Photo Credit: Hanley Family Archive
The Story...
Born in 1937 in Medford, Mass., Parnelli Award winner Bill Hanley was the oldest of five children. By the age of six, his father gave him his first crystal set, followed by a one-tube radio, then a six-tube radio setting off an interest in electronics.
During Bill Hanley's time in vocational school he became unimpressed with the state of public address driven technology used for the emerging live music scene. By 1955 he graduated from school and went to work for Laboratory for Electronics, and the Addison Cole Corporation where he moved through various departments working with circuit boards and Radar components.
It was the dark ages of professional sound, and Hanley would often need to convince promoters and musicians that quality sound was important. In 1957, Hanley chased down Newport Jazz Festival promoter George Wein, establishing a long successful career as Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals contracted sound company. By the early 1960s his company Hanley Sound was fully established at 430 Salem St in Haines Sq, Medford, MA.
A proud moment for Hanley’s family and community was when he handled the sound for the inauguration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. That same year, he opened an office in New York City, providing sound for venues like Café A Go Go and the Bitter End. Eventually the college circuit broke wide open and a need for concert touring sound reinforcement would emerge.
In 1966 a job for the local Boston band The Remains, allowed Hanley the opportunity to support the group on their accompanying tour with the Beatles. Soon Hanley would find himself behind the mixing console for the eastern portion of this historic and final tour. For these shows Hanley doubled the sound and power typically used, with an impressive (for the time) 600-watt amplifier system… As you can imagine his sound system was pulverized by the crushing power of 43,000 screaming fans.
By 1968 Hanley and his talented crew was brought in to do the sound for Bill Grahams Fillmore East in NYC. By now his reputation for quality sound was mammoth, leading him to provide sound reinforcement for some of the largest pop & rock festivals in American history. However, nothing could match his culminating performance in sound, the pivotal gig of live event history ~ The Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969. Thereafter Hanley would forever be known as the “Father of Festival Sound.”
Moving into the next decade Hanley's social conscience lead him to work on several large scale anti-war protest rallies, even sending the entire Woodstock sound system to South Africa to help fight the Anti-Apartheid movement.
The post Woodstock, ant -mass gathering initiatives in America at the time set the sound company’s projections back. Unprepared for what was to come his company felt the shortcomings of a changing era of technology and live performance. The 1970s also brought a great transformation to the industry where newer sound companies surfaced. From the 1970s on, Hanley would continue to be called on for more sound work, eventually turning his attention to staging.
A true pioneer, Bill Hanley’s contributions to live concert sound reinforcement can be felt to this day.
Author, Director, Filmmaker ~ John Kane
During Bill Hanley's time in vocational school he became unimpressed with the state of public address driven technology used for the emerging live music scene. By 1955 he graduated from school and went to work for Laboratory for Electronics, and the Addison Cole Corporation where he moved through various departments working with circuit boards and Radar components.
It was the dark ages of professional sound, and Hanley would often need to convince promoters and musicians that quality sound was important. In 1957, Hanley chased down Newport Jazz Festival promoter George Wein, establishing a long successful career as Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals contracted sound company. By the early 1960s his company Hanley Sound was fully established at 430 Salem St in Haines Sq, Medford, MA.
A proud moment for Hanley’s family and community was when he handled the sound for the inauguration of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. That same year, he opened an office in New York City, providing sound for venues like Café A Go Go and the Bitter End. Eventually the college circuit broke wide open and a need for concert touring sound reinforcement would emerge.
In 1966 a job for the local Boston band The Remains, allowed Hanley the opportunity to support the group on their accompanying tour with the Beatles. Soon Hanley would find himself behind the mixing console for the eastern portion of this historic and final tour. For these shows Hanley doubled the sound and power typically used, with an impressive (for the time) 600-watt amplifier system… As you can imagine his sound system was pulverized by the crushing power of 43,000 screaming fans.
By 1968 Hanley and his talented crew was brought in to do the sound for Bill Grahams Fillmore East in NYC. By now his reputation for quality sound was mammoth, leading him to provide sound reinforcement for some of the largest pop & rock festivals in American history. However, nothing could match his culminating performance in sound, the pivotal gig of live event history ~ The Woodstock Music and Art Fair of 1969. Thereafter Hanley would forever be known as the “Father of Festival Sound.”
Moving into the next decade Hanley's social conscience lead him to work on several large scale anti-war protest rallies, even sending the entire Woodstock sound system to South Africa to help fight the Anti-Apartheid movement.
The post Woodstock, ant -mass gathering initiatives in America at the time set the sound company’s projections back. Unprepared for what was to come his company felt the shortcomings of a changing era of technology and live performance. The 1970s also brought a great transformation to the industry where newer sound companies surfaced. From the 1970s on, Hanley would continue to be called on for more sound work, eventually turning his attention to staging.
A true pioneer, Bill Hanley’s contributions to live concert sound reinforcement can be felt to this day.
Author, Director, Filmmaker ~ John Kane
The Last Seat in the House Copyright © 2011 John Kane. All rights reserved