John Hall | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 19th district |
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In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 |
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Preceded by | Sue Kelly |
Succeeded by | Nan Hayworth |
Personal details | |
Born |
Baltimore, Maryland |
July 23, 1948
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Pamela Melanie Hall |
Residence | Dover Plains, New York |
Alma mater |
University of Notre Dame Loyola College in Maryland |
Occupation | Musician, songwriter |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
John Joseph Hall (born July 23, 1948) is an American musician, environmentalist and community activist. He was elected to the county legislature of Ulster County, New York, in 1989 and to the Saugerties, New York, Board of Education in 1991, and he was the U.S. Representative for New York's 19th congressional district, serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
The 19th District includes all or part of five counties on both sides of the Hudson River: Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Rockland, with more than 650,000 residents. Hall also founded the rock band Orleans in 1972, a musical collaboration that continues to this day.
Hall was born in Baltimore and grew up in Elmira, New York, son of James A. Hall, PhD in Electrical Engineering and Marie W. Hall, MA in Divinity. A three-time National Science Foundation summer scholar, he skipped two grades in school and left Notre Dame High School in Elmira at age sixteen to study physics at the University of Notre Dame, and then Loyola College, Baltimore.
He led another life in music, starting with piano at age 4, studying French horn in school and teaching himself guitar and bass. After changing his concentration to creative writing and performing in numerous musical ensembles, Hall quit college to begin his professional musical career in the clubs of Georgetown, DC, and then Greenwich Village. In 1967, his group Kangaroo released an album on MGM Records, and Hall also composed music for a Broadway theatre trilogy Morning, Noon and Night. While playing at Cafe Wha in Greenwich Village, he met his first wife, Johanna Schier, with whom he moved to , and then Saugerties, New York, wrote many songs and fathered a daughter, Lillian Sofi Hall. He also found time to release his debut solo album, Action in 1970.