Hall had met Miles's nephew (and future drummer) Vince Wilburn Jr at kindergarten and the two became life-long friends. Wilburn's mother Dorothy, was Miles's sister. When Wilburn heard rumours that Hall was now playing guitar and sounding like Jimi Hendrix, he decided to check out his friend "I went to see Randy and he just floored me," recalls Wilburn. The two friends started playing together and at the age of sixteen, joined a local band Time, Space and Distance. The two young musicians' musical prowess soon gained them a reputation around Chicago and they did session work for local groups, including The Dells. When Hall and Wilburn were around seventeen, Pete Cosey, who had played in Miles's band from 1973-1975, began giving the youngsters lessons. "We were doing gigs with Pete, festivals and things like that. Pete would play bass and I would play guitar," recalls Hall. In 1975, Hall went off to study music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. When Hall
returned to Chicago, he joined a new band called Data, which included Wilburn, bassist Richard Patterson, keyboardist Robert Irving III and saxophonist Glenn Burris. All of these musicians would later form Miles connections, with Patterson becoming the last bassist in a Miles Davis band and the others working on Miles's comeback album, The Man With The Horn. Irving and Wilburn would also join Miles's band in the 1980s. And there were even more remarkable Miles connections with this group of young Chicagoan musicians. Hall, Irving and Wilburn would jam with other local musicians, including bassist Darryl Jones (who joined Miles's band in 1983) and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly, who played on the Amandla album. In 1979, Data disbanded and a new band was formed, AL7, which included Hall, Wilburn, Irving, Burris, bassist Felton Crews (who also joined Miles's band) and Hall's sister Saundra, a vocalist.
Although AL7 performed some gigs, their main preoccupation was rehearsing and writing material. They also worked with arranger Tom Washington (known as Tom Tom 84), who had close connections with another local band, Earth, Wind & Fire. Tom Tom 84 recorded several demos with AL7, including a track called "Space," which had been written by Robert Irving III. Miles often called his sister Dorothy on the phone and took a close interest in his nephew's musical progress. It was during a call to Dorothy in early 1980 that Miles heard the track "Space" and was gripped by the music. It was this music that finally got Miles to return to the music scene after a five-year break (however, the break wasn't total - Miles had been involved in a number of aborted musical projects during 1976-80).
Miles's record label, Columbia Records, was so excited by the prospect of Miles playing again that they flew four of the AL7 band members - Hall, Wilburn Crews and Irving - from Chicago to New York, booked them in a topflight hotel and arranged recording sessions. Hall says his reaction to the news that they would be working with Miles was: "Like a dream." Glenn Burris later joined the four and although he was at many of the sessions, he didn't play. Instead, the four Chicagoan musicians were joined by a young saxophonist Bill Evans, who had been recommended to Miles by ex-band member Dave Liebman.
The young musicians would work on the music at Miles's house most days and eventually, they went into the studio and recorded more than a dozen tracks, although Miles didn't play on any of them at this stage. One of them was "Shout," a disco-funk track written by Hall, Irving and Burris. Another was "The Man With The Horn," a tribute ballad to Miles written by Hall and Irving. The tune would not only become the title track for Miles's comeback album, but it would also become one of the most controversial recordings of Miles's career, not least because it featured the vocals of Randy Hall, who also played guitar, synthesiser and celeste on the track. "Miles really liked my voice, but I didn't think I would actually be singing on a Miles Davis record," recalls Hall. There were plans for Hall to join Miles on-stage and perform "The Man With The Horn," but this didn't happen, although Hall performs the song on the ESP 2 DVD.
The release of The Man With The Horn gave Hall a lot of exposure and as a result of his singing on the title track, he was invited to join the soul/funk band Pleasure. Even so, Hall kept in touch with Miles and every so often, he would be asked by Miles to compose some songs. One of them was written for The Rolling Stones, but was rejected by the band. But that didn't stop Miles using the song's title (but not the music) - for his 1984 album Decoy.
