Fred Hall (musician)

Van Dyke record featuring the tune *You're Gonna Be Mine* written by Fred Hall and Arthur Fields. Although the performance is credited to "Big Town Jazzers" the tune is actually played by Hall's band as well.

Fred Hall (actual name Fred Arthur Ahl, 1898–1954) was an American pianist, bandleader and composer. Hall was born in New York City 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. Many recordings featured vocalist Arthur Fields with whom Hall enjoyed a lengthy partnership, co-writing scores of songs, the better known ones including Eleven More Months And Ten More Days and I Got A Code In My Dose. Hall and Fields also appeared together on the NBC 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 CD by The Old Masters label.

Hall made his last recordings in 1932, after which little is known of him. It is recorded that he joined ASCAP in 1939. He died in New York on October 6, 1954, at the age of 56.