When I was Solo
Summary: Zac Hanson is a solo artist who is the biggest selling artist right now. He is selling out concerts and selling millions of records. Zac has two older brothers Isaac and Taylor who are in the music business too. Isaac and Taylor are both solo artists as well, but they don't have the success that Zac has. They can barely sell a hundred thousand records and they can't sell out shows. Isaac and Taylor hate being the ones not having all they fame and stuff that Zac does. It wasn't like this before, let me tell you the story of how it all started.
"Taylor we want you to be the lead singer. You have such a great voice and you are very cute." said our parents.
Our parents always loved Taylor, he was their favorite.
Let me introduce myself I am Zachary Walker Hanson and I was born in Arlington, VA on Oct. 22, 1985. I am the third oldest child my parents had together. My parents don't really care about me, Isaac, or our other siblings. All they care about is Taylor, my older brother. Sometimes I think they should have just had Taylor instead of having seven kids. It would have been a lot better but if that would have happened then I wouldn't have the life I have right now.
"Isaac and Zac we want the both of the you to just play your instruments and not sing because we want to hear Taylor. He is going to be a star and everyone is going to love him." said our parents.
"Stop it! Just stop it! I'm tired of you two always picking Taylor as your favorite. It's always been about Taylor, its never about me or Isaac. You never care about me or Isaac and how we feel. We could get kidnapped and you two wouldn't care at all." I shouted.
There I was leaving home for good. I went to stay with my grandmother Jane Nelson Lawyer at her house. She understood what I was feeling and couldn't believe what my parents were doing. My grandmother was the only person I could tell anything to except for Isaac. I couldn't tell anything to my parents because they wouldn't care. I tried for years to get them to care about me but it seemed like all they cared about was Taylor. They weren't really there for me when I needed them. That day when I left home I had decided that I would become a solo recording artist. I didn't really have that much experience with singing or recording but I knew that I would at least try. I also knew that I had one person that would support in everything I do and that was my grandmother.
She was happy for me and knew I would be huge.
She said on a local radio station in Tulsa "I believe Zac Hanson is headed straight to the top one of these days."
I went around Tulsa and performed until I was discovered by a man named Clarence Thomas. He said I was pretty good and asked if I wanted to record a few albums and demos that I could send off to major record labels. I immediately said yes and the next day I was in the recording studio recording an album called Boomerang. Shortly after that I recorded an album called Keeping you. The title of the album would later become my biggest hit.
I'm keeping you I'm keeping you
I'm keeping you so realize your fate
I'm keeping you I'm keeping you
I'm keeping you so settle down now
You landed here from inner space
You landed with that screwed-up look on your face
I wanted you from way back when
I wanted you for years, then years again
I'm keeping you I'm keeping you
I'm keeping you so settle in now
My return to wildlife by satellite
By beautiful moon-shining girl
Whether by hard ground or splashdown
We're safely back in the world
My heart's not new
I'm not like you
I've loved and been loved well and badly too
My body's been through everything
I've used and been used
I got over it
There's something that you learn on a tightrope
Just outside the spotlight there's a big net waiting for...My return to wildlife by satellite
By beautiful moon-shining girl
Whether by hard ground or splashdown
We're safely back in the world
I'm keeping you
It didn't take that long for me to get a record deal. I was signed by Mercury Records when I was 11 years old. My first major studio album was called Middle of Nowhere. I had four singles off of that album which were Keeping you, Where's the love, I will come to you, and Weird. After I released that album on May 6th, 1997 the gov. of Oklahoma declared it Zac Hanson day. I was so happy about it. The gov. gave me a key to Oklahoma city and the Mayor of Tulsa gave me the key to Tulsa.
Shortly after that I had a Christmas album come out called Snowed In. The album was released in 1997 and had three songs that I had written on there. Those songs were called At Christmas, Christmas time, and Everybody knows the Claus. The album not only included those three songs but it also included other songs that I covered.
It took from 1997 to 2000 for me to put out a new record. I guess the reason why was because I wanted my fans to enjoy the records I put out in 1997 and 1998. In 2000 I put out a new record called This time around. The record had three singles which were This time around, If only, and Save me.
After that record came out I didn't put out any more records until 2004. The reason why it took me so long was because I was having record label issues. Mercury and Island/ Def Jams merged together and a lot of artists were either dropped or were moved to Island/ Def Jams just like me. Island was more of a Hip-Hop label and they wanted me to be more like the old Zac Hanson and I didn't want that. Me and the label ended up parting ways and I ended up leaving the label. When I left the label I ended up looking for other labels to go to but it wasn't really what I wanted to do. I felt that if I go to another record label will I be treated the same. After all the searching I did I finally realized that if I was going to put this record out I had to put out on my own. I had to go independent. I finally went independent and created the record label called JNL Records. JNL stands for Jane Nelson Lawyer Records. I chose that name because my grandmother was the only one out of my family who believed in me. My parents didn't believe in me at all. They believed in Taylor more than anyone else in our family. After forming the record label JNL Records I put a new record out called Underneath. Underneath had three singles on it which were Penny and Me, Lost without each other, and Underneath.
