Emerson Hart

Emerson Hart
Birth name	Emerson Hart
Born	July 21, 1969 (1969-07-21) (age 42)
Origin	Washington, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Post-grunge
Occupations	singer, songwriter, producer
Instruments	vocals, guitar
Years active	1993–present
Associated acts	Tonic
Website	Official site

Emerson Hart (born July 21, 1969 in Washington, Pennsylvania) is a songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and producer. He grew up in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

Biography

Emerson Hart is the lead singer and songwriter of the alternative rock band Tonic. Tonic’s first release, Lemon Parade, was a multi-platinum success, featuring the hit songs, "Open Up Your Eyes" and "If You Could Only See" (the former written by Hart and co-writer Jeff Russo and the latter written by Hart), the latter of which became radio's most played rock song in 1997.^{[citation needed]} In 1999, Tonic returned with their second album and the mainstream rock hit, "You Wanted More". In 2002, Tonic released their third LP, Head On Straight. In 2003, Tonic received two Grammy nominations - one for best Rock Performance by Duo or Group with Vocal for "Take Me As I Am", and the second for Best Rock Album. Hart also co-wrote the 2005 Ingram Hill hit, "Almost Perfect", which reached the top 25 on the Hot AC chart.

Hart co-wrote the theme song, "Generation", for the NBC drama American Dreams, which premiered in 2002. He earned an ASCAP award for "Best Theme Song of Television" in 2003.^[1]

In February 2007, Hart signed a solo record deal with EMI/Manhattan Records to release his debut solo effort Cigarettes and Gasoline. It was released on July 17, 2007. Hart's first single, "If You're Gonna Leave", received airplay on American radio stations beginning in June 2007,^[2] while his second single, "I Wish the Best for You", received airplay beginning in Dec 2007.^[3]

Emerson Hart's father Jennings sang for the USO and his mother Sandra was a former television hostess. His father was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was prescribed medicine to regulate his mental disorder, but he often resisted treatment and he and Sandra divorced in 1977. Jennings may have been off his medication at the time of his disappearance on January 21, 1980. The elder Hart has not been seen since, and was the subject of a song written and recorded by Emerson on Cigarettes and Gasoline.^[4]

Discography

Solo albums

• Cigarettes and Gasoline (July 17, 2007) Manhattan Records
  1. "Run To" - 3:17
  2. "Devastation Hands" - 3:10
  3. "If You're Gonna Leave" - 3:50
  4. "I Wish the Best for You" - 3:50
  5. "I Know" - 3:29
  6. "Green Hills Race for California" - 3:58
  7. "Ordinary" - 3:08
  8. "Vanity" - 4:33
  9. "When She Loves You" - 3:30
  10. "Flyin'" - 4:03
  11. "Friend to a Stranger" - 3:29
  12. "Cigarettes And Gasoline" - 5:10

References

1. ^ "IMDb - American Dreams Awards". http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0319930/awards. Retrieved 2010-12-28. 
2. ^ "Billboard - If You're Gonna Leave". http://www.billboard.com/song/emerson-hart/if-you-re-gonna-leave/8991784. Retrieved 2010-12-28. 
3. ^ "Billboard - I Wish the Best for You". http://www.billboard.com/song/emerson-hart/i-wish-the-best-for-you/8991785. Retrieved 2010-12-28. 
4. ^ "The Charley Project: Jennings Lee Hart". http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hart_jennings.html. Retrieved 2010-09-25. 

External links

Biography portal

• Official site
• Emerson Hart on MySpace
• Emerson Hart at Allmusic

Persondata
Name	Hart, Emerson
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 21, 1969
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death