Tom T. Hall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tom T. Hall | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Thomas Hall |
| Born | May 25, 1936 |
| Origin | Olive Hill, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Bluegrass, Country, Outlaw Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1963 – Present |
| Label(s) | Mercury, RCA, Columbia Blue Circle |
| Associated acts | Dave Dudley, Patti Page, Johnny Wright, Roger Miller, Johnny Cash |
Tom T. Hall (born May 25, 1936 in Olive Hill, Kentucky) is an American country balladeer, songwriter, and country singer. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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 WVRC Radio in Spencer WV in the 1960s.
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 Story Teller," 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, 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 #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 #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, but did not win, for the same award in 1976 for his album Greatest Hits, Volume 2.
He also hosted the syndicated country music TV show "Pop! Goes the Country" in 1980.
His 1996 song "Little Bitty", from the album Songs from Sopchoppy, became a #1 single that year when it was recorded by Alan Jackson for the album Everything I Love.
In 1998, his 1972 song "Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine" came second in a BBC Radio 2 poll to find the UK's favourite easy listening record, despite never having been a hit in the UK, and familiar to Radio 2 listeners mostly through occasional plays by DJ Terry Wogan. [1]
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.[2]
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
Contents |
[edit] Discography
[edit] Books written by Hall
- How I Write Songs, Why You Can – copyright 1976; published by Chappell Music Co.
- The Storyteller's Nashville – copyright 1979; published by Doubleday & Co.
- The Laughing Man of Woodmont Coves – copyright 1982; published by Doubleday & Co.
- The Acts of Life – copyright 1986; published by The University Of Arkansas Press
- Homewords – copyright 1986; published by The University of Tennessee Press/ Knoxville
- The Songwriter's Handbook – copyright 1976, 1987; published by Rutledge Hill Press
- Christmas and the Old House – copyright 1989; published by Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
- Spring Hill, Tennessee – copyright 1990; published by Longstreet Press, Inc.
- What a Book! – copyright 1996; published by Longstreet Press, Inc.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Eagles' Hotel flys to top of poll", Birmingham Post, Dec 8, 1998; p. 16
- ^ 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.
