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Hannah Wells: The Rolling Stone Interview
In the Producer's first major sit-down Interview, she opens up about songwriting, working with singers, and married life as a mom to twins.
Hannah Wells is right on time, entering the cafe we agreed to meet at clad in a cropped vintage Bruins hoodie - which she would later tell me was a gift from her husband- and black skinny jeans.
“I was actually able to get out of the house in a timely manner this morning, with no kids around” she laughs, ordering a hot vanilla latte and a muffin that she proceeds to nibble at through the rest of our time together. Wells is of course referring to the fact that she is currently residing in LA, spending a few days away from her regular home in Massachusetts.
Generally, the musician will be in New York or Los Angeles for a short time every few months for her work. However she normally resides right outside of Boston with her infamous NHL husband, Garrett Graham, and their twins.
At less than 30 years old, Hannah Wells has raked in 26 Number One Billboard Hot 100 hits and was awarded Producer of the Year at last years Grammys. While your favorite singers may be the face of hit songs you hear on the radio; Wells is the ‘behind the scenes’ architect of many pop, rap, and indie ballads that you can’t get out of your head.
“I’ve been writing songs since I was in high school,” Wells reveals, “it was a way for me to express myself and sort through my emotions when everything just became too much. Production is so much fun, and I love when an artist brings me lyrics that they already have and asks me to create a melody for it. But writing will always be my favorite thing to do in terms of the making of a song”
I talk with Hannah a bit about some of her favorite songs she’s ever written and how she decides what artists to sell her lyrics to, or lend her production efforts to. As she intimately tells me about her writing process, I can’t help but notice that Hannah Wells’ looks exactly the part of an 80’s musician. Dark, layered, voluptuous hair down to her collarbone, thick gold bracelets dangling from her wrists, and a perfectly heart shaped face that is reminiscent of a young Brooke Shields.
“If I already know I’m going to be working with a specific singer, I’ll sort of cater my writing process to their vibe and genre,” she tells me, “other times, I’ll pitch my own songs that I’ve already written to an artist that I think will do it justice or enjoy the themes of the lyrics.”
She suddenly gets a little quieter, “of course, there are some songs I’ve written that I’ll never sell to anyone. Songs about my own life experiences that I wouldn’t feel comfortable being sang by someone else or heard” I ask her if she would let anyone hear these specific songs, “My husband.” She answers softly, “He’s heard just about everything I’ve written. He’s about the only person I’ll let hear all of it”
Coupled with her incredible talent as a writer and producer, a perhaps lesser known fact about Wells is that she also has quite a set of pipes that add to her musical prowess. While she doesn’t do it often, Wells will occasionally perform on stage. Just last year, she inducted Carol Harper into the rock and roll hall of fame by singing her own rendition of one of Harper’s classics.
When asked about the performance, Hannah practically becomes bashful, “I almost said no to that event” she admits, “my husband is actually the one that convinced me to do it. I hadn’t sang in public in such a long time, and it’s not that I was nervous, but I almost felt like I didn’t belong up there. Garrett, of course, immediately admonished that from my mind” She laughs a little, clearly reminiscing on the conversation with Graham.
Her husband’s name sparks just as much, if not more, applause in the world of hockey as Hannah’s does in music. An almost guaranteed future hall of fame-r in the NHL, Garrett Graham has already led the Boston Bruins to a Stanley Cup win and broken the record for most goals scored by a player in the Eastern Conference. When not in the studio, you can find Wells (or should I say, Graham, as she informs me that that is actually her legal last name) at TD Garden supporting her husband.
“While I never really pictured myself as a WAG before I started dating Garrett,” she tells me, playfully drawing out the word ‘wag’, “I always knew he’d end up here even when we were in college. He’s such a gifted athlete and just a blast and a privilege to watch on the ice….no one tell him I said that though,” she jokes with me. Wells and Graham famously met at Briar University, an institution known for both its hockey program and renowned school of music.
The couple has been together for almost nine years, married for three, and share four-year old twins together, Gigi and Wyatt. Their children, Hannah says, are what keep her and her husband grounded. “They certainly humble us on the daily,” she laughs. “Garrett and I often joke that we just made opposite-sex versions of each other. She’s a mini him and he’s like a little me”
I ask how, at only four, they can already tell such a thing, “oh for sure! Like for example, Gigi is just obsessed with Garrett. Very much a daddy’s girl. I remember how, even when she was a baby, she’d cry when she went down for a nap unless something of Garrett’s was next to her. I’d have to wrap her in a sweatshirt or blanket that smelled like him just to get her to go to sleep. Now, she wants to do everything daddy does. She’s already asking for hockey lessons and she begs to stay up late to watch his away games. It makes Garrett so happy, I love their little bond” she gushes, before going on to talk about her son.
“Wyatt, on the other hand, is a lot more like me. He’s a little more reserved, [and] shy I guess. Though he adores his dad too, he’s not nearly as interested in hockey as Gigi is. He’ll happily come along to games when I bring them, but while Gigi actively watches, he’s more entertained by the food in the suite while he waits to see Garrett come through the tunnel. He’d much rather sit next to me at the piano or hang out in my office while I’m writing. He’s a sweetheart”
I wonder aloud if perhaps it bothers Graham that his daughter is seemingly going to follow in his hockey footsteps, rather than his son. Hannah is quick to negate this however, “not at all! I think Garrett’s just happy and content that one of them is interested in his sport. He’d never force either of them to go into something they didn’t love, he’s very adamant about that.” She explains, “He wants them to have their own choices”
The Grammy winning artist and I chat a little while longer about our families, life updates, and the current climate of the music industry. Over the hour or so that I’ve spent with her in this quaint cafe, Hannah Wells began to feel more like a longtime friend, and less like a celebrity. It’s easy to see why so many artists feel safe and comfortable not only working with but sharing their most intimate creative ideas with her. Her warm, inviting, yet quippy nature creates space for vulnerability and closeness. Something you don’t regularly find in an industry often known for its insincerity. It’s also easy to see what Graham fell for all those years ago.