Dan Wilson

Dan Wilson is an artist, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles who is best known as the lead singer of the band Semisonic, for which he wrote the Grammy-nominated smash “Closing Time” as well as other international hits. Since Semisonic, Dan has released two solo albums and has become a highly sought-after songwriting collaborator due to his songwriting, performing and production skills. He has written with and produced a diverse group of artists including  Adele, Dixie Chicks, Chris Stapleton, John Legend, The Head & The Heart, Dierks Bentley, Florence Welch, Jim James, Keith Urban, Carol King, Spoon, Pink, Taylor Swift, and many others. Dan contributed three songs to Adele’s album, 21, including the hit “Someone Like You,” which he also produced, thus earning himself a Grammy for Album of the Year.  A few years earlier, Wilson took home a Song of the Year Grammy for “Not Ready to Make Nice,” one of six songs he co-wrote for the Dixie Chicks’ award-winning album Taking the Long Way. Wilson’s third solo album, Love Without Fear, was released in 2014. Recently, Dan co-wrote nine songs on Phantogram’s new album Three, including their single “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” (which he also co-produced). You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook and his website is here.

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Bio

Dan Wilson is a Minneapolis musician best known as the main guitarist/vocalist for the band Semisonic. He was also a member of Trip Shakespeare during the early 1990s. Currently, Wilson is perhaps best known for his co-writing and collaborations with other artists. He contributed three songs to the 2011 album 21 by UK singer-songwriter Adele,which has had the longest Top 5 run in history on the Billboard Album Chart and which won the 2012 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Wilson was part of that Grammy-winning team, as he co-wrote and produced the hit single "Someone Like You" which held the No. 1 position for 5 weeks in the U.S. and has remained in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 for months. Wilson co-wrote six songs with the Dixie Chicks for their 2006 album Taking the Long Way, which garnered the coveted Album of the Year at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Wilson himself received the 2007 Grammy Award for Song of the Year for "Not Ready to Make Nice," one of the songs he co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks. His accolades as a songwriter have grown from success with his own band Semisonic. In 1999, Wilson was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song for Semisonic's "Closing Time," which hit No. 6 in the Top 40 Chart and was No. 1 on the Modern Rock Chart. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Talks

Dan Wilson’s Favorite Lyrics of 2016 So Far Are…

By Dan Wilson | September 22, 2016

Dan Wilson’s Favorite Lyrics of 2016 So Far Are…

The Semisonic front man sees America in this Paul Simon track.

Dan Wilson Talks John Seabrook’s The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory

By Dan Wilson | January 23, 2016

Dan Wilson Talks John Seabrook’s The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory

Wilson is a very successful hit pop songwriter who's worked with Adele and Taylor Swift. So why does this book about his craft fill him with despair?

Dan Wilson (Semisonic) Talks Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell

By Dan Wilson | December 25, 2015

Dan Wilson (Semisonic) Talks Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell

On Sufjan Stevens’ spare, lo-fi and brilliant new album, joy wages epic battle with desperation and mortality. Spoiler alert: joy wins.

Dan Wilson (Semisonic) Talks Kamasi Washington’s “Change of the Guard”

By Dan Wilson | July 21, 2015

Dan Wilson (Semisonic) Talks Kamasi Washington’s “Change of the Guard”

Majestic, broad and cinematic, this 12-minute epic takes jazz to the beach—and brings Mahler, McCoy Tyner and the Star Trek theme along for the ride.

Dan Wilson (Semisonic) Talks Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell

By Dan Wilson | July 7, 2015

Dan Wilson (Semisonic) Talks Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell

On Sufjan Stevens’ spare, lo-fi and brilliant new album, joy wages epic battle with desperation and mortality. Spoiler alert: joy wins.