MANNA MUSIC "HAL SPENCER"

Hal Spencer was born in Los Angeles, California in 1936.  He graduated from Hollywood High School in 1954.

As a 1958 graduate of Westmont College, and a graduate student at San Jose State and UCLA, he pursued studies in education and school administration.

During college, and in between his eight years of full-time teaching in California, he also served five years in the Marine Corp Reserves, and served two years of active duty in the US Army.

He left the field of education to take a position with RCA Records, and also worked in music licensing for television and films.

In 1969, after the retirement of his father, Hal assumed the administrative responsibilities of Manna Music, Inc.

Hal’s capabilities and contributions to the music industry are wide and varied.  Not only does he have experience in songwriting and producing, he is a frequent seminar speaker and instructor for song writing workshops.  Hal compliments the music world having served as president of the International Gospel Music Publishers Association in Nashville, president of the Church Music Publishers, Nashville, and has served as a Board of Director for the Gospel Music Association, Nashville, and the Academy of Country Music in Los Angeles.

Hal served on the West Coast Publishers’ Advisory Board for ASCAP, and for ten years he was a member of the NARAS Screening Committee, which reviews nominations for the “Grammy Awards”.

For ten years, he served on the Board of Directors of the Western Music Association, serving as President from 1991-1994.  He now serves as President of the Board of Advisors, following the death of Rex Allen.

Hal is President and CEO of the Manna Music Group, where he directs the activities of several of the country’s largest music publishing companies.  These companies publish Gospel, Western, Country, and Educational music.

Hal also serves as Trustee of the recording royalties for the original members of the Sons of the Pioneers, protecting the interest and concerns of the surviving widows and children.  Hal’s father, Tim Spencer, was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, along with Roy Rogers and Bob Nolan.

Hal works hard to protect the heritage of Western music.  He has dedicated himself to preserving the history, as well as promoting its future.

Along with Joann Hale, Hal co-produced the three-day “Tribute To The Singing Cowboy”, held at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Center in 1992, and also produced the “60-Year Tribute Concert”, honoring Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers, held at the University of Arizona’s Centennial Hall, in Tucson, Arizona in 1994.

He continues to be involved in the Western Music Hall of Fame, and in expanding the activities of the Nolan/Spencer Trust, a Trust set up to provide scholarships for students who specialize in music related to the West.

Hal and his wife, Julie, divide their time between their main residence in Pacific City, Oregon and a home in Tucson, Arizona.