Ernie Fields Orchestra, with whom he made his earliest recordings. In the group he was known by the nickname ''Lightnin' ''. Later he joined
Earl Hines as musical arranger. During the 1940s he built up a considerable reputation as a session musician in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. In the late 1940s, he formed his own sextet which recorded for various labels including
Jubilee
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...
, Decca, and RCA. He also worked as a
talent scout
In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scou ...
for
King Records, discovering such acts as
Billy Ward and the Dominoes.
In the mid-1950s, Hall moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
, and began doing session work with
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
player,
Plas Johnson
Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sax ...
, and
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.
Most contemporary western bands that play rock, pop, jazz, or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre. The drummer' ...
,
Earl Palmer
Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of all ...
. The trio recorded for many of the emerging rock and roll and R&B artists on such labels as Aladdin,
Rendezvous, and
Specialty Records
Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloy ...
. In 1958, he pioneered the usage of a
Danelectro
Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories, founded in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was ...
6-string bass guitar as a supplement to standup bass on recording sessions with
Ritchie Valens
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed ...
and others. This approach was widely imitated by arrangers all over the world.
Hall was a virtual one-man dynasty on the West Coast from the mid-1950s through the early 1970s, organizing such studio concoctions as
B. Bumble & The Stingers hit "
Nut Rocker", surf-rock group
The Marketts (“Surfer’s Stomp”), and
The Routers of “
Let’s Go” fame. All featured Hall, Palmer and Johnson, but were then promoted by young white groups who performed the songs on tour. He gave his former employer Ernie Fields an unlikely rock hit with a version of the
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
standard, "
In The Mood
"In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition " Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by ...
", which reached #4 in Billboard during 1959. When Hall, Palmer, and Johnson did not want to issue it under their own names and tour behind it, they gave it to Fields, who then did join them in the studio for a follow up hit.
Hall arranged
Ike & Tina Turner
Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing voc ...
's 1963 album ''
Don't Play Me Cheap''. He also arranged some of
Sam Cooke's best-known recordings including the 1964 song, "
A Change Is Gonna Come", in which Hall devised a dramatic arrangement with a symphonic overture for
strings,
kettledrum
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditional ...
, and
French horn
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
. He prepared arrangements for many successful artists including
The Impressions
The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, doo-wop, R&B, and soul.
The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthur B ...
and
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...
. He also played guitar on
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...
's "
Let's Get It On
''Let's Get It On'' is the thirteenth studio album by American soul music, soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP record, LP.
Recording sessions ...
" and did a lot of work for
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...
.
René Hall died of heart disease in Los Angeles, California at the age of 75.
Selected discography
Singles
* 1952: René Hall – "Let's Turn The Lights Down Low" / "Must I" (RCA Victor 4881)
* 1957: René Hall's Orchestra Featuring Willie Joe / René Hall's Orchestra – "Twitchy" / "Flippin'" (Specialty 618)
* 1958: René Hall's Orchestra – "Saints Go Marchin' In" / "Thunderbird" (Specialty 629)
* 1958: René Hall's Orchestra – "Frankie And Johnny" / "Cleo" (Specialty 641)
* 1959: René Hall – "Smitty's Toy Piano" / "South Gate" (Arvee A 580)
* 1959: René Hall And His Guitars – "Moritat" / "Adalene" (Rendezvous No. 107)
* 1959: The Skunks And Rene Hall / Rene Hall – "Smitty's Xmas Toy Piano" / "Smitty's Toy Piano" (Arvee A 585)
* 1960: René Hall Orchestra – "La Cubalibra" / "The Untouchables" (Del-Fi 4135)
* René Hall Orchestra – "Night Fright" / "Turf" (Castil 101)
Work with other artists
Collaborations
* ''
Twistin' the Night Away'' -
Sam Cooke (1962)
* ''
Night Beat'' -
Sam Cooke (1963)
* ''
Ain't That Good News'' -
Sam Cooke (1964)
* ''
All I Really Want to Do'' -
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...
(1965)
* ''
Venice Blue'' -
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music.
He started his career as a songwriter for Connie Fran ...
(1965)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Rene
American music arrangers
Jubilee Records artists
RCA Victor artists
Decca Records artists
Specialty Records artists
1912 births
1988 deaths
People from Morgan City, Louisiana
20th-century American musicians
African-American male guitarists
Musicians from Louisiana
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century African-American musicians