After leaving Pleasure, Hall carved out a successful career as an artist/producer and in 1984, he released a solo album, I Belong to You, produced by Ray Parker Jr (of Raydio and "Ghostbusters" fame). The album included contributions from Irving, Wilburn, Crews and Burris. In 1985, Hall was in Ray Parker Jr's studio, (Ameraycan) in Los Angeles, recording a follow-up solo album, Love You Like A Stranger. Once again, Crews and Irving were involved in the sessions. Meanwhile, Miles had left Columbia Records after almost thirty years and signed with Warner Bros records, with Warner's head of jazz Tommy LiPuma given the responsibility of handling Miles's musical development. During the initial stages, LiPuma was happy for Miles to choose his own musical direction. Miles decided that he wanted Hall to produce his first album for Warner Bros.
Hall decided to work with a number of people from the Love You Like A Stranger sessions on the new Miles album. One of these was Atalla Zane Giles, who had played guitar, keyboards, bass and sang on the album. Giles was asked to compose, arrange and produce the new album with Hall. Engineer Reggie Dozier was asked to join the project, as were keyboardist Adam Holzman (who later joined Miles's band), bassist Cornelius Mims, percussionist Steve Reid, Burris and Wilburn. More than a dozen tunes were recorded during the sessions, which took place between October 1985 and January 1986 and the plan was to release an album called Rubberband. "Miles wanted the street thing," recalls Hall, and so many of the tracks had a raw, funky edge to them (coincidentally, one of the tracks was called "Give It Up," the same name as a hit tune for Pleasure.).
But when LiPuma heard the Rubberband material, he was unimpressed and the album was left in the can - Miles went on to work with Marcus Miller and record Tutu. Later on, Miles's performances from a couple of the Rubberband sessions were used to create new tracks on the Doo-Bop album - much to the distress of Hall and Giles. Two tunes from the Rubberband sessions were due to appear on a retrospective set called The Last Word, but even this was abandoned. "I don't know what it was about Miles, but we always seemed to be jinxed," says Hall, "but it was a great experience to work with him. I only wish that the things we did together had come out."
All Night
Randy Hall Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A fantasy, when I saw her
Her eyes were distant green
A lonely girl, for so long
I have waited all my life
Wanting a girl like you
I have touched you many nights
All night, all night, baby loves it all night Oh, my little angel
All night, all night, baby loves it all night
An angel in the light, dancing in the night
Makes her happy
And when she h ht
I know this love is right, it's so strong
The opening lines of Randy Hall's "All Night" paint a picture of a man who has stumbled upon a dream-like figure, a girl with "distant green" eyes who has been lonely for too long. The singer seems to have a strong connection to this girl, having "waited all [his] life for a girl like [her]" and "touched [her] many nights" when "the fire came in the room." The chorus repeats the phrase "all night" in reference to the passion and love between the two, with the singer calling the girl his "little angel." The song closes with the reassurance that the love shared between the two is "right" and "strong."
From a lyrical perspective, "All Night" is a relatively straightforward love song that draws from familiar themes of passion and connection. However, it's worth noting that the lyrics possess a certain ambiguity โ for example, the dream-like quality of the singer's initial encounter with the girl could suggest that their connection is fleeting and transient. The repeated emphasis on "all night" in the chorus could also potentially hint at something unsustainable about their love or relationship.
In terms of instrumentation and production, "All Night" is a classic example of 80s R&B. The track features punchy drums, funky basslines, and a prominent guitar riff that gives the song a sense of groove and momentum. Randy Hall's vocals are soulful and expressive, conveying a sense of urgency and longing that complements the romantic nature of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
It must have been a dream
Iโm not sure if it was real or in my imagination
A fantasy, when I saw her
It felt like a magical moment when I first saw her
Her eyes were distant green
She had a sense of loneliness despite her captivating green eyes
A lonely girl, for so long
She had been waiting for love for a long time
I have waited all my life
I have been longing for a girl like her all my life
Wanting a girl like you
I have been wishing for someone like you
I have touched you many nights
I have imagined being with you many nights
While the fire came in the room
My passion for you became intense
All night, all night, baby loves it all night
We will make love and stay together all night long
Oh, my little angel
You are an angel to me
An angel in the light, dancing in the night
You are a beautiful sight, dancing in the light of the night
Makes her happy
It brings us both joy
And when she h ht
When she is with me
I know this love is right, it's so strong
I feel confident that our love is true and powerful
Writer(s): Raymond C. Jones, Randy Hall
Contributed by Cameron T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.