Jerry Hannan
Encyclopedia
Gerald Joseph "Jerry" Hannan (born San Francisco, California
) is an Irish
-American
singer-songwriter
and actor
.
, The Clancy Brothers
), as well as Cat Stevens
(he learned and loved every Cat Stevens song). As a youngster he took accordion lessons, switching to guitar in high school and playing in rock 'n roll bands. He was a member of the popular Marin County rock band, The Kind, in the 80s.
In the mid 1990s, he booked some time in a Marin County recording studio just to record a couple of original songs that he had written, "so I'll have something to listen when I'm old," he said. "The owner of the studio called me up and said that they would record the whole album for free." Thus the Mad Hannans, Jerry's first independent recording project was born. Recorded with his brother Sean, the Mad Hannans became a band with the recording of "Madly in Love With You" a purely recreational project of Americana Rock, which would unexpectedly change his life.
. The band competed in and won the Guinness Fleadh Battle of the Bands contest which landed them on stage at Spartan Stadium (San Jose)
in San Jose, California
with Tracy Chapman
and Sinéad O'Connor
headlining the event.
In 2003, after time touring internationally, he recorded and released his second CD "Sounds Like a Story". His song "DaDaDa" from the CD was featured in the Sean Penn
film The Pledge (film)
. Jerry also acted and performed in Sam Shepard's play, The Late Henry Moss, at San Francisco's Theatre on the Square (along with Sean Penn
, Nick Nolte
, Cheech Marin
and Woody Harrelson
). He also appeared as a raucous singer who offsets a romantic conversation between Sarah Jessica Parker
and Harry Connick Jr. in Sony Picture's "Life Without Dick
".
Recently, Hannan recorded his own creation, "Society" with Pearl Jam
's Eddie Vedder
, which is featured in Sean Penn
’s film Into the Wild
released in September 2007. "I Thought I Was You", written by Jerry and brother Sean Hannan also plays in Into the Wild. Hannan's "Society" made it onto the official 80th Academy Awards
list of 59 songs that were in the running for "Best Original Song" . Hannan released his third studio album "Wild Card" on 8 August 2008.
Hannan's song "Got it Goin' On", features in the 2009 movie Tell-Tale (film)
. A film based on the short story Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
.
in the Hollywood film industry, having worked with Quentin Tarantino
.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) is an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early career
Raised on jigs and ballads in San Francisco's Irish community, Jerry Hannan grew up listening to the music of his Irish-born parents (The DublinersThe Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
, The Clancy Brothers
The Clancy Brothers
The Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music singing group, most popular in the 1960s, they were famed for their woolly Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States. The brothers were Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, Tom Clancy, Bobby Clancy...
), as well as Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
(he learned and loved every Cat Stevens song). As a youngster he took accordion lessons, switching to guitar in high school and playing in rock 'n roll bands. He was a member of the popular Marin County rock band, The Kind, in the 80s.
In the mid 1990s, he booked some time in a Marin County recording studio just to record a couple of original songs that he had written, "so I'll have something to listen when I'm old," he said. "The owner of the studio called me up and said that they would record the whole album for free." Thus the Mad Hannans, Jerry's first independent recording project was born. Recorded with his brother Sean, the Mad Hannans became a band with the recording of "Madly in Love With You" a purely recreational project of Americana Rock, which would unexpectedly change his life.
Recent events
In addition to his success on the Bay Area music scene, Hannan has made quite a name for himself touring in what he calls his homeland, IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The band competed in and won the Guinness Fleadh Battle of the Bands contest which landed them on stage at Spartan Stadium (San Jose)
Spartan Stadium (San Jose)
Spartan Stadium, located in San Jose, California, is the official stadium of the San José State University Spartans athletics teams. It is currently the home of the Spartan football and soccer teams....
in San Jose, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
and Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
headlining the event.
In 2003, after time touring internationally, he recorded and released his second CD "Sounds Like a Story". His song "DaDaDa" from the CD was featured in the Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
film The Pledge (film)
The Pledge (film)
The Pledge is a 2001 American mystery film directed by Sean Penn. It is based on the 1958 novella Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman , by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt...
. Jerry also acted and performed in Sam Shepard's play, The Late Henry Moss, at San Francisco's Theatre on the Square (along with Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
, Nick Nolte
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King "Nick" Nolte is an American actor whose career has spanned over five decades, peaking in the 1990s when his commercial success made him one of the most popular celebrities of that decade.-Early life:...
, Cheech Marin
Cheech Marin
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor and writer who gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez on Nash Bridges...
and Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
). He also appeared as a raucous singer who offsets a romantic conversation between Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
and Harry Connick Jr. in Sony Picture's "Life Without Dick
Life Without Dick
Life Without Dick is a direct-to-video 2002 American black comedy film written and directed by Bix Skahill. The screenplay focuses on the relationship that develops between an incompetent hitman and a woman who accidentally kills her boyfriend when she discovers he's leaving her for another...
".
Recently, Hannan recorded his own creation, "Society" with Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
's Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder is an American musician and singer-songwriter who is best known for being the lead singer and one of three guitarists of the alternative rock band Pearl Jam. He is widely considered a cultural icon of alternative rock.He is also involved in soundtrack work and contributes to albums...
, which is featured in Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
’s film Into the Wild
Into the Wild (film)
Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...
released in September 2007. "I Thought I Was You", written by Jerry and brother Sean Hannan also plays in Into the Wild. Hannan's "Society" made it onto the official 80th Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
list of 59 songs that were in the running for "Best Original Song" . Hannan released his third studio album "Wild Card" on 8 August 2008.
Hannan's song "Got it Goin' On", features in the 2009 movie Tell-Tale (film)
Tell-Tale (film)
Tell-Tale is a 2009 thriller film inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short story The Tell-Tale Heart. It is directed by Michael Cuesta and stars Josh Lucas, Lena Headey, and Brian Cox and is produced by Tony Scott and Ridley Scott.-Plot:...
. A film based on the short story Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
.
Family
Hannan's sister, Mary Claire Hannan is a prominent costume designerCostume Designer
A costume designer or costume mistress/master is a person whose responsibility is to design costumes for a film or stage production. He or she is considered an important part of the "production team", working alongside the director, scenic and lighting designers as well as the sound designer. The...
in the Hollywood film industry, having worked with Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
.
Discography
- Madly In Love With You
- The Pledge (film)The Pledge (film)The Pledge is a 2001 American mystery film directed by Sean Penn. It is based on the 1958 novella Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman , by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt...
soundtrack - Sounds Like A Story
- Into the Wild (Soundtrack)Into the Wild (soundtrack)Into the Wild is the first solo studio album by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder, and is based on his contributions to the soundtrack for the film Into the Wild . It was released on September 18, 2007 through J Records.-Background:...
- Wild Card
- Cheers, Beers, Bucket of Fears - EP