Artists

From his piano lessons at age 5 to his medal-winning French horn performance at the Ithaca College Music Festival, from his folk days of singing Weavers, Peter Paul and Mary, and Bob Dylan songs, from his obsession with the Ventures, Beach Boys, Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, John Hall learned three things: Play, Write, Listen.

Now that he's finished serving two terms as the Congressman from New York's 19th District, John is writing songs again, performing solo and with Orleans, and continuing with his environmental activism. John left a projected career in science, dropping out of Notre Dame University and Loyola Baltimore to play full time in a band in Georgetown. A brief stint on M Street led to an invitation to play in New York at Greenwich Village's Cafe Wha?.

As John honed his bass and guitar skills as part of the band Kangaroo, James Taylor was gigging around the corner at the Night Owl with the Flying Machine and Jimi was backing up John Hammond at Village Gate as Jimi James and the Blue Flames. Kangaroo alternated sets for a time with a band called the Castilles, whose lead singer was Bruce Springsteen.

During this time, he wrote and directed the music for the Broadway show Morning, Noon and Night, and 1969's Obie-winning Honest to God Schnozzola. From the Broadway score came a guitar lick that was the underpinning for "Half Moon" recorded by Janis Joplin on Pearl. John later penned songs for Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and many more. After moving to Woodstock, John worked as a studio guitarist for Seals and Crofts, John Simon, and Jackie Lomax, and toured with Taj Mahal, recording the double album The Real Thing at both Fillmores.

In early 1972, John's local jam band in Woodstock turned into Orleans when first Wells Kelly and then Larry Hoppen joined the ensemble. Later that year, Lance Hoppen joined on bass, freeing Larry to play guitar and keyboard. Orleans recorded four albums in the seventies, scoring radio hits with "Still The One" and "Dance With Me" (both certified over four million airplays in the United States).

John left Orleans in 1978 and made two solo records, John Hall and Power. The latter featured the anti-nuclear anthem which later became the theme of the No Nukes concerts, recorded by the Doobie Brothers with James Taylor. Then followed two John Hall Band albums, and the AOR and MTV hit "Crazy (Keep On Falling)". After Wells Kelly's death in 1984, John reunited with Larry and Lance Hoppen and they were recruited by Tony Brown of MCA Nashville to record there. The result was 1986's Grownup Children. Since then John has alternated between recording and touring with Orleans, and doing solo projects including Recovered, On A Distant Star, and Love Doesn't Ask.

Along the way, environmental and political concerns have kept John moving in and out of direct community involvement. He was elected to the Ulster County Legislature in 1989 and served one term in 1990 and '91. In the late 1990's, he was elected twice as trustee of the Saugerties NY Board of Education, where his fellow trustees elected him president. He also served as a volunteer member of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater's board of directors before running successfully for Congress in 2006.

The latest CD, Rock Me On the Water, will be followed soon by a new collection of songs including more collaborations with Pamela Melanie Hall, John's wife and fellow Strat player. A book detailing the journey from rocker to representative is also in the works.

Reviews

Peggo in Love – singer Peggo Hodes' debut solo recording – is a striking collection of timeless love songs picked from the Great American Songbook. Peggo, whose previous outings include her work with award-winning children’s music group Peggosus and folk duo Peggo and Paul (featuring her husband Paul Hodes), looked to her past for inspiration on Peggo in Love. "I first learned these songs with my grandfather, Henry Horstmann," Peggo writes in her liner notes. "At all family reunions, he and his siblings would sing every song they ever knew. By the time I was old enough to stay up late with the raucous, singing adults, I had developed an abiding love for these old jazz standards." Peggo’s affinity for the material on In Love is palpable throughout the disc, from the mournful When I Fall in Love to the sultry La Vie en Rose. Peggo is accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Kent Allyn, guitarists Paul Hodes and David Tonkin, saxophonist Matt Langley, and percussionist John Faggiano.

Reviews