Mark Olson (musician)

Mark Olson
Olson on May 30, 2009
Background information
Born	(1961-09-18) September 18, 1961 (age 55) Minneapolis, Minnesota US
Genres	Folk, Americana, alternative country
Years active	1985–present
Labels	HackTone Records
Associated acts	The Jayhawks, Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers
Website	Official homepage page

Mark Olson (born September 18, 1961 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of alternative country bands the Jayhawks and the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers.

Olson formed the Jayhawks in 1985 with singer and guitarist Gary Louris and was originally the principal singer-songwriter in the group. Along with Marc Perlman (bass) and Thad Spencer (drums), they released their eponymous debut album in 1986 through the independent label Bunkhouse Records. The band were signed by Minneapolis label Twin/Tone in 1987 and released Blue Earth, which saw Louris sharing more songwriting and singing duties with Olson. It was this album that led the band to be signed by major label Def American; A&R representative and producer George Drakoulias is said to have heard Blue Earth playing in the background while on a phone call to Twin Tone in 1991 and signed the band later that year.

Their first album for Def American was the Drakoulias-produced Hollywood Town Hall in 1992. After a successful single, "Waiting for the Sun", and extensive touring the band went back in the studio and released the follow-up, Tomorrow the Green Grass in 1995, which yielded the radio hit "Blue". The same year Olson quit the Jayhawks to look after his wife, Victoria Williams, after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and the band continued without him, releasing three more albums before going on hiatus in 2005.

For his post-Jayhawks career, Olson returned to his folk and country roots and with Williams and multi-instrumentalist Mike "Razz" Russell released the well-received album The Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers in 1997. The trio teamed up again for the 1998 album Pacific Coast Rambler and 1999's Zola and the Tulip Tree.