Vera Hall Alabama folk singer Vera Hall is considered a key example of early American blues and folk music. She was discovered in the early 1930s by ethnomusicologist John Avery Lomax who recorded her for the Library of Congress. Her recordings were played by the BBC as an example of early American folk music. She was further promoted by Lomax's son Alan Lomax who took her to perform in New York and wrote the book "Rainbow Signs" about her. She wrote and recorded the song "Trouble So Hard", which was sampled by Moby for his hit song "Natural Blues" in 2000.