Danniebelle Hall (October 6, 1938 – December 28, 2000), was an American

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

ian, recording artist,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Biography

Early life

Danniebelle Hall was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

the fourth of eight children. She was born to William Butler Jones and Danniebell Jones. Danniebelle learned to play piano at the age of three. She played piano for her hometown church. To advance her passion for spreading the gospel through song, she enlisted the talents of her two younger sisters and formed the trio, The Jones Sisters. She moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, when she was 17 years old, where she met and married Charles E. Hall. They had three children Charlotte,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and

Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek language, Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on the island of Delos. The name has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 17th century. There are various spellings for this name, and it can be abbrev ...

Musical career

In 1969, she formed a group called The Danniebelles. The group went on tour overseas. This promoted the growth and the popularity of The Danniebelles beyond expectations. They were able to record an album and minister to thousands while touring with World Vision International in Zamboanga, Mindanao, Philippines, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. World Crusade Ministries. A few years later, Danniebelle joined the gospel group of

Andraé Crouch Andraé Edward Crouch (July 1, 1942 – January 8, 2015) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, arranger, record producer and pastor. Referred to as "the father of modern gospel music" by contemporary Christian and gospel music profess ...

and the Disciples. She was featured on such classic Gospel recordings as "Take Me Back" and "Soon and Very Soon." Danniebelle sang and recorded several solo albums that spanned the next 2 and a half decades. She has traveled worldwide. Using her own personal trials as an example, she spread the love of Jesus Christ. Although she composed and arranged music, she found great fulfillment in being a lyricist. She is admired for having set biblical passages to music. She also penned the popular Gospel song, "Ordinary People," which is included on her 1977 recording, "Let Me Have A Dream" and was also recorded by James Cleveland and the Salem Inspirational Choir in 1978.

Personal life

Being an insulin dependent diabetic for a number of years, she was also under treatment for hypertension. She survived a mastectomy due to breast cancer, left leg amputation below the knee, and a host of other health related issues. She died on December 28, 2000.

Discography

Albums

* ''Danniebelle'' (Light, 1974) * ''This Moment'' (Light, 1975) * ''He Is King'' (Light, 1976) * ''Let Me Have a Dream'' (Sparrow, 1977) * ''Danniebelle Live in Sweden with Choralerna'' (Sparrow, 1978) * ''Unmistakably Danniebelle'' (Onyx International, 1983) * ''Song of the Angels'' (Onyx International, 1983) * ''Designer's Original'' (CGI, 1992) * ''The Best Gets Better'' (CGI, 1995) * ''Remembering the Times'' (EMI, 2001)

External links

Danniebelle.com

References

* Danniebelle Hall at AllMusic.com
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel death notice

Work the works: the role of African-American women in the development of contemporary gospel at TheFreeLibrary.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Danniebelle American Pentecostals Members of the Church of God in Christ American gospel singers 1938 births 2000 deaths Musicians from Pittsburgh Singers from Pennsylvania 20th-century American singers