US label distributed by Robert Hall Productions.
No composers listed unless otherwise noted.
W-1/W-2 - Production Music/????
W-3/W-4
W-5/W-6 - Activators
W-15/W-16 - Production Music
W-23/W-24 - Thematic Music
W-25/W-26 - Production Music
W-25/W-26 - Thematic Music (seemingly a misprinted W-29/W-30)
W-27/W-28 - Production Music
W-29/W-30 - Thematic Music
RH-50/RH-51 - Sound Effects
RH-52/RH-53
RH-72/RH-73
RH-74/RH-75 - Sound Effects
RH-76/RH-77
RH-78/RH-79 - Untitled
W-254/W-255 - Thematic Music
W-256/W-257 - Christmas Music/Harp Moods
W-258/W-259
W-260/W-261
W-262/W-263
W-264/W-265
W-266/W-267
W-268/W-269 - Production Music/????
W-270/W-271 - Production Music - © Gene Kauer-Doug Lackey
W-272/W-273 - Production Music
W-274/W-275 - Production Music
W-276/W-277 - Production Music - Don Great
W-278/W-279 - Production Music - Don Great/Dick Hieronymus
W-280/W-281 - Thematic Music - George Small/Paul Jost/Tony Davilio
W-282/W-283 - Thematic Music - Juan Diaz/Paul Jost/Tony Davilio/George Small/Rich Malfitano
W-284/W-285 -
W-286/W-287 - Thematic Music - Vic Szczepanski
W-288/W-289 - Production Music - © by John Danser
W-290/W-291 - Production Music - Bill Loose
W-292/W-293 - Production Music - Bill Loose
W-294/W-295 - Production Music/Percussion - Vic Szczepanski
W-296/W-297 - Production Music - Vic Szczepanski
W-298/W-299 - Production Music
W-300 - Jingles/Commercial Music
W-301 - Commercial Music - Keith Foley/Alan Baumgardner
W-302 - Commercial Music - Keith Foley
W-303 - Commercial Music - Roger Tallman
W-304 - Commercial Music
W-305 - Commercial Music - Roger Tallman
W-306
W-404/W-405 - Thematic Music
W-502/W-503
W-504/W-505
W-506/W-507 - Sound Effects
Some additional notes:
US label for stock music and sound effects run by Robert C. Hall operating from New York, USA. Since only a handfull of dates were printed on labels, the active time period can be only estimated. Between 1970 till 1984 would be a guess. Possibly in 1976 or 1977 label has modernized it's design and distributed records under the New World label. The catalogue numbers have changed from RH-xxx to W-xxx. In most cases a generic sleeve was used. Many variations and colours are known. Very few of the records have used a full cover with track titles written on a large sticker on the front. Almost every release comes without composers credits. Most of the records have used a separate catalogue number for each side of the record. All these facts make it kind of difficult to write down a discography.
I thought it would be nice to have an overview and try to list the [known] releases (and catalogue numbers) chronologically:
RH-1 to RH-99 - used for non-music and special sound effects
RH-100 to RH-245 - used for stock music named Production Music and Thematic Music mainly
RH-246/RH-247 - first record with the New World label but still using the RH-xxx catalogue number
W-248/W-249 - if this does exist, this would be the first record with New World label using the new W-xxx catalogue number
W-250 to W-299 - used for stock music named Production Music and Thematic Music mainly
W-300 to W-306 - used for stock music named Commercial Music - this is the only known series to use one catalogue number for both sides
W-400 to W-405 - used for stock music named Production Music and Thematic Music
W-500 to W-513 - used for non-music and special sound effects again, W-512/W-513 is the last catalogue number that i have found
Catalogue number deviations:
RH-400/RH-401 makes no sense at all (chronologically this should be on the New World label)
W-5/W6 - named Activators - this does not fit anywhere else
W-25/W26 - stock music - this does not fit anywhere else
Some promorional 7" without catalogue numbers exist.
Information on Robert C. Hall and his label are quite hard to trace and any knowledge about it would be apprechiated. I have corrected every discogs listing and linked to the main Robert Hall Productions label and have added all the ones that were not up there yet but there seem to be a lot of gaps still. I have looked up the place with google street view and there seems to be a fast food/breakfast joint now.
Neat!
