Bobbye Hall | |
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 Bobbye Hall and her pug, Ching Ching | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bobby Jean Hall |
| Born | 1950 Detroit, Michigan |
| Genres | Jazz, pop, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Percussion |
| Years active | 1963 to present |
| Website | https://www.instagram.com/msbobbyehall/ |
Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100.
Bobbye Jean Hall was born in Detroit, Michigan, and began her career there playing percussion in nightclubs while still in her teens. While playing at the 20 Grand nightclub in 1961 she was approached by Motown arranger Paul Riser to play on a recording session. [1] Using bongos, congas and other percussion, she played uncredited on many Motown recordings in the 1960s. She lived in Europe for a few years during which time she changed the spelling of her name from Bobby to Bobbye, to distinguish herself as a woman percussionist and as a unique musician. [2] She moved to Los Angeles in 1970 where she was one of the few female session musicians in a male-dominated profession, a sometime associate of the Funk Brothers and the so-called Wrecking Crew. [3] [4] Already a veteran player by May 1971, she was featured on congas in the studio video of the Temptations doing "Sorry Is A Sorry Word", and she added her bongo skills to Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)". [5] Her first studio gig behind a full rock drum kit was with Chris Ethridge on his 1971 album L.A. Getaway—Ethridge said "she was great". [6] She also played on the Gene Clark album, White Light , of the same year.
Hall recorded several albums with Bill Withers, including his No. 1 hit "Lean On Me", and his Live at Carnegie Hall album. She toured with Carole King in May–June 1973 after having participated on two of King's studio albums. [7] During this tour Hall asked King to stop introducing her as "Little Bobbye from Detroit". King suggested "Ms. Bobbye Hall" and from that time forward, Hall was known as Ms. Bobbye Hall. [2] In May 1974, she performed again at Carnegie Hall, this time backing James Taylor, a follow-up to appearing on two of his albums. Stevie Wonder used Hall's percussion skills for a few songs in 1974 and 1976, including "Bird of Beauty" on which her artful quica work established a mood of Brazil at Carnival. [8]
In 1973–1974, Hall began to be credited sometimes as Bobbye Hall Porter, also Bobbye Porter Hall, after her marriage to record producer Joe Porter. [9] [10] [11] Hall released one album of her own in March 1977: Body Language For Lovers, a soul-jazz instrumental work featuring tunes co-written with her husband. Billboard recommended the LP, [12] but it did not chart.
In 1978, Bob Dylan took her on a world tour, from mid-February to mid-December, paying her $2,500 per week—about $11,200 in today's dollars. [13] This handsome compensation was arranged to pay for the studio sessions she would be missing. [13] The men and women appearing on stage with Dylan were required to wear costumes designed in Hollywood by Bill "Spoony" Whitten, and the musicians did not like them. Lead guitarist Billy Cross said "the band looked like a large aggregation of pimps", and backup singer Debi Dye-Gibson said she and the other women "looked like hookers". [13] The show's playlist was a collection of Dylan's greatest hits, as specified by promoters at the tour's Japanese stops. All the songs, even the sparse acoustic ones, were arranged for a full band and a big sound. Hall and the musicians stayed at the best hotels side-by-side with Dylan, and flew on a chartered jet airliner which held suites and a bar.
Hall joined Dylan from time to time at dinner, and was surprised to find him a longtime fan of soul food—she observed him to be "infatuated by going out with black women ...by that whole black thing, [even] eating the food." [13] He entertained her with card tricks. [13] However, the tour began to wear on him, and he called band meetings where he criticized his musicians sharply for being too formulaic. Hall remarked of these encounters, "when he spoke to us, he was not the poet." [13] A two-disc album was produced using 22 songs recorded live in Japan: Bob Dylan at Budokan , and a stop in Santa Monica, California, allowed Dylan and most of the touring band to cut a studio album, Street-Legal , with Hall on percussion. [14]
In late August 1978, in between Dylan tour dates, Hall played congas for Tom Waits's Blue Valentine album, on the track "Romeo Is Bleeding", giving it a gritty Latin feel. [15]
In 1979, she recorded "Run Like Hell" (on The Wall ) with Pink Floyd. She recorded with Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band in the early 1980s. Hall joined Stevie Nicks for her album Bella Donna and toured with her in 1981, 1983, and 1986. [16] [17] [18]
For the 1986 film Little Shop of Horrors, Hall played tambourine and congas on the soundtrack. [19]
Other musicians she has recorded for include Fanny, Kim Carnes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Janis Joplin, Tavares, Randy Newman, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, Mel Brown, Leo Sayer, Cecilio & Kapono, Russ Ballard, Donovan, Joni Mitchell, Jerry Garcia, Patti Scialfa, Freda Payne, Dwight Yoakam, Donald Byrd, Gene Harris, Bobby Hutcherson, Grant Green, Ferron, Poco, the Temptations, Mary Wells, Jefferson Starship, Kenny Rankin, the Manhattan Transfer, Stanley Turrentine, Boz Scaggs, Marc Bolan, Judy Mowatt, Hugo Montenegro, Aretha Franklin, the Doobie Brothers, Kris Kristofferson, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Al Kooper, the Jeff Healey Band, the Doors, Robin Zander, Lone Justice, the Mamas & the Papas, David Byrne, Marty Balin, Sarah Vaughan, Tommy Bolin, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Harry Chapin and Tracy Chapman. [19]
She has recorded as percussionist and drummer using the following instruments: bongos, congas, tambourine, claves, quica, wood block, tabla, full drum kit, tom-toms, cabasa, maracas, cowbell, bells, shaker, güiro, triangle, mark tree, hand claps, finger snaps and finger cymbals. [20] [21]
These songs recorded with Hall appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart:
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, stayed with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist—mostly on rhythm guitar and second keyboard. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. The band had a long string of hit singles including "Breakdown", "American Girl", "Refugee", "The Waiting", "Learning to Fly", and "Mary Jane's Last Dance", among many others, that stretched over several decades of work.
"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been included in multiple compilation albums. It has been translated into other languages and has been used or referenced in television shows, films, and books.
Pearl is the second and final solo album by Janis Joplin, released on January 11, 1971, three months after her death on October 4, 1970. It was the final album with her direct participation, and the only Joplin album recorded with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, her final touring unit. It peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, holding that spot for nine weeks. It has been certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA.
Farewell Tour is the first live album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 1983. It documents the group's 1982 Farewell Tour and is a double album set.
Smokin' O.P.'s is the fifth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1972. It marked Seger's return to rock and roll, after the sonic departure of his previous album, Brand New Morning. The album was reissued on CD by Capitol Records in 2005. It is currently the earliest Bob Seger album available on CD. The cover art is a parody of the Lucky Strike cigarette logo. Smokin' O.P.'s refers to Smokin' Other People's Songs, a derivation on the slang phrase "Smoking O.P.'s" meaning to smoke other people's cigarettes exclusively. Most of the tracks on this release are covers of songs written by other artists.
Back in '72 is the sixth studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1973. It was the first new album on Seger's manager Punch Andrews' label, Palladium Records, to be released under their distribution deal with the Reprise division of Warner Bros. Records and one of three early Seger albums that has never been reissued on CD.
"Coyote" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell from her eighth album Hejira (1976). It was released as the album's lead single.
Street-Legal is the eighteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on June 15, 1978, by Columbia Records. The album was a departure for Dylan, who assembled a large pop-rock band with female backing vocalists for its recording.
Bob Dylan at Budokan is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released August 1978 on Columbia Records in Japan only, followed by a worldwide release in April 1979. It was recorded during his 1978 world tour and is composed mostly of the artist's "greatest hits". The performances in the album are radically altered from the originals, using the same musicians that played on Street-Legal, but relying on a much larger band and stronger use of woodwind and backing singers. In some respects the arrangements are more conventional than the original arrangements, for which the album was criticized. For a few critics, such as Janet Maslin of Rolling Stone, the differences between the older and newer arrangements had become less important.
Bella Donna is the debut solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. Released on July 27, 1981, the album reached number one on the US Billboard 200 in September of that year. Bella Donna was awarded platinum status by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 7, 1981, less than three months after its release, and in 1990 was certified quadruple-platinum for four million copies shipped. Bella Donna spent nearly three years on the Billboard 200, from July 1981 to June 1984.
The Temptations with a Lot o' Soul is the fifth studio album by The Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label released in 1967. Featuring four hit singles, With a Lot o' Soul is the most successful Temptations album from their "classic 5" era, during which David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams constituted the Temptations' lineup.
Now! is an album by jazz vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, released on the Blue Note label. The album is the first of Hutcherson's to feature vocals, contributed by Gene McDaniels and a chorus. The CD reissue includes four tracks recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl, in 1977.
Fulfillingness' First Finale is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "classic period".
"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Columbia Records first released an edited version as a single in March 1966, which reached numbers two and seven in the US and UK charts respectively. A longer version appears as the opening track of Dylan's seventh studio album, Blonde on Blonde (1966), and has been included on several compilation albums.
Livin' It Up! is the fourteenth semi-based "lifestyle" studio album by Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas. While writing with Kenny Chesney and covering Toby Keith, Hagar began singing about enjoying the life of a beach dweller. It was vaguely reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett's career, and Hagar even used this time as an opportunity to meet more easy-going party fans as he went on a brief tour with Chesney.
Jody Linscott is an American session musician and percussionist who resides in England and maintains an extended discography. She has two daughters Kachina Dechert and Coco Linscott and has written two children's books which were published by Doubleday, both edited by Jackie Onassis. Linscott has written several songs to accompany the books.
Rita Coolidge is the self-titled debut album by Rita Coolidge.
Floridays is the fifteenth album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in June 1986 as MCA 5730 and was produced by Coral Reefer Band member Michael Utley and recorded and mixed by Jay Rifkin. The title of the album is taken from the 1941 poetry collection of the same name by Don Blanding. The album marks the end of Buffett's shift toward a more country sound that characterized his previous two releases and a return to a sound closer to that of his late 1970s and early 1980s output. The album features a wider variety of musical instruments than was typical for Buffett's previous works, notably several songs with strings and horns. His daughter Savannah Jane Buffett is credited for playing mini-conga on the album. It was also his last studio album to feature Jimmy Buffett's trademark mustache, before he shaved it off for the next album Hot Water in 1988.
Just an Old Fashioned Love Song is a studio album by Paul Williams, released in 1971. Notable songs from the album, which were hits for other artists, include "(Just An) Old Fashioned Love Song", "We've Only Just Begun", "Let Me Be the One" and "When I Was All Alone".
Phil Jones is an American drummer, percussionist, and record producer. Jones played percussion with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in the early 80's both live and in the studio, while also playing drums and percussion on Tom Petty's solo album Full Moon Fever, which included the hit songs "Free Fallin'", "I Won't Back Down", and "Runnin' Down a Dream". His work outside the group includes playing on the Del Shannon albums Drop Down and Get Me and Rock On!. He currently runs his own recording studio in Los Angeles called 'Robust Recordings'.
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