For over 20 years, Selah has displayed a talent and passion for ministry and a deep love for the Church. These have been constants for the group—comprised of Todd Smith, Amy Perry and Alan Hall. In their two-decade career, this Christian music trio has achieved more than four million units in music sales and received eight Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, a Gold-certified album, and eight No. 1 singles.

Selah is known for their signature vocal harmonies including hits such as, “You Raise Me Up,” “Wonderful, Merciful Savior,” and “You Amaze Us.” Smith, Hall and Perry together have graced stages like Carnegie Hall, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, and the Grand Ole Opry, while touring with such artists as Casting Crowns, Point of Grace, Steven Curtis Chapman, Natalie Grant, Michael W. Smith and more.

Selah recently released a new album, Firm Foundation, which is it’s first album with Integrity Music. CCM caught up with the members of Selah for a 3 part Q&A series. Here is what Alan Hall had to say.

 

Artist Name:
Alan Hall

Age:
49

Genres:
Pop, AC, CCM, Inspirational

Hometown:
Knoxville, TN

Label:
Integrity Music

Hobbies/Interests Apart from Music:
Reading, bowling, listening to music and watching films.

Last Netflix Binge:
The Moonstone (a 6-episode series based on the oldest detective novel in the English language—it’s 151 years old).

Musical Influences:
Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Matt Rollings (piano), David Maddux (piano), Elton John (piano)

Very First Musical Purchase:
I don’t remember my first vinyl purchase offhand (I grew up in the 70s), but I do remember my first CD purchase in 1987: it was a Patsy Cline CD called The Last Sessions.

CCM: What led you to pursue a career or ministry in music?
Alan: I knew from an early age that I wanted to help people through music. I didn’t know exactly whta form that would take. I even considered going into Music Therapy when I got to college.

CCM: What was the last song you listened to on your playlist or stereo?
Alan: Beethoven‘s 1st Symphony in C Major

CCM: What was the last book you read?
Alan: To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke

CCM: If you could tell the world about another artist/band to check out, who would it be?
Alan: I would reach back to a well-known artist that the younger generations may not know about—Linda Ronstadt. Besides having one of the greatest voices God ever created, she was also incredibly adventurous musically and succeeeded in almost every musical style imaginable—rock. pop, country, folk, Broadway, operetta, jazz standards, Mexican folk music (her father was Mexican).

CCM: Name a song that you wish you’d written (and why).
Alan: “Crazy”—written by Willie Nelson and recorded by Patsy Cline. The #1 Jukebox song of all time. A perfect heartbreak song, and we all know how that feels!

CCM: How did you arrive at the name of your new album?
Alan: Funnily enough, the title track didn’t grab me at first. Amy really loved the song and believed in it, and fought for it to be on the album. As we kept going in the album-making process, the title Firm Foundation just seemed to really pull the various strands of the album together.

CCM: Who are your biggest musical influences?
Alan: Emmylou Harris, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Matt Rollings (piano), David Maddux (piano) and Elton John (piano).

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