Kenny Hall (musician)

For others with the name Ken, Kenny, or Kenneth Hall, see Kenneth Hall.

Kenny Hall was born blind in San Jose, California, United States, on October 14, 1923. He attended the California School for the Blind in Berkeley, where he learned his first music on violin. He later worked in broom factories in both Oakland and San Jose. Over the course of his life, he learned over 1,100 tunes from fellow students at the School for the Blind, coworkers at the broom factories, 78rpm records, and artists like the Happy Hayseeds he heard on the radio. Though he played Old-time music on fiddle and mandolin, he played many tunes from Ireland, Mexico, Scotland, Italy, Portugal, and elsewhere in the world. He picked up the Italian-style bowlback mandolin in 1937 and learned from a blind Texas-born mandolin player named W.D. Sanford. His eclectic repertoire and distinctive mandolin style were influential among folk musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Kenny Hall
Birth name	Kenneth Martin Hall
Born	(1923-10-14)October 14, 1923 San Jose, California
Died	September 18, 2013(2013-09-18) (aged 89) Fresno, California
Genres	Old-time folk
Occupation(s)	Musician, teacher
Instrument(s)	Voice, Mandolin, Fiddle, and Guitar
Years active	1929–2013
Labels	Bay Records, Voyager Recordings, Philo Records

Publications

Kenny Hall and Vykki Mende Gray. (1999) Kenny Hall's Music Book: Old-Time Music for Fiddle and Mandolin (Mel Bay Publications)

External links

• Kenny Hall discography at Discogs