Frank Hannon

Frank Hannon (born October 3, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the hard rock band Tesla. With a career spanning over four decades, he has contributed to Tesla's success and has pursued solo projects, showcasing his versatility across hard rock, heavy metal, blues, and acoustic genres. His soulful guitar playing and songwriting have earned him recognition in rock music circles.

Early life Frank Hannon was born on October 3, 1966 in Sacramento, California. Hannon started writing songs at a young age and learned to play the guitar, piano and later the B3 organ, bass guitar and drums.

Career Tesla

In 1981, a 15-year-old Hannon co-founded the band Earthshaker that evolved into City Kidd with bassist Brian Wheat in Sacramento, which later became Tesla in 1984 after adding vocalist Jeff Keith, guitarist Tommy Skeoch and drummer Troy Luccketta. The band adopted the name Tesla to avoid confusion with another band named City Kidd. Their debut album, Mechanical Resonance (1986), featured hit singles "Modern Day Cowboy" and a cover of "Little Suzi," establishing Tesla during the 1980s hair metal era, although the band resisted the glam metal label. Their second album, The Great Radio Controversy (1989), peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and included the top-ten single "Love Song," co-written by Hannon.

Hannon's guitar work, characterized by a bluesy, song-oriented style influenced by artists like Thin Lizzy, Jimmy Page and Dickey Betts, complemented Skeoch's playing, avoiding 1980s metal clichés like excessive shredding. Tesla's 1990 live album, Five Man Acoustical Jam, pioneered the acoustic "unplugged" trend, featuring acoustic versions of hits like "Love Song" and "Modern Day Cowboy."

Hannon formed the Frank Hannon Band with various musicians. The band performed at events like the Wounded Warriors Project benefit in 2010–2011 and released the album Six String Soldiers (2012), collaborating with artists like Dickey Betts and Pat Travers. He hosts The FAR OUT! Podcast, launched in 2019, discussing music and his career. In 2020, Gibson created the Frank Hannon "Love Dove" signature acoustic guitar, inspired by the intro to Tesla's "Love Song." Hannon uses modified Hiwatt Custom 100 amplifiers and effects like the ZVEX Octane3 fuzzbox, Boss Flanger, and VOX wah-wah.