DAVE HANNER // LIVE FROM THE HONDA HOTEL
SO THERE I WAS
SITTING IN MY STUDIO ONE DAY
THINKING ABOUT HOW I WAS TIRED OF SITTING IN MY STUDIO
and it occurred to me
if i just keep on doin what I do out of habit
i'm gonna turn around in ten years
and still be sitting here
so i got rid of everything
let my kids (who are all on their own now)
take whatever they wanted
sold my house
crammed my whole studio into a laptop
and set out on the road
and what's the plan?
-
drive around writing and recording music
-
release a new song with video every season
THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
HERE'S SOME OF WHAT'S HAPPENED UP UNTIL NOW. . .
i've been lucky enough to have made my living
as a songwriter/ performer/ recording studio guy
since I was nineteen
here (in somewhat cronological order)
are some of the projects i've been involved with-
and the role I played
writer, guitar player, singer
high school
here with my long time friend
and musical partner bob corbin
in our first band
we had no idea then that we'd perform
together most of our careers
not sure why we were called the lost lambs
was probably my idea- sorry
met and signed with
record exec lou guarino (left)
pictured here on the cover of
cash box magazine with chad and jeremy
writer, singer
still in high school
lou guarino got us signed to
jubilee records in ny
bob's and my first stint as a duo
(forever and ever)
i guess this could have
just as easily been called
"the first and last look at forever and ever"
... and that's ok
i ended up working with lou
on a lot of sessions over the years-
some great times
writer, singer, musician, some of the audio engineering
our first working band- "gravel".
we were packin them in
six nights a week
eight hours on saturdays
and for the week we got paid $400
to split five ways
then we got a manager
who got us up to $450
we finally got a little smarter
and hooked up with manager harry popovich
who eventually got us signed
to columbia records
left to right- terry bates, dave hanner,
mark kamer, bob corbin, greg benedix
a later version of gravel-
that's right- bob and i are cowboys
kip paxton (left) on bass and vocals
played with us for more than 20 years
left to right-kip paxton, dave freeland,
dave hanner, greg benedix, bob corbin
writer
bob and i began making some connections
in nashville
and each got signed
to mel tillis's sabel publishing
it was mel's interest in us
that formed our whole connection
to the nashville scene
and we're forever grateful
mel had just won
cma entertainer of the year
and he started including our songs
on his albums
and continued to do so for years-
plus he and song pluggers
jimmy darrel and buddy cannon
started getting each of us cuts around town too-
exciting stuff
writer
my first actual cut-
the cates sisters
it wasn't a big hit but it got on the charts
and look!- my name's on the record
our band "gravel"
added al snyder (left)
on keyboards and vocals
(al played with us for 35 years)
and we became
"the corbin/hanner band"
left to right- al snyder, dave hanner,
dave freelend, bob corbin, kip paxton
...and we got a logo!
writer, singer, musician
mel tillis enlisted producer tommy west
(jim croce, ann murray, and many others)
who produced this record for us
and hooked us up with manager bob burwell
(kenny rogers, michael martin murphy)
and got us signed to alpha records in LA
we were label mates with billy vera
writer
my first big single as a writer
the oak ridge boys recorded my song
"beautiful you"
and took it to number one
and then they were kind enough
to put our band on their tour
as the opening act
great guys
great performers
writer
the gentle giant, don williams, recorded my song
"lord i hope this day is good"
and he was also kind enough to have our band
be the opener on his tour
"lord i hope this day is good"
is released as a single
and goes to number one across the boards. . .
... and goes on to become one of don's standards-
eventually even being released on a time/life
collection of all time cool country songs-
and on don's "live from england"...
such a thrill to hear the brits
clapping along to my song
musician
alabama invited me
to play some guitar on this album
what a thrill to be in the studio
playin along with these guys
i made sure to wear my PENNSYLVANIA tee-shirt...
for equal representation
these guys are hard workers-
for example in the studio
after they finish a take
if they're not happy with something in the vocal
they don't patch up the vocal track
they re-record the whole song
like you'd expect to see on a frank sinatra session
that's what I mean by hard workers-
and you can't argue with
21 number one records in a row!
