Background
Hall was born in New York and began his musical career working as a song-plugger for various music publishers.
composer conductor pianist songwriter
Hall was born in New York and began his musical career working as a song-plugger for various music publishers.
As a bandleader Hall and his men recorded prolifically for many labels (see below) from 1925 onwards. Hall and Fields also appeared together on the National Broadcasting Company radio show The Sunday Driver. Notable musicians in Hall"s band included trumpeters Mike Mosiello and Leo McConville.
Apart from playing piano, conducting and composing Hall sometimes performed scat singing on his records.
A selection of Hall"s recorded work has been reissued on Civil Defense by The Old Masters label. Hall made his last recordings in 1932, after which little is known of him.
lieutenant is recorded that he joined American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1939. He died in New York on October 6, 1954 at the age of 56.
Hall"s records were issued under a variety of names (including pseudonyms).
Discographer Brian Rust reports the following:
Fred "Sugar" Hall and His Sugar Babies (Okeh)
Fred Hall"s Orchestra/and His Orchestra (Harmony, Bell, Goodson (United Kingdom))
Fred Hall"s and His Roseland Orchestra (Emerson and Bell)
Fred Hall"s Jazz Band (Banner and associated labels)
Arthur Fields and His Orchestra (Perfect)
Arthur Fields and His Assassinators (Edison)
Arthur Fields and The Noodlers (Banner and associated labels)
Claremont Dance Band/Orchestra (Duophone)
The Home Towners (Cameo and associated labels, Banner and associated labels)
Honey Swamp Stompers (Harmony)
The Tin Pan Paraders (Gennett)
There were also several Hall recordings issued anonymously on Grey Gull and related labels. The records issued on the Harmony, Diva and Velvet Tone labels as "Jerome Conrad and His Orchestra" were also earlier ascribed to Hall by Rust, but has in later editions been revised as being by a Harry Reser group. Hall also recorded and broadcast with Fields as a country ensemble called Rex Cole"s Mountaineers.