Arthur Hanlon

History

The third of seven children, Hanlon began playing piano at age six and by fifteen was performing professionally in Detroit with groups such as the Flip Jackson Band. He studied piano at Michigan State University and earned a master's degree in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music. While in New York City, he encountered Latin music and played Latin club gigs while studying classical composers. His first album, Encuentros, an independent recording of original material, was licensed by Max Music and distributed by Universal, leading to a contract with Fonovisa Records in 2000.

His first release for Fonovisa was El Piano Amarillo, produced by Colombian producers Estéfano and Julio Reyes. He followed with 11 Números Uno, a classically tinged album of Latin covers and one original composition. In 2005, Hanlon released La Gorda Linda, featuring jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, salsa star Tito Nieves, and Mexican singer Ana Bárbara, produced by Grammy winners Sergio George and Kike Santander. In 2006, he signed with EMI and released Mecanomanía, an album of covers of Spanish pop trio Mecano.

In 2009, he signed to Universal Latin and released Piano Sin Fronteras, which he wrote or co-wrote entirely, featuring collaborations with Juanes, Laura Pausini, Sergio Vallín, Alexandre Pires, Ricardo Montaner, Luis Fonsi, and Myriam Hernandez.

Musical highlights

With his 2005 hit La Gorda Linda, Hanlon became the first pianist and the first non-Latin to reach number one on Billboard's Tropical Airplay chart. The song also reached the top ten of the Billboard Top Latin Songs chart, and a remix by DJ Norty Cotto spent weeks on the Billboard dance charts. Hanlon was a double finalist for the 2006 Latin Billboard Music Awards in the Tropical Song of the Year and Dance Track of the Year categories. He performed No Me Llames Extranjero with Luis Fonsi and Ricardo Montaner during the 2006 Latin Billboard Music Awards on Telemundo.

Hanlon was nominated for an Emmy Award for his jingle Esta Navidad, used by Univision as its Christmas jingle in 2008. He was a featured guest on pianist Jim Brickman's Beautiful World CD and PBS special and toured the U.S. with Laura Pausini in 2009. In summer 2009, he returned to the Billboard charts with Ya Te Olvide featuring Ricardo Montaner. His recorded collaborations include Gloria Estefan, Arturo Sandoval, Crooked Stylo, Prince Royce, and Natalie Cole.

He also composed and produced La Gota de la Vida, a song recorded by 46 artists to benefit the Cancer Research Center City of Hope, with a video directed by Simon Brand.

La Gota de la Vida (The Drop of Life)

In 2010, Hanlon was asked to write a Spanish song for the cancer center City of Hope to raise awareness about bone marrow donation. He wrote La Gota de la Vida and recorded it with Enrique Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, Franco de Vita, David Bisbal, Jenni Rivera, Oscar D'Leon, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Luis Fonsi, Marco Antonio Solis, and others. The video, directed by Simon Brand, was shot in Miami and Las Vegas and premiered at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles with a live performance.

Encanto del Caribe

Hanlon's last project for Universal was Encanto del Caribe, a live concert recorded at San Cristobal Castle in Puerto Rico, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that allowed filming inside for the first time. Guest artists included Marc Anthony, Laura Pausini, Natalia Jimenez, Bernie Williams, Cheo Feliciano, and Ana Isabelle.

The special aired on public television stations across the United States, and a CD/DVD was released by Universal in 2012. The album featured original instrumental compositions and Latin standards, produced by Julio Reyes Copello. In 2013, Hanlon released I'll Be There (Alli Estare), a bilingual cover of the Jackson Five classic with Karlos Rose on vocals, which spent 16 weeks on the Top 10 of Billboard's Tropical Airplay chart.

Did You Know?

• Hanlon was the first pianist and first non-Latin to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Tropical Airplay chart with his 2005 hit 'La Gorda Linda.'
• The video for 'Hijo de la Luna' was shot at the Baldwin piano factory, marking the first time in the company's nearly 100-year history that a music video was filmed there.
• His Christmas special 'A Holiday Christmas Piano' has been viewed over 20 million times exclusively on Facebook.