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René Hall

 



Arranger and musician René Joseph Hall was born in Morgan City, Louisiana on September 26, 1912.

He first recorded in New Orleans in 1933 playing banjo, then joined the Ernie Fields Orchestra, with which he toured the U.S. He moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s where he became associated with Aladdin, Decca, Motown and RCA records. He can be heard playing guitar on more than one hundred pop and rhythm and blues recordings. Possibly his outstanding work was the arrangement for Sam Cooke’s “A change is gonna come”. You can hear him play lead guitar on “Hippy Hippy Shake” by Chan Romero, “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” by Larry Williams and “Lets get it on” by Marvin Gaye. His guitar is also featured on the 1960s hit instrumental “Nut Rocker” by B Bumble and The Stingers, and he also features on numerous 1970s tracks by Bobby Womack.

He was also a talent scout for King Records and discovered Billy Ward And The Dominoes.

René Hall died of heart disease in Los Angeles, California on February 11, 1988.

Image: Tommy Harken Rider Guitar

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