Tom T. Hall
Tom T. Hall
Thomas "Tom T." Hallis an American country music songwriter, singer, novelist, and short-story writer. 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...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCountry Singer
Date of Birth25 May 1936
CountryUnited States of America
It is so important for me to try, and having tried I look back on failure and success as if it were all the same.
A song is a poem set to music.
Nobody knows a hit before it's a hit.
Songwriting is as much a craft as a talent.
I've been polite and I've always shown up. Somebody asked me if I had any advice for young people entering the business. I said: "Yeah, show up.
Is this really Butte, Montana, or just existential blues?
The first guy who came up with the concept of religion was sitting out under a tree. I'm sure of that.
Religion is a strange, wonderful thing. More crimes have been committed in the name of righteousness than any other notion.
My theory is if you have a religion, it's a good one. Because some people don't have any at all.
I'm a very comfortable and happy-go-lucky old man. I never wanted to be great, because I'd just get worried.
Sinclair Lewis was asked one time to give a talk to class of students about writing. When he got there he asked the class, Do you people want to be writers?and they all said yes. Then Lewis said, Why the hell aren't you at home writing?
I knew a lot of chords, but they weren't the chords that came with the melody that came with the idea I had for the song. Melodies are simple things. If you see a train wreck, there's a melody. If you see a little daisy blowing in the breeze, there's a melody.
When you retire, it's a place in life, a part of the journey. You just don't quit work; you develop an attitude where you can do what you please
If Barbara Walters was interviewing me, I'd figure her career was as dead as mine!