Joe Hall

Joe Hall (born Hans Joachim Boenke, May 15, 1947 – March 22, 2019) was a German-Canadian folk rock singer-songwriter.

Hall was born in Wuppertal, Germany, the son of Johann Boenke and Johanna Maria Zeirmann. He grew up in London, Ontario, Canada, and by the mid-1960s had begun performing and touring with a band, the Eyeball Wine Company.An album, Joe Hall and the Eyeball Wine Company, was released in 1972, followed by a solo album using his real name, H J Boenke, produced by Daniel and Bob Lanois, in 1976. In the 1970s and 1980s he led a new band, Continental Drift, based in Toronto, and released several more albums.Many of his records were released independently.

As well as his songs, Hall became noted for his "eccentric and often very funny stage chatter". One obituary commented on his performances: "From his then-considered daring stage apparel (a kilt-like skirt with workboots and oversized flowing bow tie, for example...) to his Zappaesque monologues and asides during songs, he seemed to do whatever came to mind with no regard for decorum or convention, his aim solely on the integrity of his artistic expression."

From the late 1980s he lived in Peterborough, Ontario.He continue to perform, and recorded and mentored younger musicians.He died at home in 2019, aged 71, after suffering from liver cancer for several years.

• Joe Hall and the Eyeball Wine Company (1972)
• H J Boenke (1976)
• On the Avenue (1978)
• Drinking with the Continental Drift (1979)
• Rancho Banano (1980)
• Skeleton Key (1987)
• Rapture (1993)
• Fresh Outta Rehab (1995)
• Travelling Without Deodorant: The Best of Joe Hall 1972–1988 (compilation, 1999)
• Incontinental Drift (2007)
• Direct to Delete (2016)
• Joe Hall and the Continental Drift (2018)
• Geezerhood (n.d.)