Isaac, Taylor, and Zac started about five years ago and were called the Hansons and The Hanson Brothers before finally settling on Hanson. They sang a cappella (without instruments) for a year before picking up guitar, drums, and piano. Within a few weeks they were playing them live!
Hanson got their start performing at state fairs, parties, and in the parking lot of a Tulsa bar called the Blue Rose Cafe. Recalls owner Tom Dittus: "We'd feed the kids in the crowd little burgers and soda pop, and they'd sit there mouthing all the words. It was just the cutest thing in the world."
Hanson released two albums previous to Middle Of Nowhere, though only locally: Boomerang, and MMMBop, which features a different (pre-Dust Brothers!) version of their hit song.
Hanson say music should be fun! Taylor explains: "For a while, there was that alternative thing and it was huge. And now it's coming back to music being fun. Not corny, but enjoyable. Not down-and-out ‘I hate my life.’ "
The Hanson brothers come from a big family. They have three younger sisters and a brother: Jessica, 9, Avery, 7, Mackenzie, 4, and Zoe, born on January 14th, 1998. Says Taylor: "They can sing, but they're more into drawing and acting. Mackenzie, the little one, is even madder than Zac so I reckon he'll make a good actor!"
Before they became famous their dad, Walker, worked as an accountant for an oil-drilling company and the Hanson family lived in South America for a year. Their Mom, Diana, is a homemaker who home-schools all her children. That means none of the Hanson kids has ever been to school! Taylor explains: "It's better than going to school because we see a lot of each other this way and we're not separated into different classes." Zac adds: "I think it's made us closer to our parents and our younger brothers and sisters because we see them all the time." Isaac, Taylor and Zac are from a musical family: Their parents used to sing gospel and act!
In early 1998 Hanson were nominated for three Grammys: Record Of The Year, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Though Hanson didn't take home any this time, Record Of The Year is the most prestigious of all Grammy categories. Well done, guys!
In January 1998 Billboard compiled its weekly chart
positions in a 1997 year-end chart. How did Hanson do? Have a look!
1.The Billboard 200 - #13 - Middle Of Nowhere
Middle Of Nowhere was the 13th best-selling album in the U.S. in 1997!
2.Hot 100 Singles - #12 - MMMBop
MMMBop was the 12th best-selling single in the U.S.!
In addition, Billboard asked their readers to vote
for their favorite album and single of 1997. The results?
1.#1 Favorite Album - Middle Of Nowhere!
2.#1 Favorite Single - MMMBop!
1997 has certainly been a banner year for Isaac, Taylor, and Zac!
Do Hanson have girlfriends?
They've said "No" in the past but lately Isaac has said: "If we had girlfriends,
we probably wouldn't tell anyone." Oh-oh!
How do the guys like being compared to the Spice
Girls?
"We're known as Ike, Tay and Zac, not Posh, Butter, Spicy and Rare or whatever
they are," Taylor says. "They do their thing, we do ours. I think they're
cool. To get that successful, they worked their butts off." "So more power
to them," says Isaac. Adds Zac: "I guess you'd have to say more girl power
to them!"
How do they handle being teased that they look like
girls?
"What can you say -- it's people's opinions," sighs Taylor. "If people want
to rag on you for having long hair then they can. We really don't care!"
Says Zac: " We like being boys, doing boy things." "But we do like girls,"
adds Taylor. "I think it's silly," says Isaac. "We'd make the ugliest bunch
of girls I'd ever seen!"
What do Zac, Tay and Isaac say to people who claim
the guys are missing out on their youth?
"I have to laugh when someone asks if we're missing our childhood," says
Isaac, adding that they find plenty of time for in-line skating, arcade halls,
movies, parties and hanging out with friends. Zac continues: "When I turn
16, I can flip hamburgers for 5 bucks an hour, or I can go around the world
and perform for thousands of people and make a lot of money. What am I missing?"
Adds Taylor, "You can flip hamburgers, save money, go to college and then
start a band. We skipped all the in-between."
Even with Hanson's busy schedule, songwriting is still a big priority. "We still definitely find the time to write songs," says Taylor. Being musicians, we make time. It's what we do."
In a review of Middle Of Nowhere, highly respected British music magazine NME said of Hanson: "...set aside cynicism for 55 minutes and you'll be rewarded with one of the finest aural experiences to have emerged from mainstream America in the past 20 years. Fourteen-year-old lead vocalist and keyboard player Taylor Hanson is a revelation. Not since Michael Jackson's halcyon days in the company of his pinwheeling quartet of be-afro'ed brothers, has a voice of such power and clarity emerged from the throat of one so young."
The head of Mercury Records Danny Goldberg had this to say about Hanson in February 1998: "If you make it on the sheer novelty of youth, it's over when youth fades. But like Stevie Wonder or Steve Winwood, Hanson can have a long career. They've got great prospects as long-distance runners because they're talented. These three guys sing in beautiful harmonies, wrote most of their album and play their own instruments. Though success depends on a certain amount of luck and the mysterious trends in the culture, it would be foolish to bet against Hanson."
Tulsa, Montreal & The Middle Of Nowhere