Two years later I went to South Africa, and Kenya to see the problems they face with disease and poverty. When I came back I decided to release a new single called Great Divide on I-tunes to help benefit HIVSA. Great Divide was a song that was going to be on my up and coming record called The Walk. The Walk was an album that was about hope and life. The album had two singles which were Great Divide and Go. When it came time to do tours I decided to host 1 mile barefoot walks before every show. Go to .net to find out more and how you can help.
Two years later I came out with a documentary called Strong enough to break. Which documented the struggles I had with finishing the album Underneath.
About a year later I decided to do a five night concert series that would showcase all five of my studio albums including my new one. The five night concert series was called 5 of 5. At 5 of 5 I played each album in its entirety and in order starting with Middle of Nowhere and ending with the new record.
When it came time to put out the record I decided to do special packages. The special packages came with a lot stuff like a bonus DVD, artwork that was painted by me, and other awesome stuff. The new record came out on June 8 and it was called Shout it Out. Shout it Out had two singles which were Thinking 'bout Somethin' and Give a little.
Two years later I came out another album called 4:00 a.m. ramblings. 4:00 a.m. ramblings was an album I did at 4:00 a.m. which was a time that I acted all wacky, crazy, and random. I really enjoyed that record a whole lot only because it showed my fans the real side of Zac Hanson that no had ever seen or heard before.
Two years later I decided to come out with a cover album that had me covering all of my favorite old and new songs. The album was called Past, Present, and Future. Some of the songs included were Don't stop believing by Journey, Pink by Aerosmith, ABC by the Jackson 5, Oh Darlin' by The Beatles, and Dancin' in the Streets by Martha and the Vandellas. All five of those songs were singles. They all went no. 1 as soon as they were released. The videos also went to no. 1 right as soon as they were released. I had one of the biggest selling albums of all time. This album brought me Grammy's nominations and Grammy's. I was nominated for songwriting, best new album, best new song, song of the year, best independent album, video of the year, producing, best pop artist, record of the year, album of the year, and entertainer of the year. I won everything that I was nominated for. I even tied Michael Jackson for most Grammy's won in a single night. It was a huge honor for me to be tied with Michael Jackson for the most Grammy's won in a single night because he was like my inspiration growing up and I love his music so much. I had seen Isaac, Taylor, and my parents that night and my parents weren't even proud of me after what I had accomplished that night. I guess it was because I left home that day and never came back.
"Zachary Walker Hanson where have you been all these years. We were worried sick about you when you left." my mom shouted.
"No you were not because if you were you would have called the police and searched for me. That's how I know you were not worried." I explained.
"Why did you leave that day?" My parents asked.
"I left because you two couldn't care less about me or Isaac. All you two ever really cared about was Taylor. It was Taylor this and Taylor that. You only wanted Taylor to be the star and you would only listen to Taylor. I just couldn't take it anymore so I left."
"Sorry about that Zac."
"There is no sorry about it you two can just go on and leave me be. You had all this time to care about me but instead you cared about Taylor." I said.
"We just want to know where you went?"
"I went and stayed with my grandmother Jane Nelson Lawyer at her house. Is that enough for you or do you want more because I can tell you more."
"Nope that's it."
"Ok now go because you are causing a scene and I don't want my fans to see this."
My parents, Taylor and Isaac all left. I think Taylor looked awful he looked like he had been doing drugs or something. Isaac looked fine as usual but Taylor looked bad.
Later that night when I got to the hotel I decided to Google my brother to see what he had been up to all these years. I was shocked to find out that my brother had joined a heavy metal band and had been doing drugs and drinking alcohol. One thing that really surprised me was that he had over 30 children with at least that many women. All those women claim that he was drunk when they all met him and that he was wanting to put his moves on them. Those women also said that they did it because he wouldn't stop when they told him no. I believed everything that I had read about my brother. I figured that they were telling the truth because that seemed like my brother. What I didn't realize was that Taylor was wearing an ankle bracelet because he was on house arrest at the Grammy's. He had been on house arrest for over a year. The next night I was watching t.v. and I saw Taylor on the news. They said that he was going to prison for a very long time for breaking his house arrest rules.
