Biography
Born in New Orleans, Gerri Hall launched her music career during the 1950s as a singer with Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns, appearing on Ace Records’ original release of “Rockin’ Pneumonia.” She stayed with the label into the following decade, issuing a series of singles that scored several regional Christmas successes. Deeply embedded in New Orleans music circles, she supplied backing vocals for Earl King on Imperial and performed live with Smiley Lewis and Benny Spellman. In addition to her Ace work, which included the single “What I Learned About You,” she recorded for Atco and Hotline and secured a performance slot on the mid-’60s soul television program The !!!! Beat. Eventually setting aside her solo career, she joined Ray Charles’ Raeletts. During the 1990s her recordings surfaced on multiple soul anthologies, among them West Side Records’ The First Take Is the Deepest.