Hanson (band)
Hanson is an American pop rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, formed by brothers Isaac Hanson (guitar, vocals, bass, piano), Taylor Hanson (keyboards, vocals, percussion), and Zac Hanson (drums, vocals, piano). Supporting members include Dimitrius Collins (guitar) and Andrew Perusi (bass), who have toured and performed live with the band since 2007.
Not to be confused with Hanson Brothers, Hanson (British band), or The Hanson Brothers (band).
Hanson
Hanson are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their debut album released through Mercury/Polygram Records, entitled Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations. At the time of the music video, the boys were 16, 14, and 11 years old. The group's label Mercury Records was merged with its sister labels and the band were moved to Island Def Jam Music Group. After releasing one album on Island Def Jam, the label and the group parted ways. Hanson have sold over 16 million records worldwide and have had three top 20 albums in the United States. They have had three top 20 US Hot 100 singles and eight UK top 40 singles. The band now records under their own label 3CG Records.[3]
History[edit]
1992–1996: early years[edit]
In the early to mid-1990s, Isaac, Taylor, and Zac sang a cappella and recorded such classic songs as "Rockin' Robin", "Splish Splash", and "Johnny B. Goode", as well as their own material. Their first performance as a professional group took place in 1992 at the Mayfest Arts Festival in Tulsa.[4] They were known as the Hanson Brothers, before shortening the name to Hanson in 1993.[5]
Hanson also appeared on Carman's Yo! Kidz: The Vidz, which cast Taylor as a young Biblical David facing Goliath, Isaac as an event announcer, and Zac and other members of the family in the stands cheering on this "sporting event".[6]
All three boys started their musical careers as pianists, but Isaac eventually started playing guitar and Zac started playing drums, while Taylor continued as the keyboard player. The band recorded two independent albums in their hometown of Tulsa, Boomerang (recorded in autumn 1994, released in 1995) and MMMBop (released in 1996). The latter featured the original version of the song "MMMBop", which later became the runaway single on their debut commercial record Middle of Nowhere. The band played in Austin during the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, which led to them being signed by manager Christopher Sabec.[4] He shopped them to several record companies, most of which dismissed the band as a novelty before Steve Greenberg, an A&R representative for Mercury Records, heard them play a set at the Wisconsin State Fair. After this performance, they were signed almost immediately by Mercury. They soon became a worldwide sensation with the release of their first major-label album, Middle of Nowhere, which was produced by Stephen Lironi and the Dust Brothers.
Other projects and appearances[edit]
Hanson pioneered many things in the early days of the internet. In 1997 they were one of the first major label bands to have a website and an email address that was promoted in the sleeve of their album, Middle of Nowhere. By 1999 they had their own virtual world, Hanson World, and launched Hanson.net, a paid-membership fan portal that gave users exclusive content. The band started live-streaming and uploading videos to their website around this time too, before YouTube existed. A phone hotline also existed to give fans a record message from the band with their latest news.[63]
Hanson occasionally host a song writing retreat known as Fools Banquet (sporadically between 2004 and 2015), where they invite musician friends to spend a week collaborating on writing and recording new songs. In the early years, most of the songs that came from Fools Banquet collaborations featured on Hanson's fan club only albums. Artists that have attended over the years include Andrew W.K., Ben Kweller, Imani Coppola, Sandra McCracken, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Adam Green and Pedro Yanowitz.[64][65] Some songs that have been born and released as a result of Fools Banquet collaborations have been: We are All Women released by Andrew W.K. and Battle Cry released by both Hanson and Everybody Else.
Back to the Island (BTTI) is a week long destination concert event for fans that is held annually at a resort in Jamaica. During BTTI, attendees have the opportunity to participate in exclusive events with each member of the band, obtain exclusive merchandise, plus see the band give live performances.[66][67]
In early 2009, Taylor Hanson launched a separate project including members of Smashing Pumpkins, Fountains of Wayne and Cheap Trick called Tinted Windows, a power pop quartet whose debut album quickly earned critical praise and repeat airplay on leading syndicated FM radio programs.
Hanson was the musical guest at the Tulsa stop of The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour starring Conan O'Brien on May 15, 2010. Conan accompanied the band in playing a cover of the song "Never Been to Spain" by American rock legends Three Dog Night.
In June 2010, Hanson performed with former American Idol contestant Siobhan Magnus.
As an April Fools' Day joke in 2011, Hanson covered the song "Wait and Bleed" by the heavy metal band Slipknot, and the website Shockhound claimed that Hanson would record an entire album of Slipknot covers.[68]
On April 25, 2011, Hanson sang their hit "MMMBop" on the US version of Dancing with the Stars. The band also makes a cameo in Katy Perry's music video for her song "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)".
In 2012, Hanson were mentioned in an episode of The Mentalist titled Ruby Slippers, as Grace Van Pelt admits her room was full of their posters when she was a teenager.[69]
In May 2013, they launched their own beer: Mmmhops.[70]
The Hanson brothers partnered with craft beer company Mustang Brewing to create the drink as their way of raising a toast to their 21st anniversary. Hanson shared the first taste of the beer with those attending the premiere of The Hangover Part 3.[71]
Hanson appeared as dining room guests in the 15th episode of Hell's Kitchen Season 13.
In 2015, Hanson appeared on Blues Traveler's album Blow Up the Moon, co writing the song "Top of the World". In June 2015, they appeared on Owl City's fifth studio album, Mobile Orchestra, in the song "Unbelievable" as his third single for the album.
In July 2016, the group performed on ABC's Greatest Hits.[72]
In 2016, the band performed the song "Him or Me", a cover of the song by Paul Revere & the Raiders, on Bun E. Carlos' solo album called "Greetings From Bunezuela!"[73]
On May 29, 2017 (Memorial Day), Hanson performed live on ABC's Good Morning America[74] to commemorate their 25th year together and promote their new song.
In 2019, the band made a cameo appearance in Australian soap opera Neighbours.[75]
In 2021, Hanson competed in season five of The Masked Singer as the "Russian Dolls", being the first band to compete on the series. The character performed in two costumes during the first and fifth performances and performed in three costumes for the second and third performances. Performances that utilized four costumes had one of them being used as a prop. When unmasked by Nick Cannon and the Men in Black on Week 9 of the fifth season, Taylor, Isaac, and Zac Hanson were underneath the main Russian Doll costume. Their elimination in May 2021 coincided with the release of "Annalie", the first single from their 2021 seven-single album, Against the World.[76]
Philanthropy[edit]
In July 2006, the band recorded with a school choir in Soweto, South Africa to create "Great Divide", which was released in the UK and U.S. through iTunes in December 2006. All proceeds from the song were directed towards research and prevention of AIDS in Africa.[77]
On September 10, 2007, Hanson began "The Walk Tour" in Nashville. During the tour, Hanson continued their work against poverty and AIDS in Africa, partnering with an American company, TOMS Shoes. As part of TOMS' "Shoe Drop", for every pair of shoes sold, the company donated another pair for a child in Africa.[78]
The Walk tour was suspended after Isaac underwent lifesaving surgery for a pulmonary embolism.[79] Doctors treated his condition by relieving blood flow restrictions caused by excess chest muscle and scar tissue from the repetitive motions of guitar playing.[80] The tour resumed with Midwest and East Coast dates March through May 2008.[81]