Fourteen years ago, “MMMBop” was blasting from almost every CD (or even cassette) player in America. Young girls swooned over the young Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson’s glorious harmonies. Not much has changed since then. Over the years, Hanson has grown with its fans.

They cite Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Otis Redding as their influences along with 1960′s Motown music and early rock music. They’ve put out eight studio albums over the years and they stick to their influences, but they have a knack for updating their sound to keep their fans happy while creating some new ones along the way.  

“I think we sort of took the inspiration of those people being so young when they started and just started even younger…. We just kind of continue to evolve, never trying to be anything but pushing ourselves to do music that is exciting and inspiring to us,” Zac Hanson said in an interview with About.com.

After “Middle of Nowhere,” Hanson’s music didn’t gain much commercial success. The band fought with its label Mercury Records until leaving after the Christmas album “Snowed In,” released in 1997. For the following album “This Time Around,” the Hanson brothers signed a deal with Island Records, but left and created their own label 3CG which they used to release the following three albums.

In 2006, Hanson released a documentary called “Strong Enough to Break.” At first, it was supposed to show people what it’s like to create an album. It turned into a depiction of the battles they had with a big record label and the risk involved with creating an independent record label.    

“We felt like that film was important, and we put it out on the internet for free, I mean you [can] go to our YouTube page… We did that just because we felt like the film was important for the young people who are in college, who are going to be the next music executives or the next entrepreneurs in the music world, so they can know that these are the reasons that the music business is screwed up, because this is the norm,” Zac Hason said with Antiquiet, an online music news magazine.

Since going independent, Hanson has done rather well. The guys have completed  six tours and are currently on their “Musical Ride Tour” now. If you take a look at interviews on YouTube, you can see the smiles across the brothers’ faces. They don’t take themselves too seriously. They’re obviously happy with where they are musically. They joke around with hosts, laugh and seem like they’re genuinely happy.

While they’ve certainly grown from “MMMBop,” the guys haven’t forgotten about those early days. They even remember them with fondness, instead of regret like a lot of long-term artists.

“The truth is we grew up listening to soul music and rock ‘n roll, and that’s still the DNA of what we do. It comes from this place of classic pop songs,” Taylor Hanson said on Ireland’s talk show Daybreak.

The guys have used their success to benefit those less fortunate. Before shows during “The Walk Tour” and the “Walk Around the World Tour,” Hanson invited fans to walk barefoot with them in an effort to raise awareness about poverty in Africa. They partnered with TOMS Shoes. Every pair of shoes sold, TOMS donated a pair to a child in Africa.

Isaac, Taylor and Zac are now all married and have children. Their lyrics are heartfelt, especially with the weighty messages with tours like “The Walk,” but they manage to keep it light with  pop riffs for which they’re most famous.

They stay true to their influences and inspirations, but keep expanding and learning with their audience. They’re able to do what they love and help others along the way. Choosing to go independent seems like it was the best choice for Hanson. With as much success as they’ve had, there’s no sense in going back now.

Geneva Toddy