1948-07-23

John Joseph Hall is an American musician, songwriter, politician, environmentalist, and community activist. He co-founded the group Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) and helped organize the 1979 No Nukes concerts at Madison Square Garden. His song Power was its anthem, performed and recorded there by the Doobie Brothers with James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Carly Simon, Nicolette Larson, Phoebe Snow, and many more. That song was also sung by Holly Near, Peter Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger and others. Hall served on the board of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in 2004 and 2005. In 2006 John was elected to the US House of Representatives representing NY-19; he was re-elected in 2008. He chaired the Subcommittee on Veterans’ Disabilities and authored the Veterans’ Claims Modernization Act of 2008, which passed both House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by President George W. Bush who called it “good government.” He also served on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.