FWSO Pops Concert - "Ray Charles, Motown and Beyond!"

Recently The Travelling Toe and a Dear Friend attended the Sunday matinee of the FWSO Pops series at beautiful Bass Hall in downtown Fort Worth.  The program was titled,"Ray Charles, Motown and Beyond!"

The orchestra was conducted by Ron Spigelman.

Ron Spigelman

The program began with Mr. Spigelman leading the orchestra in a rousing rendition of "Fifth of Beethoven.

Ellis Hall

Then the star of the show, Ellis Hall came on stage and started off with "How Sweet It is". He went on to sing many audience favorites such as "My Cherie Armour", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", and closed the first half of the program with "I Heard It Through The Grapevine". Mr. Hall sang that song in the California Raisin commercials. Do you remember those commercials Dear Readers?

The second part of the programs started off with "Let The Good Times Roll". Of course for the Ray Charles tribute, he sang several of Mr. Charles' signatures songs such as "Hit The Road Jack" and "Georgia On My Mind". He also sang "You Don't Know Me" and "I Can't Stop Loving You". The program ended with "What'd I Say?".

Mr.Hall lost his eyesight at a young age.  He was lead singer of the Tower Of Power group from 1984 -1988. He can sing 5 octaves and plays several instruments including guitar and piano.

What a wonderful program!  The audience was most appreciative of Mr. Hall's performance and talent

After the show Mr. Hall made his way to the lobby area to sign CD's and meet with fans.

Ellis Hall

            

Bass Hall