Tom T. Hall

Infobox musical artist


Name = Tom T. Hall
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Thomas Hall
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1936|5|25
Origin = Olive Hill, Kentucky, U.S.
Instrument = Vocals, Guitar
Genre = Bluegrass, Country, Outlaw Country
Occupation = Singer, Songwriter
Years_active = 1963 – Present
Label = Mercury, RCA, Columbia
[http://www.bluecirclerecords.com Blue Circle]
Associated_acts = Dave Dudley, Patti Page, Johnny Wright, Roger Miller, Johnny Cash
URL =

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.

As a teenager, Hall put together 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 a DJ 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, and Alan Jackson.

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.

He also hosted the syndicated country music TV show "Pop! Goes the Country" in 1980.

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

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

Discography

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.

See also

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References

*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

* [http://www.tomthall.net Tom T. Hall official website]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=TOM|T.|HALL&sql=11:difrxql5ldse~T0 Tom T. Hall page at allmusic.com]
* [http://www.bluecirclerecords.com Blue Circle Records]
* [http://www.goodhomegrownmusic.com Good Home Grown Music Publishing]
* [http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=2449 Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum]