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The
upbeat, airtight, three-part family harmonies of the Sons of the
San Joaquin are being heard in a lot more places these days.
This sound has carried Joe, Jack, and Lon Hannah from church and
community gatherings to places like Switzerland, where
traditional cowboy music is even more revered than modern
country music. In the Arabian Peninsula they found enthusiastic
receptions from people who regard their own traditions to be a
close parallel to our cowboy heritage.
Here
at home, their widespread acceptance is an indication of the
rich durability of the music and the quality presentation of
Jack Hannah’s highly respected original cowboy material. Cowboy
poet
Waddie Mitchell refers to Jack Hannah as “one of the very
best cowboy songwriters" .
The
Sons of the San Joaquin sound first took shape in the foothills
of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where the Hannah family had
moved from depression-era Missouri. “There were some prominent
cattle ranches there,” says Jack, “and that’s where our romance
with cowboys began. Our dad became a fan of the Sons of the
Pioneers back in the 1930’s, and he’d sing a lot of those songs.
We learned our first ones from him, and became great fans of
theirs, too.” Joe and Jack performed with their family at local
gatherings and eventually began traveling on weekends while
pursuing degrees in education, playing some professional
baseball, and becoming school teachers. Jack was a high school
counselor and coach (he was baseball Coach of the Year for the
Western Region United States in 1980). Joe was a junior high
teacher and coach. Both have performed as church soloists and in
opera and musical theater. All the Hannahs are horsemen. Jack
also breaks horses, ropes steers and does day work on area
ranches. Lon became a second grade-teacher and also had
experience singing in church, in musical theater and with the
Bennett Consort (a college vocal group often compared to
Manhattan Transfer). In 1987, Lon approached his father (Joe)
and Uncle Jack with the desire that they sing together for his
grandfather’s birthday celebration. Almost by accident, the Sons
of the San Joaquin were born.
 They
gained a needed break when Lon met cowboy singer
Gary McMahan
at a Western Music Association convention. He invited the trio
to perform at the 1989
Elko
Nevada Poetry Gathering. There they ended up singing on
stage with
Michael Martin Murphey, who invited them to join him on his
Cowboy Songs album.
In
1992, Joe and Jack were able to take early retirement from
teaching to pursue the Son’s growing career full-time. Lon took
leave of absence from teaching before resigning in mid 1993.
There are a number of avenues of expression opening up to this
dynamic trio. Their repertoire includes arrangements for an
evening of Western Music and symphony orchestra and they are
continuing to field international invitations. Television
appearances include the
Grand
Ole Opry,
Austin
City Limits, Nashville Now, American Music Shop, Prime-Time
Country and Old Time Country Music.
Since
1992, the Sons of the San Joaquin have recorded several albums.
One of them being “Gospel Trails” which features some of the
Hannnah’s favorite hymns. One of the selections, “In the Sweet
By and By”, features a special appearance by
Dale Evans
Rogers as lead vocalist.
A
lifetime of family singing combined with their true love of
cowboy music has the Sons of the San Joaquin in constant demand.
Family is the key word for the Sons of the San Joaquin. Joe,
Jack and Linda, and Lon and Susan consider anyone who has ever
picked up a rope, watched an old Western, or hummed a cowboy
tune, to be part of their family. |
