15 years on the “General Jackson Showboat” in Nashville, Tennessee
4 Seasons of hosting his own “Shotgun Red Variety Show” for RFD TV
10 Years on TNN’s “Nashville Now” with Ralph Emery
8 Years on the television show “Hee Haw“
10 Times nominated “Music City News” – Country Comedy Act of the year
10 Years as a featured act at “The Nashville Nightlife Dinner Theatre“
The host of “Cooking with Shotgun Red” on YouTube
Inducted into the “Minnesota Musicians Hall of Fame“
Steve Hall, a native of Brainerd, Minnesota. He was best known as co-host for the television talk show “Nashville Now”,
often appearing and adding comedy bits alongside the show’s host, Ralph Emery. Steve Hall comedian and the voice of Shotgun Red.
The puppet was discovered by Steve in a Minnesota hobby shop in 1980. He first used Shotgun Red as the emcee for his band at the time, Southbound ’76. After traveling to Nashville to compete in the final round of The Seagrams 7 Battle of the Bands Contest, Steve and Shotgun Red crashed Ralph Emery’s local morning TV show. Ralph fell in love with the little puppet, and later made him his co-host on TNN’s popular talk show, “Nashville Now”, which aired from 1983-1993.
Steve Hall along with his little buddy Shotgun Red, went on to appear on the television variety show, “Hee Haw” regularly for ten years. Steve hosted The Nashville Network’s very first music video show “Country Clips” for six years. During that time, Shotgun Red interviewed many country artists, including Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, and many more.
Over the years, Steve and Shotgun made appearances on The Grand Ole Opry, performed on country cruises with other country artists, appeared on Bill Engvall’s Country Comedy Special, and performed along side many famous country artists and comedians.
Steve Hall and his co-host Miss Sheila, created their own television show on RFD TV called “The Shotgun Red Variety Show.” It aired for four seasons from 2011 through 2014. The show featured a variety of known and unknown acts from around the country.
In addition to touring around the world, Steve Hall and The Shotgun Red Show were the longest featured act aboard the world-famous “General Jackson Showboat” in Nashville, Tennessee. His popular 8-piece country comedy show performed the midday cruise for over 15 years. The Shotgun Red Band featured, amazing musicians and vocalists that performed impressions of over 60 artists.
Steve enjoyed hunting and fishing and always loved to cook. He wanted to share his love of cooking, so in 2014 he and Miss Sheila created his YouTube channel, “Cooking with Shotgun Red.” They filmed the first shows aboard the 80 ft. houseboat he built and named after his longtime partner, fiancé, “Miss Sheila”.
We lost Steve in December 2018, but his unforgettable legacy lives on through his stage performances, television appearances, and his Youtube Cooking show. Steve was larger than life, one of a kind, and left us way too soon.
To see a biography on The History of Shotgun Red, watch the video below. “The History of Shotgun Red (From $40 to Fame)