René Hall (September 26, 1912 ‒ February 11, 1988) was an American guitarist and arranger. Like so many session musicians, Rene Hall recorded only a limited tracks under his own name. But his swinging, fluid and inventive guitar playing as well as his arrangements have largely contributed to the success of numberless recordings whether in R&B, jazz, blues, pop or Rock'n'roll.
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| Papa Celestin |
Born in New Orleans as Rene Joseph Hall, he learned as a child to read and write music and play trombone, banjo and guitar. Still a teenager, he played on the Riverboats and was hired by several New Orleans bands like Papa Celestin's and Joel Robicheaux with whom he recorded 22 tracks in August 1933.
He then worked around the country as a member of the Ernie Fields Orchestra, with whom he made his earliest recordings. In the group he was known by the nickname Lightning’. Later he joined Earl Hines as musical arranger and recorded with him in 1946 – 47. . During the 1940s as a black musician, he built up a considerable reputation as a session musician in New York City and was constantly on demand, playing in the Apollo Theater house band, backing on stage and in studio Roy Milton, Louis Jordan, Billy Ward among many others.
In the late 1940s, he formed his own sextet with such luminaries as Buddy Tate, Reginald Jones, Bobby Donaldson and recorded at last six jazz sides under his own name in 1950. To catch on the great success of trios a la Nat King Cole, Rene Hall launches his own Rene Hall Trio with singer/ guitarist Courtland Carter and Ted Sinclair on the string-bass. The Trio records several numbers for Jubilee, Decca, RCA, Regent with sometimes an extra pianist and drummer to get a fuller sound but the sales are not very strong. He also worked as a talent scout for King Records, discovering such acts as Billy Ward and the Dominoes with whom he also played for.
In 1955, aware of many opportunities for an arranger/ musician of his calibre and experience, Rene Hall settles in Los Angeles where, quite quickly and after a meeting with producer Art Rupe, he becomes A&R man and session musician for several successful labels like Specialty, Combo or Del-Fi. Being mainly in the studio, Rene Hall brings with him some of the best West Coast musicians (Plas Johnson, Earl Palmer, Roy Montrell) and arranges and plays on innumerable sessions, more and more in the teenage Rock'n'roll vein of the era.
His guitar solos behind Little Richard, Don & Dewey, Bumps Blackwell or Larry Williams certainly play a major part in the commercial success of many hits and will be reproduced note for note by hundreds of guitarists in the USA and abroad (among the British Rock future stars). In 1958, he recorded the electric bass track using a Danelectro Baritone guitar on the Ritchie Valens hit, "La Bamba", with Buddy Clarke on the upright acoustic bass. At the same time, Rene Hall records also a handful of tracks under his own name.
Throughout his career, Hall was the featured guitarist on such tracks as "Number 000" (Otis Blackwell), "That's It" (Babette Bain), "Cincinnati Fireball" (Johnny Burnette), "Chattanooga Choo Choo" (Ernie Fields), "In The Mood" (Ernie Fields), "Hippy Hippy Shake" (Chan Romero), and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (Larry Williams). He also released numerous recordings as both René Hall and the René Hall Orchestra. His best-known recording was the instrumental "Twitchy", which featured a single-string guitar (Unitar) lead played by Willie Joe Duncan, the instrument's inventor.
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| Rene Hall & Sam Cooke |
Hall arranged Ike & Tina Turner'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, and French horn. He also prepared arrangements for many of Motown's most successful artists including The Impressions. He also played guitar on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and did a lot of work for Bobby Womack.
When Gaye died he found himself one of the most in demand arrangers in the business. Rene also was an advocate for up and coming new groups. He came into Bill Withers' Tiki Studios in San Jose and worked out the arrangements for two of San Francisco's own Cordial Band. He arranged 'Wave' and 'A Special Love' written by Raymond Coats and Danny Dinio.
Rene worked constantly until his death from heart disease in his Los Angeles home on 11 February 1988 at the age of 75. (Edited from Wikipedia & Blue Eye) (Can only find two photographs of Rene which is strange considering how popular he was)