they were always very encouraging to us
they eventually recorded two of bob's songs-
"fire in the night" and "can't keep a good man down"
each one becoming a number one hit
writer, singer, musician
corbin/hanner band still touring-
our second album on alpha records
produced by tommy west
writer
the oak ridge boys
along with their producer ron chancey
and their arranger bergen white
did a beautiful job on my song
"happy christmas eve"
on their christmas LP
it became a standard in their
live christmas show for years
it warms my heart to think that the christmas celebrations
of some excited kids had my song playing in the background
writer
a burl ives cut!
it doesn't get any better than that
he recorded my song
"time has treated you well"
when burl came to nashville to find songs
he didn't want any tapes
it was just writers sitting around in a room with him
taking turns playing him songs
and if one of the songs moved him... he'd cut it
writer, producer, musician, singer, some engineering
at this point in the story
bob and i stopped performing
for a period of about 6 years
each of us pursuing other avenues
i was mostly writing and producing music
for tv and radio commercials
in new york and pittsburgh
with gerry dolezar and barney lee
(pictured are some of the products
about which I sang my heart out)
And Then...
writer, musician, singer, co-producer
producer harold shedd
(alabama, billy ray cyrus, shania twain, and many others)
accepted the job as head of A&R
for mercury records nashville.
he called us up and said-
"i know you guys haven't been
performing for a while
but if you get back together
i'll sign you to mercury"
what an opportunity-
of course we said yes
a fond memory of the contract negotiations
happened when we were asking for this and that
and harold said-
"now remember, when I go up to new york
to get this past the lawyers
they're gonna say,
'you're puttin WHAT back together?' "
two albums
on
mercury records
writer, musician, singer, co-producer
writer
a glen campbell cut !
he did a beautiful job on my song
"wild winds"
what a talent
writer, musician, singer, co-producing, some audio engineering
our first album on our own "lil red hen" label
singer
the corbin/hanner band performs
the national anthem
at the last ever steelers/browns game
at three rivers stadium
i missed the choreography rehearsal
left to right- al snyder, dave hanner,
bob corbin, kip paxton
writer, musician, singer, co-producing, some audio engineering
"by request"
the second record on our own label
where we had our fans vote
for which of our unreleased songs
they most wanted to hear.
writer
my song "lord i hope this day is good"
keeps getting recorded
here anne murray did a beautiful album
of classic songs produced by tommy west
and my song was the opening track!
the record had a lot of great songs
such as lennon/mccartney's "let it be"
so like i told my friends-
"this album includes some of me and paul's best stuff"
writer
leeann womack also recorded
"lord i hope this day is good" on this album!
thanks to her beautiful voice
and the great song "i hope you dance"
the album went triple platinum
writer, musician, singer, co-producer, some engineering
on this album
bob and I did our own versions
of many of our songs that other artists
had made famous
occasional co-writer, occasional musician, some engineering
by this time my son jake and my daughter casey
are also making their living in music-
their band "donora" signed to rostrum records
(wiz kalifa, mac miller)
getting many placements in movies, tv, and commercials
they occasionally ask for my opinion
or ask me to play a little
i'm a very proud dad.
writer
indie recording artist bonnie 'prince' billy
did a cool job recording my song "pancho"
which I wrote when I was twenty
my son helped me to learn that bonnie billy
is considered a very hip artist
i'm wonderin if that makes me hip too. . .
i don't know
i'm just askin
writer, musician, singer, co-producer, engineering
"and the road goes on"
bob's and my last cd together
don't be sad- read on
Headline
Country-Rock duo Corbin/Hanner
ending performance career
my buddy bob decided to retire from performing
so after 45 years of working together
we announced the corbin/hanner band's final show
it was at a large club in pittsburgh
and we expected to maybe get a few more people than usual
but were amazed to sell out an 800 seat show in one day
so we added a second show and that one also sold out
our fans traveled from as far as california and texas
what a wonderful, heart warming, goodbye they gave us
much of the time in this business you guage your success
by how many records you sell
but what it really comes down to is the amazing fact that
our fans had made our records
part of the background music to their lives
what an ultimate honor
AND WHAT HAPPENED THEN? . . .
bob took off for the beautiful pacific ocean
on the coast of ecuador
i took off for. . . tionesta creek