Did you know Ray Charles appointed and left behind an heir apparent to his R&B throne? It’s true! In 2003, Ellis Hall was backstage relaxing after having just sung the tune “You Don’t Know Me.” According to Hall, that’s the moment Ray Charles approached him and jokingly asked, “What are you doing singing like that? Being so damn good? You trying to take my gig?” Thus was the beginning of a relationship characterized by mutual admiration, not to mention comparisons between the two.
Hall doesn’t imitate Charles in his performances; however, he was introduced at one performance as “Ray’s protégé.” Anyone who meets, hears, or has the pleasure of taking in one of Hall’s performances would be hard-pressed not to notice some similarities between the two stars.
Like Charles, Hall is blind. He struggled with diminishing vision throughout much of his childhood but didn’t completely lose his sight until he was 18. It was at that time when the degenerative eye disorder he’d lived with took over. In the months leading up to his blindness, Hall played his piano in the dark, readying himself for what he knew was coming.
Throughout it all, he held tightly to his love of making music. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Hall had moved to Boston at the age of 5, and that’s when his musical career truly began. Today he’s involved in a wide array of projects, everything from commercial jingles to smash hit singles.
His own stylized version of the 60s Motown hit, “Every Little Bit Hurts,” was Hall’s first solo release. He took his talents on the road when he formed the Ellis Hall Group, and he was the lead vocalist on the debut hit single, “What Does it Take?” from Kenny G’s multi-platinum “Duotones.” He also assumed the lead vocalist position with the memorable funk group, Tower of Power.
As a California Raisin, Hall struck gold with an album titled “Christmas with the California Raisins” and platinum with “The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs.” He also teamed up with James Taylor, Warren Hill, Huey Lewis and the News, Bo Diddley, Jason Scheff of Chicago, Stevie Wonder, and many others.
But at some point people noticed that Hall possessed more than just a mean set of R&B pipes. That’s when he added a series of television and movie gigs to his credits. He has appeared on numerous award-winning television shows, and his is the voice of the lead rooster in the claymation hit, Chicken Run. And if you caught Martin Lawrence’s Big Momma’s House, you should know that it was Hall who played the organ and sang gospel tunes in the movie. Hall also performed Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can.
“It’s a kind of acting, and I enjoy the challenge of it. For some characters I have to completely change my voice. For Sesame Street Live, I became Uncle Grizzly, an old bear. And I played the old, toothless raisin for the California Raisins campaign,” Ellis says.
His most recent album “The Spirit Lingers On” is a re-issuing to include a very special tune “Patiently,” which he dedicated to dear friends and every family enjoying the birth of a first child. “I made highly inspiration soul,” says Hall. “I make music that produces a healing of the heart. And that is truly amazing . . . yes, it is. I dare anyone to feel this infectious joy of my soulful celebration.”
Yet Hall remains the music, television, and movie industry’s best-kept secret. Even with such a wide array of accomplishments already behind him, anyone watching or listening can rest assured that the world has yet to see the full breadth of what Ellis Hall has to offer.
No Comments