I decided to Google my other brother Isaac because I was wondering what he was up to. There was a lot stuff I found out about him like how he joined a rock band and had gotten married right out of college and had 2 very beautiful kids. Isaac had a very clean record unlike our brother Taylor. I had a song idea later that night and it had to do with my parents and Taylor but was mainly about Taylor. The song was called Wondering Why.
I'm wondering why...Once again I'm playing
Lies are all you're saying
Got me wondering why
Just wondering why
While you're on the breaking
Feel my spirit sinking
Got me wondering why
Just wondering why
With all the time you're wasting
Maybe you can just make up your mind
There's nowhere to run
There's nowhere to hide
You're driving me crazy baby
So you better decide
You better decide
There's nowhere
What it takes to see there's something wrong
You got me wondering why
Just wondering why
It was a sunny day but you brought all the rain
You got me wondering why
Just wondering why
With all the time you're wasting
Maybe you can just make up your mind
There's nowhere to run
There's nowhere to hide
You're driving me crazy baby
So you better decide
You better decide
There's nowhere to run
So you better decide
There's nowhere to run
With all the time you're wasting
Maybe you can just make up your mind
There's nowhere to run
There's nowhere to hide
You're driving me crazy baby
So you better decide
There's nowhere to run
There's nowhere to hide
You're driving me crazy baby
So you better decide
I decided to record it and play it for my parents and Taylor. When I was done I went over to my parents house and saw Taylor and them there so I played it for them. They really loved it and thought that me, Isaac and Taylor should form the band Hanson but I told them no and that it was bad idea. I started to visit my family more and more often after that.
A month later I met this amazing girl named Taylor at one of my concerts. We talked a little after the concert. I told her she was the most amazing and beautiful girl I had ever met. After that I asked her if she wanted to hang out sometime when me and her weren't bussy. She agreed and after that we became really close friends. 5 years later I proposed to her and she said yes. A few months later we got married outside of Rhema bible college in their park with the Christmas lights on. It was a beautiful ceremony that I really enjoyed. The ceremony wasn't really the same without my grandmother because she really believed in me growing up and she pretty much raised me. I knew my grandmother wasn't actually down there witnessing it in person but I knew her spirt was.
2 years later me and Taylor had a 6lb 4oz baby girl. We named her Adrian Elizabeth Hanson. She was so small and cute. I really loved being a father because I got the chance to teach my daughter a lot of things like music and how to paint. My daughter really loved me a whole lot. She was a great daughter to have.
2 years later we had another child. We had a 6lb 2oz baby girl who we named Nevaeh Michelle Hanson. I loved both of my kids because they always gave me the strength to keep on going. No matter how bad or how stressful my day was I knew as soon as I got home my troubles would go away because of my kids. They made me happy when I would talk to them on the phone or when I would come home. They were my life and I couldn't imagine life without them or their mother.
A few years later I came out with my final record called The end of the beginning. It was an album that had all of my singles on it plus some new songs on it. Those new songs were Need you now, You're enough, This is the jam, and a song that I did with Weird Al Yankovic, Ringo Starr, Sir Paul McCartney, Steven Tyler, and many others called La De Da. La De Da was originally a Ringo Starr song but I decided to record it with a bunch of people including Ringo himself.
That album was my last album because I decided to retire a few years later. I still owned JNL Records where I decided to let musicians come and record there. I would give people who were good enough record deals. It was a good record company. I did it because I really loved music and I couldn't see it go to waste. My life was great after I retired because I had a beautiful wife and beautiful kids. They all had supported me when I decided to retire. It was a hard decision for me to make but I did it and I did it so well. I couldn't believe how many fans stood behind me after I retired. It was so amazing to see all the fans that weren't upset about me retiring. They were so happy because they knew that's what I wanted and they also knew I would be happy at whatever I did. I had such a huge supportive fan base. They were the best fans anybody could ever ask for and I thanked them for a lot of my success.
I loved my fans so much that I decided to give them something special which was a box set of every Zac Hanson song ever written. The box set not only included the songs that were on my past records but songs that were unreleased. The fans really enjoyed that box set. They kept on buying it and showing it to non believers. My life wasn't over after that because it had just begun. It was a new life for me.
No one knew what the future held for me or for the music business. I didn't even know myself. It was a chance I was willing to take. Life doesn't last forever and I know I can't last forever but my impact on the world, music, and my legacy I leave can. This isn't the beginning of the end… it's the end of the beginning.
That is the story of how Zac Hanson became one of pop's biggest icons. I believe Zac Hanson should be honored in the Rock and Roll hall of fame because of the impact he has had on the world and music. I also believe he should be honored in the Rock and Roll hall of fame because of the legacy he has left. Zac Hanson made us laugh when we wanted to cry, spoke the truth, and wrote and performed some of the most funniest and greatest songs of all time. He was the sexiest man alive and one of the most funniest men alive.