Sandra L. Hall (born September 5, 1951) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by artists s ...

singer and songwriter. She has been billed as Atlanta's "Empress of the Blues" Hall is an Honorary Member of the Atlanta Blues Society. To date she has released five albums, including three on

Ichiban Records Ichiban Records was an American independent record label, founded in 1985 by John Abbey and Nina Easton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records and Mr. Hen ...

Life and career

Hall was born in Oakland City, Atlanta,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. After singing from the age of four at a nearby church, Hall formed a duo with her sister, Barbara, called the Soul Sisters. She later formed the Exotics, singing and dancing particularly at the Royal Peacock Club, one of the premier Atlanta

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

s. The Exotics opened for several touring acts at that venue, including

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

and

the Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

. By the late 1960s, Hall had trained as a nurse, supplementing her income by working variously as a singer, go-go dancer and stripper. She also raised her daughter during this time. She continued singing in a semi-professional vein, while working full-time as a nurse. She developed her stage act to include a risque repertoire which was ripe with innuendo. Her better known songs included " Big Long Slidin' Thing ," "One Drop Will Do You," and "Pump Up Your Love". Hall's live work came to the attention of

and, in 1995, they released her debut solo album, ''Showin' Off''. The same year she appeared at the Sarasota Blues Fest. Hall continued to work largely around Atlanta, but her recording exposure led her on tours in Europe, which included her performing at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

. Her second album, ''One Drop Will Do You'', was issued in 1997. The

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, Alex Henderson, noted that ''One Drop Will Do You'' "isn't an innovative or groundbreaking album, but it's certainly a very satisfying and inspired one". In 2001, she self-released ''Miss Red Riding Hood''. Hall performed at the W.C. Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival in 2005. As well as continuing to perform and record, she befriended Shemekia Copeland and gave guidance in her early career, and Hall regularly visits schools teaching blues culture and singing styles. Hall continues to perform at Blind Willie's in Atlanta. In 2011, Hall appeared at the Julius Daniels Memorial Blues Festival.

Discography

Albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Sandra 1951 births Living people American blues singers American soul singers 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Singers from Atlanta Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women

Life and career

Discography

Albums

See also

References