David Hall (b. December 16, 1916 New Rochelle, New York — d. April 10, 2012 Castine, Maine) was a sound archivist and writer. Career Hall was born to Fairfax Hall (1886–1958), a pediatrician, and Eleanor Raeburn Remy (maiden; 1895–1962). He attended college-preparatory school at Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating in 1935, and went on to Yale University, earning a B.A. in 1939. Hall also did postgraduate work at Columbia University from 1940 to 1941. At the urging of family friend, Saturday Review of Literature Editor Norman Cousins, Hall abandoned his graduate studies to write an annotated discography of recorded sound. The book instructed record collectors on "how to lay a solid foundation for a record library, what pitfalls to avoid in the buying of records, whether or not it is advisable to specialize, and how to distinguish between fair and excellent recordings of the same composition." The book also provided tips on playback equipment and offered detailed commentary on the whole range of recorded music, from classical through experimental music, jazz, folk, and spoken word. The Record Book appeared in 1940 and was followed by a series of supplements, and international edition (1948). The last supplement appeared in 1950. The series was an immediate hit, selling more than 100,000 copies. In 1940, Hall began a lifelong involvement with the record business, taking a job as an advertising copywriter with Columbia Records, then located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1942, he became music program annotator for the NBC Symphony Orchestra – the all-star orchestra conducted by Arturo Toscanini. In 1948, Hall joined forces with fellow Yale graduate John Hammond on a quest to post-war Europe on behalf of Mercury Records, then a Chicago-based produced of "pop" material. Wishing to enter the growing classical music market, Mercury executives realized that radio stations and governments in formerly Nazi-occupied countries held a gold mine in superb performances by Europe's top musicians. Hammond's and Hall's objective was to acquire these assets for Mercury. Hammond had hired Hall, "a well-known authority on classical recording, to handle the considerable job of cataloging Czech and German material. He was known and respected by the Czechs, who were interested in establishing an international records archive. David would be an asset in delicate negotiations." Hall and Hammond left Prague one step ahead of Soviet forces as they crushed Czechoslovakia's democratic government. Hall remained at Mercury Records until 1956 as classic music director.