On an incentive by PL (who aptly described it as something of a "phantom" in library history), I did some searching around for this label on the previous forum. Here are my notes:
Robert (C.) Hall Productions
115 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019
Tel.: 212-LT 1-7191
Formerly at:
309 West 57th Street, New York 19, NY
Library and sound effects label, seemingly aimed primarily or solely at radio stations. First dated mention of the company is in 1959, and the latest dated record is an LP with "© 1982" printed on the label.
Some people on the internet reference various US radio stations having employed jingles by the company, including one mention of a commissioned theme.
The eponymous Robert (C.) Hall, who presumably founded the company, seems to have been in the radio business in the post-war years. He appears listed for some radio productions, and is listed as scoring a radio quiz show in 1946, then based in NJ. Later he seems to have served as program director at Arlington, WA-based radio station WEAM in the mid-50's. In 1965 he is listed as residing at the (115 W 57) company address. There are unfortunately scant details both about the company and Mr. Hall. Perhaps the most plentiful reference to him and his company are from a 1959 appearance at a radio convention, here referenced in two different contemporary magazines:
"Whatever happened to Robert Hall?" indeed!
If the printed copyright notices found on the LPs are to be believed, it seems the copyrights were held by publishers related to the composers, rather than the Robert Hall company themselves for some of the later parts of the LP-issued catalogue.
Entities listed:
Musifex Pub. Corp (ASCAP): RH-104/RH-105, RH-204/RH-205, RH-234/RH-235
Arlington, WA-based publisher, founded by composer Robert E. Velazco (born Emil Robert Velazco, Jr. - 1924-2005). Not listed with composers. Appears on earlier records from the label, pre-"New World". May be more closely related to the label.
New Music Pub. Co. (ASCAP): W-270/W-271
Publishing company managed by Doug Lackey, primarily featuring music by Doug Lackey and Gene Kauer.
Tabby Tunes Music (BMI): W-276/W-277, W-278/W-279
Publishing company presumably founded by Don Great.
Brujo Publishing Inc. (ASCAP): W-280/W-281, W-282/W-283
Publishing company related to Paul Jost, Tony Davilio and George Small.
John Danser & Project 9 Publications (ASCAP): W-288/W-289
May-Loo Music Inc.: W-292/W-293
Publishing entity founded by Bill Loose and Billy(?) May.
Tallman Music N.Y.: W-303
Publisher founded and featuring music by Roger Tallman.
Some side notes:
There is a well-known clothes retailer of the same name (actually "Robert Hall Clothes"), who, confusingly, also had a record output with radio jingles. Some contemporary sources distinguish the two as being unrelated, and I can't find any direct tie (or suit) between the two, either.
(115 W 57):
Probably not relevant, but: c. 1939 this address housed the Metropolitan Musical Bureau, a company related to the Metropolitan Opera.
In 1953, the address housed the League of Composers. In 1955, the adress is listed as housing Golden Rule Enterprises, producers of a "dispensing brush".
(309 W 57):
Again, probably not relevant, but: The 309 address is the last residence of the late Béla Bartók, 1945. Notices from 1952 and 1964 reference the managers of Woody Herman and Rex Allen residing here. A notice 1959 mentions this being the address for Wizard Record Co., an R&B label.
Those were unfortunately all my finds for the time being.
There is no information available on the company online, but there must be some paperwork on either the company or Mr. Hall available somewhere.
(Y)our best course of action, outside of (as mentioned) contacting the still-living composers whose names appear here (Gene Kauer-Doug Lackey, Don Great-Dick Hieronymous, Paul Jost-Tony Davilio-George Small, Vic Szczepanski, John Danser, Bill Loose, Keith Foley-Alan Baumgardner, Roger Tallman), would be to visit some official registry of records to see if any more names, addresses or dates pop up.
As a response to a Dallas address being home to the label (original post lost):
See, now that's just confusing - Dallas, Texas..?
World Broadcasting System, Inc. had their own library imprint, is it possible these are just licensed cues? I see no mention of Hall on these, maybe they were eventually bought up by WBS?
edit: The "New World" brand pops up around either D-768 or D-769. D-767 has "World Broadcasting System, Inc.", Philadelphia/Hollywood.
The name might suggest the Robert Hall "New World" imprint was always under/tied to WBS?
It seems the WBS were bought up by Dallas-based Commercial Recording Corp. in approximately 1966, their offices previously being based in Philadelphia, then moved to Dallas.
