Sandra L. Hall (born September 5, 1951) is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

soul blues Soul blues is a style of blues music developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s that combines elements of soul music and urban contemporary music. Origin African American singers and musicians who grew up listening to the electric blues by ar ...

singer and songwriter. She has been billed as Atlanta's "Empress of the Blues" Hall is an Honorary Member of the Atlanta Blues Society. To date she has released five albums, including three on

Ichiban Records Ichiban Records is an American independent record label, founded in 1985 by John Abbey and Nina Easton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History Wrap Records and Nastymix Records were some of its subsidiary labels. Urgent! Records and Mr. Henr ...

Life and career

Hall was born in

Oakland City, Atlanta Oakland City is a neighborhood in southwestern Atlanta, Georgia, just southwest across the BeltLine from West End and Adair Park. Oakland City was incorporated as a city in 1894 and annexed to Atlanta in 1910. Oakland City Historic District is ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States. After singing from the age of four at a nearby church, Hall formed a duo with her sister, Barbara, called the Soul Sisters. She later formed the Exotics, singing and dancing particularly at the Royal Peacock Club, one of the premier Atlanta

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s. The Exotics opened for several touring acts at that venue, including

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

and

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. By the late 1960s, Hall had trained as a nurse, supplementing her income by working variously as a singer, go-go dancer and stripper. She also raised her daughter during this time. She continued singing in a semi-professional vein, whilst working full-time as a nurse. She developed her stage act to include a risque repertoire which was ripe with innuendo. Her better known songs included " Big Long Slidin' Thing ," "One Drop Will Do You," and "Pump Up Your Love". Hall's live work came to the attention of

and, in 1995, they released her debut solo album, ''Showin' Off''. The same year she appeared at the

Sarasota Blues Fest The Sarasota Blues Fest was an annual music festival held at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida. In addition to all day live entertainment, the festival has vendors selling a wide array of food, drink and crafts. History The Sarasota Blues Fest ...

. Hall continued to work largely around Atlanta, but her recording exposure led her on tours in Europe, which included her performing at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. Her second album, ''One Drop Will Do You'', was issued in 1997. The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, Alex Henderson, noted that ''One Drop Will Do You'' "isn't an innovative or groundbreaking album, but it's certainly a very satisfying and inspired one". In 2001, she self-released ''Miss Red Riding Hood''. Hall performed at the W.C. Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival in 2005. As well as continuing to perform and record, she befriended

Shemekia Copeland Charon Shemekia Copeland (born April 10, 1979) is an American electric blues vocalist. To date, she has released ten albums and been presented with seven Blues Music Awards. Career Copeland was born in Harlem, New York City, United States. She i ...

and gave guidance in her early career, and Hall regularly visits schools teaching blues culture and singing styles. Hall continues to perform at Blind Willie's in Atlanta. In 2011, Hall appeared at the

Julius Daniels Julius Daniels (November 20, 1901 – October 18, 1947) was an American Piedmont blues musician. His song "99 Year Blues" appeared on the box set '' Anthology of American Folk Music'' and has been covered by Jim Kweskin, Chris Smither, Johnny W ...

Memorial Blues Festival.

Discography

Albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Sandra 1951 births Living people American blues singers American soul singers 20th-century African-American women singers Singers from Atlanta Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women

Life and career

Discography

Albums

See also

References