Bio

[i]Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in LaGrange, Georgia, young Chris Hanners sat with his Momma Hanners, soaking in the atmosphere of deep-rooted southern gospel at it’s best. Chris attended many of the old gospel singing and revivals as a child, always grabbing the front row pew to carefully watch and listen to the pickers and players. He was inspired by groups such as The Florida Boys and The Feathers as they belted out the old standard hymns - ‘Old Rugged Cross’, ‘Beulah Land’, and ‘I Fly Away’. Its no wonder the gospel influence would lend its flavor to Chris’ vocal style, range and musical abilities. During Chris’ childhood, he spent the long, hot Georgia summers in La Grange. His Momma Hanners always believed in Chris and encouraged his musical aptitude, although his parents felt Chris was wasting his time with such trifleness. He and his grandmother began piano lessons the summer before his 10th birthday. Momma Hanners played by written music, Chris played by ear. As the summer waned, Chris returned to Columbus and settled into high school but determination drove Chris to practice every day after school until he taught himself to play by ear. Three years later, while attending Marshall Junior High School with friends Kurt Richardson and Gene Suggs, the trio formed ‘The Sky is the Limit’ band and performed at area high school proms and dances and local county fairs. The band covered many of the popular artists during the late 70’s including Zepplin, Eagles, Bread, Elvis, CDB – anything with a southern flavor and edge. It was a big joke between the boys in the group that, although they were not old enough to attend their own proms, they had attended many of them as the entertainment. The transition to high school and the discovery of the finer, things (cars and girls) lead to the trio laying down their musical instruments and having respectable work. Chris left school in 1976 and worked as a heating and air mechanic for a year then married in 1978. Chris entered into the family-owned and operated business selling, servicing and repairing fork lifts. For the next 20 years his life revolved around the business, family and his home. Chris has a daughter, Stacy (1983), a son, Richard (1985) and a grand-daughter, Grace (2003). Chris drove himself heart and soul into the family business and the building of his current home in Fortson, Georgia. Chris kept up a frantic life-race that we all strive for, yet something deep in his heart kept calling him back into the music. After a divorce in 1998, suddenly Chris was left alone and the silence was deafening. He purchased a sound system for his home and slowly began to put the pieces of his life back together against the safety blanket of music. For the first time in his life, he sowed his oats and began to enjoy life as a single man. To cover the emptiness, Chris began performing security work at a local nightclub, secretly monitoring all the local talent in the Columbus area. In 2004, Chris met Anita Mccrary from Birmingham, Alabama and Chris’ icy heart began to melt. Anita encouraged Chris to step back into his first love, music, and for their first Christmas, she purchased him studio time to record some cover tunes. Chris was instantly swept away by the studio feel and fell right into the scene. His smooth, deep, baritone vocals came across the recording as thick as molasses as he laid down the vocals on Josh Turner’s ‘Long Black Train’ and ‘Your Man’ and Conway’s ‘Hello, Darlin’. [/i]