Audrey Hall (born c. 1948 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

) is a Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

singer.

Background

Hall began her career singing with

Dandy Livingstone Dandy Livingstone (born Robert Livingstone Thompson, 14 December 1943) is a British Jamaican, British-Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae musician and record producer, best known for his 1972 hit record, hit "Suzanne Beware of the Devil", and fo ...

in the duo Dandy & Audrey.Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, They recorded the song "Morning Side of the Mountain" in 1969, the success of which led to an album of the same name. They released a second album on the

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

label, ''I Need You''. Livingstone also produced Hall's early solo recordings for his Downtown label.Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books,

Career

By 1971, Hall had come to

Trend Records Trend Records was a post-World War II United States jazz record label. Trend's back catalogue was purchased by Albert Marx, an authority on jazz music and entrepreneur who founded Discovery Records in 1948, and much of its material was reissu ...

which was run by

Barry Class Barry Class is an entrepreneur, former music store chain owner, band manager, record label founder, musical director, producer and recording studio owner. His greatest success as a manager was with the soul group The Foundations. He also managed t ...

who managed

The Foundations The Foundations were a British soul band who were primarily active between 1967 and 1970. The group's background was West Indian, White British and Sri Lankan. Their 1967 debut single " Baby Now That I've Found You" reached number one in the ...

.Penthouse Records
INTERVIEW WITH... AUDREY HALL
/ref> She had a single released on the label. The song "Getting Ready For A Heartache" backed with her own composition, "M.Y.O.B. Leave Me Alone" The single did get some mainstream airplay. After that single, there was no material from Trend for her to record. She also had an invite from her mother to go to New York so she requested a release from the label. Hall worked as a backing singer through much of the 1970s and early 1980s alongside her sister Pam, including on

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers, Jamaican Order of Merit, OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hol ...

's ''Give The People What They Want'', and

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band Bob Marley and the Wa ...

's '' Mama Africa'', but she made a comeback as a solo artist in 1986 with "One Dance Won't Do", an

answer record An answer song, response song or answer record is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

Beres Hammond Beres Hammond OJ (born Hugh Beresford Hammond; 28 August 1955, in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary, Jamaica)Moskowitz, David V. (2006) ''Caribbean Popular Music: an Encyclopedia of Reggae, Mento, Ska, Rock Steady, and Dancehall'', Greenwood Press, , p. ...

's "What One Dance Can Do", produced by

Donovan Germain Donovan Germain OD (born 7 March 1952 in Jamaica) is a reggae producer, one of the most successful of the digital era. Biography Germain's entry into the music industry was via his record shop in New York City in the 1970s.Larkin, Colin (1998) "T ...

, which took her into the UK top 20.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, This was followed up by "Smile" in 1986, which repeated her UK chart success and gave her her biggest hit, and "The Best Thing For Me". In 1986, she returned to recording duets, with "Heart Made of Stone" and the album ''Dynamic Duo'', recorded with former Paragon singer Don Evans. She continued to work with Germain, recording for his ''Germain'' and ''Penthouse'' labels, and released the album ''Reggae Zones'' in 2001.

Discography

Albums

*''Morning Side of the Mountain'' (1970) Downtown (Dandy & Audrey) *''I Need You'' (197?) (Dandy & Audrey) *''Eight Little Notes'' (1986) Germain *''Just You Just Me'' (1987) Germain *''Dynamic Duo''

(Audrey Hall & Don Evans) *''Collectors Series'' (1999) Penthouse *''Reggae Zones'' (2001) Super Power

Singles

I Second That Emotion "I Second That Emotion" is a 1967 song written by Smokey Robinson and Al Cleveland. First charting as a hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the Tamla/Motown label in 1967, "I Second That Emotion" was later a hit single for the group du ...

" (1968) Downtown (Audrey & The Dreamers) *"Love Me Tonight" (1969) Downtown *" Lover's Concerto" (1969) Downtown *"You'll Lose a Good Thing" (1969) Downtown *"One Fine Day" (1969) Downtown (b-side of Dandy's "Games People Play") *"You Don't Care" (1960) Downtown (Dandy with Audrey) *"Morning Side of the Mountain" (1969) Down Town (Dandy & Audrey) *"One Dance Just Won't Do" (1985) Germain ( UK #20)UK chart positions - Audrey Hall
/ref> *"Smile" (1986) Germain (UK #14) *"The Best Thing For Me" (1985) Germain (UK #93) *"I Want To Know What Love Is" Germain *"Heart Made of Stone" (with Don Evans) *"All I Need to Know" (1991) Penthouse (with Beres Hammond) *"Open Up Your Eyes" (1999) *"Fade Away" (1999) Barry U (with Don Evans)

References

External links

Audrey Hall at Roots ArchivesAudrey Hall at discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Audrey Jamaican reggae musicians Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica 20th-century Jamaican women musicians Living people 1940s births Year of birth uncertain 21st-century Jamaican women musicians Trend Records (UK label) artists