At first glance, the debaucherous indiscretions of the rock star lifestyle would not seem to have much in common with typically more staid lifestyle of a member of Congress. Not so for Rep. John Hall (D-N.Y.), the former front man for the 1970's-era pop-rock band Orleans, who was pictured shirtless -- and perhaps fully naked -- on a recently-resurfaced album cover.
Roll Call's "Heard on the Hill" made the observation on Thursday after the humor website Cracked.com posted a link to the "The 19 Most Hilariously Failed Attempts at Sexy Album Covers." Right there at #14 is the 1976 cover of Orleans' "Waking and Dreaming" and smack in the center is the bearded future congressman, John Hall.
Stephen Colbert made note of the album cover when he interviewed Hall back in 2006, and Hall openly touts his musical career on his official Congressional website, though he doesn't feature any cover art.
When the media news and gossip website, FishbowlDC, attempted to delve a little deeper into the matter, they found Hall's office less than cooperative:
"He's gone for the day," the receptionist replied after FishbowlDC tried several times to reach Doug MacPherson, the press secretary, by phone and e-mail. MacPherson requested to conduct the interview by e-mail and then did not respond to multiple requests for comment about his boss's naked album cover.
FishbowlDC: "He's gone for the day at 3 p.m.?" (Admittedly, there was attitude in my voice.)
The receptionist then hemmed and hawed and said MacPherson was "Gone for the day ... with the congressman." (Right, of course.)
Here for your viewing and listening pleasure, a live performance of Orleans' "Dance With Me":