Jennifer Hanson life and biography

Jennifer Kathleen Hanson is an American country music artist, as well as a former Miss California. She is married to songwriter Mark Nesler since 1997 .

Hanson has also written singles for other artists, including "Leave the Pieces" for The Wreckers, and "A Different World" for Bucky Covington, the latter a co-write with Nesler. She also co-wrote "Country Strong" for Gwyneth Paltrow for the movie of the same name.

Jennifer Hanson was raised in a lower income neighborhood south of Los Angeles. Because of this location she was exposed to a wide range of musical influences. "Growing up being influenced by pop music and rock music and country music, it took me a while to figure out just who Jennifer Hanson the artist was," Hanson says. "I guess I've been on this musical journey to find my voice."

Luckily, she had a lot of help early on. Hanson's parents (Larry and Melody) were both performers in a Southern California cover band in the '70s, and their songs from Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, the Eagles and the Doobie Brothers served as the background music to their daughter's early life. When she was 7 years old, her parents divorced and her father became a road guitarist for the Righteous Brothers. Hanson says, "It was a devastating time for me, and my mom took it pretty hard, but music was always my refuge." She continued to immerse herself in her music throughout this difficult time. Hanson says she learned to sing by listening to artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt. "That's the way I liked spending my time. I used to lock myself in my room with my records and just sing along."

Hanson's first serious performance was in the second grade, singing Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" in front of the entire school accompanied by her father on guitar. Before long, her father left the Righteous Brothers and relocated to Nashville to play with Alabama. This career move proved to have a profound effect on the direction of Hanson's musical life. She was exposed for the first time to the work of singers like Parton, Emmylou Harris and Patsy Cline. Her father moved to Nashville in 1987, and Hanson started coming to visit in the early 90s. "We'd circulate around and try to meet people, trying to find songs and get my voice down on tape. I was a young teenager and this was before LeAnn Rimes, so Nashville considered me too young."

These early trips to Nashville ignited her passion for country music, and over the next few years, she made every effort to find her niche in the music industry. She moved to Nashville in 1995, learned to play guitar and made her debut in Nashville's songwriting community. "Writing was huge for me," Hanson says. "Until I started writing songs and digging down deep, I was really lost. Songwriting helped me mold and shape who I am as an artist. They're a reflection of who I am."

She met songwriter Mark Nesler in 1997, who is responsible for such hits as Tim McGraw's "Just to See You Smile" and Darryl Worley's "I Miss My Friend." They fell in love and were soon married.

Three years after her move to Nashville and numerous performances later, Hanson signed a publishing deal with Acuff Rose in 1998. She later signed with a major label developmental deal in 2000, and when that didn't work out, she signed with Capitol. Her self-titled album with the hit single "Beautiful Goodbye" was released in 2003.

In 2007, Hanson signed with Universal South Records after co-writing the Wreckers' No. 1 single "Leave the Pieces" and Bucky Covington's "A Different World." She has written or co-written all the songs that will appear on her first album for Universal South.

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