Hanson

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Hanson is an American pop-rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma formed 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 1996 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 has sold over 16 million records worldwide and have had 8 top 40 albums and 6 top 40 singles in the US, as well as 8 top 40 singles in the UK. The band now records under its own label, 3CG Records.

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, 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 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 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 the Dust Brothers.

Middle of Nowhere was released in the U.S. on May 6, 1997, selling 10 million copies worldwide. May 6 was declared 'Hanson Day' in Tulsa by Oklahoma's then-governor Frank Keating.Although 'Hanson Day' was originally intended to be a one-time occurrence, many Hanson fans all over the world still recognize May 6 as Hanson Day every year. Hanson's popularity exploded during the summer of 1997, and Mercury Records released Hanson's first documentary Tulsa, Tokyo, and the Middle of Nowhere and their Christmas album Snowed In in the wake of their success. Hanson also launched MOE (which stood for Middle of Everywhere), a fan club magazine that ran for 12 issues. After numerous unauthorized biographies of each of the brothers were published, Hanson turned to their close friend, Jarrod Gollihare of Admiral Twin, to write their authorized biography. Hanson: The Official Book reached number 9 on the New York Times Best Sellers List (nonfiction) on February 1, 1998. The band was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 1998: Record of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. During the summer of 1998, Hanson began a highly successful concert tour, the Albertane Tour. They performed a string of shows throughout stadiums and arenas in the U.S., targeting young audiences with a playful and energetic style. A live album, titled Live From Albertane, was released the following fall, as well as their second documentary The Road to Albertane.
In response to the demand for their earlier work, Hanson re-released MMMBop as 3 Car Garage, minus four tracks, in May 1998. To date,[when?] the tracks from Boomerang have not been re-released. Three tracks from Boomerang ("Boomerang", "More Than Anything", and "Rain (Falling Down)") and two of the remaining tracks from MMMBop ("Incredible" and "Baby (You're So Fine)") were released on the first MOE CD sent to fan club members.
During the Albertane Tour, Hanson wrote and demoed what would later become the songs for their fifth major studio album, This Time Around. During this time period, Mercury Records, the band's label, had been merged with Island Def Jam. Almost immediately following the changeover in May 2000, Hanson released their seventh album, This Time Around, but due to lack of promotional funding, sales were low and the label eventually pulled funding for their tour. The band toured through the summer and fall of 2000 on their own funds.

After a three-year struggle, the brothers left Island Def Jam Records to seek more creative freedom. Label executives had refused over 80 songs from the band, believing new material lacked marketability.The documentary film Strong Enough to Break follows these events.
Hanson now records for their own independent label, 3CG Records.The label has distribution deals through Alternative Distribution Alliance in the United States, Cooking Vinyl in Europe, Sony Music in Asia and with various other distributors throughout the world. During the dispute with their former label, Hanson signed with the management company, 10th Street Entertainment, which also manages artists such as Meat Loaf and Blondie.
In May 2013, they launched their own beer: Mmmhops.

Hanson toured South America, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina; and Europe and performed their first full electric shows in Australia during the 2005 "Live and Electric" tour. 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.
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 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. Hanson brought awareness to this campaign by asking fans to join them in a 1-mile barefoot walk before each concert, to represent what a typical African child goes through on a daily basis.[citation needed]
The Walk tour was suspended after Isaac underwent lifesaving surgery for a pulmonary embolism. Doctors treated his condition by relieving blood flow restrictions caused by excess chest muscle and scar tissue from the repetitive motions of guitar playingThe tour resumed with Midwest and East Coast dates March through May, 2008. The brothers wrapped up the second leg of "The Walk Tour" after playing 20 concerts in four weeks.
Hanson embarked on the "Walk Around the World Tour" starting on September 7, 2008 in Portland, Oregon and ending November 16, 2008 in San Diego, California. Once again Hanson continued to help fight poverty in Africa[citation needed] by continuing their 1-mile walks before the shows. A coffee table book titled "Take the Walk" was released in late 2008 to coincide with their "Walk Around the World Tour". This book presents the band's story behind their inspiration for their fight on poverty in Africa. The book also features a special EP with new tracks recorded especially for the project. Both the music and the book will raise further funds for aid groups in Africa.
Hanson also joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers.


Members


Isaac Hanson
Taylor Hanson
Zac Hanson


Discography

Main article: Hanson discography
Boomerang (1995)
MMMBop (1996)
Middle of Nowhere (1997)
Snowed In (1997)
3 Car Garage (1998)
Live from Albertane (1998)
This Time Around (2000)
Underneath (2004)
The Walk (2007)
Shout It Out (2010)
Anthem (2013)