And Tom T. Hall makes 3 :-(

I believe most people listening to music hear the singer first, the band second (or those two reversed), then the song itself (assuming the music is in song form, in other words not Classical and most improvisational Jazz.). However, singers, musicians, and record producers hear the song first. In the same way that actors, directors, and movie producers read the script or screenplay before deciding whether or not to become involved with it.

So while we are all mourning the deaths of Don Everly and Charlie Watts, let me bring to your attention the death this week of Tom T. Hall. Tom didn’t crossover to Rock and Pop audiences the way some other Country artists did---singers and writers like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Dolly Parton, Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris.

But his peers considered him a major songwriting and performing artist. I myself---though familiar with his name---was unaware of his talent until I heard Buddy Miller’s unbelievably great recording of what is now one of my Top 10 Songs Of All Time: "That’s How I got To Memphis". I couldn’t believe I was unaware of such a great song, which I subsequently learned had been recorded by LOTS of singers. With good reason: it’s a fantastic song.

In 1998 Delmore Records in partnership with Sire Records released an album (sorry @shaw, on CD only ;-) entitled Real: The Tom T. Hall Project. Overwhelmed with CD’s that at that time were waiting to be listened to (plus I was working with Emitt Rhodes, Evan Johns, John Wicks of The Records, and Chewy Marble, whose songwriter/keyboardist Brian Kassan was the original bassist in The Wondermints, Brian Wilson’s band), the album sat unopened in my CD rack for 23 years, just another of my 3500 CD’s. Upon learning of Tom’s death, today I finally listened to it.

SO cool! Just look at the line-up of artists whose recordings of Tom T. Hall songs are on the album:

- Iris Dement doing "I Miss A Lot Of Trains". Unfortunately for the others on the album, Iris is SUCH a great singer that she steals the show.

- Johnny Cash doing "I Washed My face In The Morning Dew".

- Kelly Willis doing "That’s How I Got To Memphis". A good version, but imo nowhere near as good as that of Buddy Miller. There is a video viewable on YouTube of Marty Stuart and Bobby Bare performing the song as a duet, a really good version.

- R.B. Morris doing "Don’t Forget The Coffee Billy Joe". Performed in very cool Rockabilly style. Love it.

- Freedy Johnson doing "Coffee, Coffee, Coffee". Guess Tom had a thing for coffee ;-) .

- Ron Sexsmith doing "Ships Go Out".

- Calexico doing "Tulsa Telephone Book".

- Syd Straw & The Skeletons doing "Harper Valley P.T.A." (!). Ya’ll know Syd, but do you know The Skeletons? I’ve sung their praises here before, but it bears repeating. They were a band working out of Springfield Missouri, a really, really good one. Bassist/songwriter Lou Whitney owned and operated a recording studio in Springfield, engineering and producing a lot of great albums (I know a band who traveled from California to record with him). He died a few years back, lung cancer I believe. Legendary guitarist D. Clinton Thompson (a Telecaster player) worked with a lot of people, including Steve Forbert, Jonathan Richman, Robbie Fulks, and as a member of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Drummer Bobby Lloyd Hicks was in Dave Alvin’s band for years, and in fact The Skeletons served as Dave’s backing band for a while. Bobby died in 2017, again of lung cancer. Another 2-pk a day man. Fans of The Skeletons include Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Marshall Crenshaw, and myself.

- Joe Henry doing "Homecoming". This recording illustrates why I prefer Joe’s producing to his singing and playing.

- Ralph Stanley doing "The Water Lily". Sung as only Ralph Stanley could.

- Whiskeytown doing "I Hope It Rains At My Funeral". I now have another favorite song title ;-) .

- Mark Olsen (of The Jayhawks, of course) with Victoria Williams doing "It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines".


Songwriters like Tom T. Hall aren’t thick on the ground, so do yourself a favor and get this album, and then some of his own recordings. RIP Tom.