Tom T. Hall

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Tom T. Hall

Tom T. Hall in 1967
Background information
Birth name Thomas Hall
Born (1936-05-25) May 25, 1936
Origin Olive Hill, Kentucky, U.S.
Genres Bluegrass, country, Outlaw Country
Occupations Singer, Songwriter
Instruments Vocals, Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin
Years active 1963 - 1997
Labels Mercury, RCA, Columbia
Blue Circle
Associated acts Dave Dudley, Patti Page, Johnnie Wright, Roger Miller, Johnny Cash
Website Official Website of Tom T. Hall

Thomas "Tom T." Hall (born May 25, 1936, in Olive Hill, Kentucky) is a retired American country music singer-songwriter. He has written 11 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the No. 1 international pop crossover smash "Harper Valley PTA" and the hit "I Love", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. He became known to fans as "The Storyteller," thanks to his storytelling skills in his songwriting.

Biography

As a teenager, Hall organized a band called the Kentucky Travelers that performed before movies for a traveling theater. During a stint in the Army, Hall performed over the Armed Forces Radio Network and wrote comic songs about Army experiences. His early career included being a radio announcer at WRON, a local radio station in Ronceverte, West Virginia. Hall was also an announcer at WSPZ, which later became WVRC, Radio in Spencer, West Virginia in the 1960s.[1]

Hall's big songwriting break came in 1963, when country singer Jimmy C. Newman recorded his song, "DJ For a Day." Soon, Hall moved to Nashville, and within months, he had songs climbing the charts. Hall has been nicknamed "The Storyteller," and he has written songs for dozens of country stars, including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson, and Bobby Bare.

One of his earliest successful songwriting ventures, "Harper Valley PTA," was recorded in 1968 by Jeannie C. Riley, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Country Music Chart a week apart, sold over six million copies, and won both a Grammy Award and CMA award. The song would go on to inspire a motion picture and television program of the same name. Hall himself has recorded this song, on his album The Definitive Collection (as track No. 23). Hall's recording career took off after Ms. Riley's rendition of the song, and he had such hits as "A Week in a Country Jail," "(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine," "I Love," "Country Is," "The Year Clayton Delaney Died," "I Like Beer," "Faster Horses (the Cowboy and the Poet)", and many others. He is also noted for his children-oriented songs, including "Sneaky Snake" and "I Care," the latter of which hit No. 1 on the country charts in 1975.

Hall won the Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1973 for the notes he wrote for his album Tom T. Hall's Greatest Hits. He was nominated for, but did not win, the same award in 1976 for his album Greatest Hits, Volume 2. He has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1971.[2][3]

He also hosted the syndicated country music TV show Pop! Goes the Country from 1980-1982.[4]

His 1996 song "Little Bitty", from the album Songs from Sopchoppy, became a No. 1 single that year when it was recorded by Alan Jackson for the album Everything I Love.

In 1998, his 1972 song "Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine" came in second in a BBC Radio 2 poll to find the UK's favorite easy listening record, despite never having been a hit in the UK and being familiar to Radio 2 listeners mostly through occasional plays by DJ Terry Wogan.[5]

His song "I Love", in which the narrator lists the things in life that he loves, was used, with altered lyrics, in a popular 2003 TV commercial for Coors Light.[6]

On July 3, 2007, he released the CD Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie & Tom T. on his independent bluegrass label Blue Circle Records.

On February 12, 2008, Hall was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

Main article: Tom T. Hall discography

Books written by Hall

  • How I Write Songs, Why You Can (1976), Chappell Music Co.
  • The Songwriter's Handbook (1976), Rutledge Hill Press
  • The Storyteller's Nashville (1979), Doubleday & Co.
  • The Laughing Man of Woodmont Coves (1982), Doubleday & Co.
  • The Acts of Life (1986), The University Of Arkansas Press
  • Homewords (1986), The University of Tennessee Press
  • Christmas and the Old House (1989), Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
  • Spring Hill, Tennessee (1990), Longstreet Press, Inc.
  • What a Book! (1996), Longstreet Press, Inc.

See also

  • Category:Songs written by Tom T. Hall
  • Category:Tom T. Hall songs
  • Category:Tom T. Hall albums

References

  1. ↑ "History of WSPZ/WVRC, Spencer". WVRC. Retrieved July 13, 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Tom T. Hall". Grand Ole Opry. Retrieved June 29, 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Opry Member List PDF". April 23, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Full cast and crew for "Pop! Goes the Country"". IMDB. Retrieved July 13, 2012. 
  5. ↑ "Eagles' Hotel flys to top of poll", Birmingham Post, Dec 8, 1998; p. 16
  6. ↑ THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: 1-26-03: PROCESS; How to Write a Catchy Beer Ad, Chris Ballard, The New York Times
  • Allen, Bob. (1998). "Tom T. Hall". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 224–5.

External links

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