Larry Hall born 30 June 1940

Larry Hall (born Lawrence Kendall Hall; June 30, 1940 – September 24, 1997) was an American singer mostly known for his one-hit wonder song called "Sandy" in 1959. The disc reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Hall was born in Hamlett, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio to Woodrow Burney Hall and Toto Sophia Sizemore Hall. He attended Rancho Alamitos High School, Garden Grove California in the late 50's. 

Hall first attracted attention as a teen when he won a local talent contest sponsored by country music legend Cliffie Stone. Soon after, he was approached by songwriter Terry Fell (the author of the country classic "Truck Driving Man") with the offer to cut a single for Fell's fledgling Hot Records label.  

Fell paid Hall all of 50 dollars to record "Sandy," recording the track on hand-me-down equipment acquired from legendary guitarist Les Paul. Hall and his mother drove to record stations across the U.S., imploring programming directors to add the single to their radio playlists, but it did not catch fire until the New York City-based Strand label licensed the song for national distribution, purchasing Hall's contract in the process.

 

 

                            
 

The re-released "Sandy" hit radio in the fall of 1959, peaking at number 15 the week ending January 4, 1960. The follow-up "Rosemary" earned little attention, and is arguably more notable for its flip side, "A Girl Like You," an early effort from composer Burt Bacharach. 

Hall appeared on the favourite dance show, American Band Stand in late 1959 and was seen out with a variety of female singers.

Strand spared no expense in its attempts to galvanize Hall's career, hiring famed producer Jimmie Haskell to helm the majority of the singer's lone LP, Sandy and Other Larry Hall Hits, but he never again returned to the charts, cutting a handful of additional singles for Gold Leaf before exiting show business for good.  

He married Sharon Lee Hattensty in 1961 and moved to Pedee Oregon in 1967. They later divorced. They had three children, Jennifer, Toto, and Larry Jnr. 

He became involved with Barbara Gambetti after his divorce and they had a son, Jesse born in 1977. He and his family lived in Pedee, Oregon, as a gentleman farmer of a 120-acre (0.49 km2) ranch called the Circle H Ranch for the remainder of his life. 

He also sang for the rest of his life, joined by his brother Gene at various night clubs in the Willamette Valley and on the Oregon coast, and was often noted in the 'Magpie', a local musical news tabloid published in Salem, Oregon.  

Hall continued to sing and play guitar until his death from cancer on September 24, 1997. He died in Oregon at the age of 57.  (Info edited from Wikipedia & All Music)