Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was the longtime music coordinator of Saturday Night Live, was also known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles (jazz, classical, rock, Tin Pan Alley). Willner died during the COVID-19 pandemic from complications brought on by the virus.
Early life
Willner was born in Philadelphia in 1956. His father and uncle were Holocaust survivors. Willner moved to New York City in 1974 to attend New York University, but did not graduate.
Career
In the late 1970s, Willner worked under record producer Joel Dorn, credited as associate producer on Leon Redbone's albums Double Time and Champagne Charlie, and The Neville Brothers' Fiyo on the Bayou. In 1980, Willner became the sketch music producer of Saturday Night Live, where he chose the music to be used in sketches. Willner held this job until his death in 2020. From 1988 to 1990 he produced the TV program Sunday Night (later renamed Night Music), which was hosted by David Sanborn and presented musicians from a wide variety of genres.
Willner married television producer Sheila Rogers. In November, 2004, their son Arlo was born.
Death
Willner had symptoms consistent with COVID-19. He died at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on April 7, 2020, one day after his 64th birthday during the pandemic in New York City. A tribute to Willner was played during the April 11, 2020 episode of Saturday Night Live, featuring both the reminiscences of current and past cast members and a choral rendition of Lou Reed's song "Perfect Day".
On 3 April, 2026, U2 released "Song for Hal" as part of their Easter Lily EP. The song was written as a tribute to Willner after his death in the early stages of the Covid pandemic.
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill (1994) re-creation of the previous Weill tribute as a Canadian TV special directed by Larry Weinstein. A CD was issued including performances by Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. The list of performers on this recording is different from the list of performers on his previous Weill tribute. Some of those that are on both tributes, such as Lou Reed and Charlie Haden, provide new recordings of the pieces they contributed previously. Many of the songs included are the same, although the new recording tends toward more historical recordings (Lotte Lenya, Bertolt Brecht, and Weill himself), while the previous one tended toward more avant-garde tributes.
The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited (2006). Recorded at Hal Willner's Harry Smith Project events in London (1999), Brooklyn (1999) and LA (2001), plus a DVD documentary.
Nevermore: Poems & Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (Brooklyn 1995), which led to the album Closed on Account of Rabies (1997), then Hal Willner's Halloween Show: Never Bet the Devil your Head (Los Angeles 2002), then Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (Los Angeles 2001)
Forest of No Return: Hal Willner Presents Vintage Disney Songbook (London 2007), followed by Stay Awake: 20th anniversary of the classic recording of Disney songs (Brooklyn 2008) (Hal Willner's Stay Awake at UCLA was scheduled for October 30, 2008, but was cancelled due to unavailability of some performers)
Rogue's Gallery (NYC 2007, Dublin 2008, London 2008, Gateshead 2008, Sydney 2010)
Hal Willner's Bill Withers Project (Brooklyn 2008)
Begats: Readings of the Work of Burroughs, DeSade & Poe (Brooklyn 2009)
Gotta Right to Sing the Blues? Music and Readings from A Fine Romance, Jewish Songwriters, American Songs (NYC 2010)
An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends (New York, Carnegie Hall, 2009)
The Bells: A Day Long Celebration of Lou Reed (New York, July 30, 2016)
'Tomorrow Is A Long Time: Songs from Bob Dylan's 1963 Town Hall Concert' (New York Town Hall Thursday, May 24, 2018)
Spoken word recordings
With the increasing prevalence of tribute albums in the late 1980s (such as Red Hot + Blue), Willner decided to turn his attention to spoken word recordings.
Closed on Account of Rabies (Mouth Almighty Records 1997) consists of readings of Edgar Allan Poe poems and tales by Iggy Pop and others. As Willner's only "spoken word" tribute album, it fits in the context of his other music-based tributes.
In with the Out Crowd (Mouth Almighty Records 1998) by poet Bob Holman.
Let the Buyer Beware (2004) is an authoritative six CD box set of historic recordings by the comedianLenny Bruce.
The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved starring Tim Robbins as Hunter S. Thompson, delivering an inspired read of the legendary 1970 sports article for Scanlan's Monthly, which is widely credited as the origin of 'Gonzo Journalism'. Co-starring Ralph Steadman, as himself, with musical accompaniment by Bill Frisell
Film-related projects
The Carl Stalling Project: Two CDs of music composed and/or arranged by Carl Stalling for Warner Brotherscartoons. The first CD was released in 1990; "Volume 2" was released in 1995.
