Hanson

Hanson biography

Hanson is an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac (guitar, piano, vocals), Taylor (keyboards, piano, guitar, drums, vocals), and Zac Hanson (drums, piano, guitar, vocals). They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations. Despite the enormous commercial success of Middle of Nowhere, the band suffered from the merger that eliminated their label, Mercury Records. The group was moved to Island Def Jam Music Group, which they eventually left after conflict with the label about creative input. Hanson have sold over 16 million records worldwide and have had eight top 40 singles in the UK and six top 40 singles in the US. The band now records under its own label, 3CG Records.

History

Biographical information

Clarke Isaac (born November 17, 1980), Jordan Taylor (March 14, 1983) Zachary Walker (October 22, 1985) are the oldest children of Clarke Walker Hanson and Diana Hanson (née Lawyer). The Hanson family also includes younger siblings: Jessica Grace (July 31, 1988), Avery Laurel (November 6, 1990), Joshua Mackenzie (January 7, 1994), and Zoí« Genevieve (January 14, 1998).

Isaac married Nikki Dufresne (born November 25, 1983) on September 30, 2006; they have two sons, Clarke Everett (April 3, 2007) and James Monroe (July 1, 2008). Taylor married Natalie Bryant (December 28, 1983) on June 8, 2002; they have four children, Jordan Ezra (October 31, 2002), Penelope Anne (April 19, 2005), River Samuel (September 4, 2006), and Viggo Moriah (December 9, 2008). Zac married Kate Tucker (November 29, 1983) on June 3, 2006. The couple have two children, John Ira Shepherd (May 27, 2008), and Junia Rosa Ruth (December 15, 2010).

Men in the Hanson family are usually called by their middle names - most notably band members Isaac and Taylor, along with brother Joshua ("Mac" Mackenzie), father Clarke ("Walker"), Isaac's sons Clarke ("Everett") and James ("Monroe"), Taylor's son Jordan ("Ezra"), and Zac's son John.

1992-1996: Early years

In the early to mid 1990s, Isaac, Taylor and Zac sang a cappella and recorded songs like "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.

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".

All three boys started their musical careers as pianists. Isaac later picked up a second-hand guitar, Zac borrowed an old set of drums, and Taylor became the keyboard player of what turned into a garage band. 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 would later become the runaway single on their debut commercial record Middle of Nowhere. The boys then found themselves at the South By Southwest (aka SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas. There, they were promptly signed by manager Christopher Sabec. He shopped them to several record companies, most of which dismissed the band as either a novelty or fraud before Steve Greenberg, an A&R representative for Mercury Records, heard them play a set at the Kansas 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 the Dust Brothers.

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