Title: Wendell Hall Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1915-1962, 1967

Creator:

• Hall, Wendell, 1896-1969

Call Number: U.S. Mss 50AF; Micro 641; Audio 2038A; M97-008

Quantity: 0.8 cubic feet (2 archives boxes), 1 reel of microfilm (35mm), and 4 disc recordings; plus additions of 0.1 cubic feet (1 folder)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of an early radio performer who was most famous for his composition “It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'.” The collection consists of biographical material and microfilmed scrapbooks, fan mail, miscellaneous printed matter, and recordings, including one with Milton Berle.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0050af

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Wendell Woods Hall, radio's first sustaining artist, was born in Kansas in 1896 and raised in Chicago, Illinois. After beginning his career in the entertainment field as a xylophone player, he soon entered orchestra and night club work. Hall moved into the growing radio field as a ukulele player and singer after World War I. In 1924 he participated in two radio “firsts.” Along with Will Rogers and others, he participated in the first commercial radio hookup which broadcast presidential election returns. In the same year his was the first marriage ceremony to be broadcast over the air.

As radio stations spread across the country, Hall went on tour, visiting thirty-five stations. His tour carried him into the South, although he had never visited Alabama when he wrote “Headin' Home Bound for Birmingham” in 1927. This song and Hall's unique ukelele accompaniment were to be famous features of his act for many years. Among Hall's other compositions were “Underneath the Mellow Moon,” “My Carolina Rose,” and “My Dream Sweetheart.” But of the nearly one thousand other songs he wrote his most famous was unquestionably “It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo.” This song sold more sheet music than any other song published prior to 1923 and over two million records in Hall's own version alone.

Hall retired from radio performing in the late 1940s. Although he tried television in 1951, he found the new medium unsatisfactory. He died in 1969.

The Wendell Hall papers consist of fan mail, miscellaneous printed matter, scrapbooks, and four disc recordings. The materials trace Hall's career, but also provide some information about vaudeville and early radio.

The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL, 1938-1962, includes a 1938 ASCAP biography, two newspaper stories written about Hall after 1962, and a few miscellaneous pieces. Also includes and interview of Hall conducted by Gerald Fritz, as University of Wisconsin graduate student in 1967.

The CORRESPONDENCE, 1923-1929, consists primarily of routine fan mail. There are also congratulatory telegrams from notable entertainment personalities and “radio appreciation” post cards. These were form cards on which radio listeners noted the programs they liked, the types of radio sets they owned, the quality of reception, and other information which aided stations and set manufacturers to determine how well the broadcasts were succeeding.

The PUBLICATIONS, 1921-1945, consist of love poems, sheet music and a ukulele instruction book, all by Hall.

PROGRAMS AND CATALOGS, 1916-1936, include programs from various shows in which Hall participated and catalogs listing a few Hall selections.

The SCRAPBOOKS, 1915-1938; 1951, include one large book of newspaper clippings which trace Hall's career from the early days to the late 1930s. There are also a few clippings about his attempt at television. Other items in the scrapbooks are contracts, tickets, sheet music covers, and other miscellaneous pieces. The years 1930 and 1931 are documented in two small, separate scrapbooks. Because of deterioration, all of the scrapbooks have been microfilmed. Most multi-paged items, such as programs, catalogs, and sheet music, were removed and are filed with the other papers. The scrapbooks were destroyed after filming.

The collection is completed by a number of AUDIO RECORDINGS by Hall, including one with Milton Berle.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mrs. Wendell Hall, Chicago, Illinois, 1962, 1963; and Wendell Hall, Fairhope, Alabama, 1963. Accession Number: MCHC62-43; MCHC63-041; MCHC63-090; M97-008

Processing Information

Processed by Kathryn Stallard and Carolyn J. Mattern, June 1978.

U.S. Mss 50AF	Series: Biographical Material
Box   1 Folder   1	1938, 1962
M97-008 Folder   1	Wendell Hall interview conducted by Gerald Fritz, University of Wisconsin graduate student, 1967
U.S. Mss 50AF	Series: Correspondence	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2-5	1923 January-1926 January
Box   2 Folder   1-3	1926 February-1929; 1951
	Series: Publications	⇧
Box   2 Folder   4	1921-1945
	Series: Programs and Catalogs	⇧
Box   2 Folder   5	1916-1936
Micro 641	Series: Scrapbooks	⇧
Reel   1	Scrapbook #1, 1930
Reel   1	Scrapbook #2, 1930-1931
Reel   1	Scrapbook #3, 1915-1938; 1951
Audio 2038A	Series: Audio Recordings	⇧
2038A/1	“Wendell Hall Sings a medley of his own songs” Note: Formerly Disc 26A.
2038A/1 (continued)	“Gillette Summer Hotel,” August 22, 1937
2038A/2	“Yesterday/Down Kentucky Way” Note: Formerly Disc 27A.
2038A/3	“It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo” Note: Formerly Disc 28A. Scope and Content Note: (Japanette-Casino Dance Orchestra)
2038A/4	“We're Gonna Have Weather.” Note: Formerly Disc 29A.
2038A/4 (continued)	“It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo” (2nd installment)