Editorial: Let’s Talk About Tom T. Hall

Tom T. Hall (from 2008 via TomTHall.net)

I don’t know exactly how old I was – six or seven maybe – when I heard a song on a country solid gold Saturday night radio station throw out the lyric, “… well dad, I got to go, we’ve got a dance to work in Cartersville tonight…”.

See, I’m from outside of Cartersville, GA. It was a little town an hour from Atlanta when I was a kid. Now it the northwestern-most suburb in the sprawl that is Atlanta hell. Back then, the only things to come out of Carterville was Rudy York, Glad bags and highway 41.

Now, Cartersville can claim – some proudly, some not – Chloe Moretz, Butch Walker, Ronnie Brown, Cletis T. Judd, Newman from Seinfeld and a litany of minor league baseball players. But back then, I was tickled to hear my city’s name in a song on the radio.

Back to the song … I asked by dad who it was. “Tom T. Hall,” he said.

The song was “Homecoming” and it hit as high as #5 on the charts in 1969. Over the years, I’d hear more songs by Tom T. Hall. And with each passing year I found myself becoming a bigger and bigger fan of his work.

The Kentucky native is a master lyricist. His songs may not seem complex, but he’s a lot like Ernest Hemingway in that way. Simple words do not a simple man, make.

Tom T. Hall – “Homecoming” (live via ArnesCountry)

From the mid ’60′s to the mid ’80′s – plus a few years on either end – Tom T. Hall was Kris Kristopherson without the acting. He wrote songs that were hits for other artists while having his own successful recording career. Some of his other hits were “The Year That Clayton Delany Died”, “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine”, “I Love”, “I Like Beer”, “PS I Love You” and “Harper Valley P.T.A.”.

But, like a lot of other artist from that era, Country music changed and shunned the artist that had always been the backbone of the genre. Weathered lines and hard times were replaced by cowboy hats and younger and younger artists.

In the late ’90′s Alan Jackson recorded his song “Little Bitty” and BBC Radio 2 named “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine” the second most popular easy listening record. But other than those blimps, Hall was an afterthought.

While he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, he’s been mostly overlooked even by those in the most recent generations whose roots awareness was more focused on Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson or even Glen Campbell. Hall now mostly works in Bluegrass but remains far below the radar.

I wish that weren’t the case. Every year or so it seems that I take to this space to expound on the greatness of the man and his work.

Earlier today, I heard from Sean at Daytrotter. He has Tom T. Hall for an upcoming session. Personally, I’m excited to hear Tom T. perform. But I’m more excited that a new generation my be exposed to him for the first time.

If anyone should be able to bask in the joy of a late-career Renaissance, it is him.

Tom T. Hall – “Homecoming” (live in 2008)

Highway 41 still runs through Cartersville. And the Little League ballpark complex is still named after the depression era Tigers’ slugger Rudy York. They shut down the Glad bag plant where my dad put in 30 years. But now they have a Bud plant. Fitting, I suppose.