If you ask a lover of rockabilly piano to think about great rockabilly piano players, names like Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, and Big Al Downing probably spring to mind. But there's another player who flirted with, but never really found success. Yet his influence on rockabilly and rock and roll remains undiminished by his obscurity: Roy Hall.
Hall, born James Faye Hall in Big Stone Gap, Virginia in 1922 approached the verge of fame several times in his career, but could never quite cross that threshold. He was a natural piano player and like all great rockabilly pioneers, soaked up the influences of the great country and blues players of the south during those times. At the age of 11, he was getting noticed as a great piano player and was chosen to play backup behind Uncle Dave Macon on a travelling broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry.
By the late 1940s, Hall was fronting a band called the Cohutta Mountain Boys. The band recorded "The Dirty Boogie" and a few other songs for Fortune Records out of Detroit. Fans of the Brian Setzer Orchestra recognize "The Dirty Boogie" from their 1998 album of the same name.
Nothing much came of those recordings and Hall disappeared off the music scene (more or less) until country legend Webb Pierce saw him perform. Hall became Pierce's pianist and road manager and finally won a deal of his own with a major record label, Decca Records in 1955. He recorded several rock and rockabilly numbers for Decca. One of the songs he cut in his first Decca session was an obscure number called, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." Hall claimed to have written the song under the pseudonym, Sonny David, but whether he did or not, he never successfully established any rights to it and never saw a dime of royalties from it. That became a significant miss of course when Jerry Lee Lewis had a smash hit with the song in 1957.
Meanwhile, Decca saw Hall as another Bill Haley who was also signed to Decca and was of course seeing great success of his own. He cut some good records for Decca including "See Ya Later Alligator" before Haley hit with it. He never saw a hit, but did get enough notice to start playing with high-powered acts such as Marty Robbins and Hawkshaw Hawkins. Hall also cut a few demos for Sam Phillips' Sun Records, but those never went anywhere either.
Despite never breaking big, Hall's influence as a rock and roll pianist was deep. None of his rockabilly tracks ever saw any real success, but hearing them from this side of history, one is struck by how good they are. His heavy boogie woogie influence shines through in his great piano playing and he certainly knew how to deliver vocally.
Hall continued working with Webb Pierce for many years and was still playing in and around Nashville up until his death in 1984. As with many other rockabilly artists, Hall's influence and value wasn't fully appreciated until after his death.
Unfortunately for Hall, he never found fame nor riches. But fortunately for us, he left a rich legacy of great recordings that have endured and will continue to inspire rockabilly fans and musicians.
Hall, born James Faye Hall in Big Stone Gap, Virginia in 1922 approached the verge of fame several times in his career, but could never quite cross that threshold. He was a natural piano player and like all great rockabilly pioneers, soaked up the influences of the great country and blues players of the south during those times. At the age of 11, he was getting noticed as a great piano player and was chosen to play backup behind Uncle Dave Macon on a travelling broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry.
By the late 1940s, Hall was fronting a band called the Cohutta Mountain Boys. The band recorded "The Dirty Boogie" and a few other songs for Fortune Records out of Detroit. Fans of the Brian Setzer Orchestra recognize "The Dirty Boogie" from their 1998 album of the same name.
Nothing much came of those recordings and Hall disappeared off the music scene (more or less) until country legend Webb Pierce saw him perform. Hall became Pierce's pianist and road manager and finally won a deal of his own with a major record label, Decca Records in 1955. He recorded several rock and rockabilly numbers for Decca. One of the songs he cut in his first Decca session was an obscure number called, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On." Hall claimed to have written the song under the pseudonym, Sonny David, but whether he did or not, he never successfully established any rights to it and never saw a dime of royalties from it. That became a significant miss of course when Jerry Lee Lewis had a smash hit with the song in 1957.
Meanwhile, Decca saw Hall as another Bill Haley who was also signed to Decca and was of course seeing great success of his own. He cut some good records for Decca including "See Ya Later Alligator" before Haley hit with it. He never saw a hit, but did get enough notice to start playing with high-powered acts such as Marty Robbins and Hawkshaw Hawkins. Hall also cut a few demos for Sam Phillips' Sun Records, but those never went anywhere either.
Despite never breaking big, Hall's influence as a rock and roll pianist was deep. None of his rockabilly tracks ever saw any real success, but hearing them from this side of history, one is struck by how good they are. His heavy boogie woogie influence shines through in his great piano playing and he certainly knew how to deliver vocally.
Hall continued working with Webb Pierce for many years and was still playing in and around Nashville up until his death in 1984. As with many other rockabilly artists, Hall's influence and value wasn't fully appreciated until after his death.
Unfortunately for Hall, he never found fame nor riches. But fortunately for us, he left a rich legacy of great recordings that have endured and will continue to inspire rockabilly fans and musicians.
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