaning "Fields of Mush"), "Hye Kacher" (, meaning "Armenian Heroes"), "50 Daree" (, meaning "50 Years") and "Hey Jan Ghapama" ().
Harout Pamboukjian was married to Rouzanna Tevosian until her death in 2013. They had one son, who was born in 1980.