Dave Hearn

Dave Hearn is a vocal and instrumental recording artist known for his fine songwriting, keyboards and background vocals as a member of HAWKS, which released two albums on Columbia Records in 1981 and 1982. The band was inducted into the Iowa Rock'n'Roll Music Association Hall of Fame in 2007. He has played in several other Iowa-based bands. Dave has released nine solo albums so far. 

Dave grew up studying piano in Texas, and then Iowa, where he went to high school and where he still resides. An eager listener as a child, Dave's interests veered from Rachmaninoff to Oscar Peterson, but the big news was the Beatles in 1964.  Dave was completely bowled over by them, and their music, along with that of the Beach Boys, The Who, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, James Taylor and many more. That's when Dave realized he wanted to be a songwriter. 

Dave's first songs were written for the 1960s and 70s regional act, West Minist'r.  Sister Jane was released in 1972, making the KIOA-AM summer playlist that year.  He saw chart action from Dahcotah's version of his song, Too Easy To Love in 1976.

Dave and his wife moved to Los Angeles in 1975 where Dave won a local songwriter showcase, produced some struggling young artists, and tried to break into the LA scene. In late 1979, Dave was summoned back to Iowa to join the HAWKS. In 1981, the Dave Hearn song "It's All Right, It's OK" put HAWKS on the Album Rock charts at #39 on Billboard. 

After building Silhouette Studios, a personal computer based, private recording studio in 1987, Dave started releasing albums of instrumental music including two Christmas releases and a new age record.  After a period of time in the Frontier Fiddle Band, which played all over Iowa in the 1990s, Dave began recording what turned into five albums of Pop/Rock originals with Dave singing. These releases: Songwriter, Forgotten Road, Mystery Train, Now and Again, and Hearts Get Broken represent the bulk of Dave's song output. 

In 2012, Dave joined HipKnosis featuring Heather Kelly and Kirk Kaufman.  Dave recorded two fine albums with that band, Darkest Dreams and Brand New Game. In 2019 Heather and Dave released the digital single Love Shines in Your Eyes. 

Dave Currently lives in Fort Dodge, Iowa with his wife Linda.  He occasionally plays live, but solo shows are rare, since Dave prefers sideman status in the live environment. Dave plays as a sideman for Iowa legend Chad Elliott on occasion.