|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: Chris C Date: 10 Jan 22 - 12:42 PM Sad to hear, of course. What a songwriter! I'll look forward to some re-listening in tribute. Did not know he wrote a book, so thanks for mentioning, Tunesmith. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: GUEST,Jerome Clark Date: 07 Jan 22 - 08:47 PM Hall's great song "Old Dogs" was only one of many. Just a relative handful of his compositions became hits, but the rest were known to committed fans of his in country and later in bluegrass. He started playing in BG bands -- the first song of his I heard, the folkish ballad "The Last Public Hanging West Virginia," was on a mid-1960s Flatt & Scruggs album -- before he found success in mainstream Nashville. Somebody spelled it "Old Dawgs," which was not the title. Dog is spelled "dawg" in country music only when the writer is affecting a hillbilly personality, almost always for comedic purposes. "Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine" is anything but a funny song. It's a meditation on ... well, a lot of things. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: GUEST,Tunesmith Date: 07 Jan 22 - 06:20 AM I went through a period - long ago - of listening to Tom T Hall a lot. He's definitely in my top five all-time country artists. His book on song writing is very interesting...and inspiring. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: Ebbie Date: 07 Jan 22 - 12:36 AM Thanks, Joe- or whoever combined the two threads. Seamlessly done. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: Amergin Date: 06 Jan 22 - 07:48 PM Man, that's sad...I can only imagine the heart pain and loneliness after losing Dixie. Poor man. I am just glad he's free of his hurts. I rediscovered him several years ago, when I was doing some work one late night, and he came up on my Pandora...Ballad of Forty Dollars. I love his storytelling style, humour, and ability to wrest the tears from unsuspecting eyes. |
|
Subject: RE: Tom T Hall From: Sandra in Sydney Date: 06 Jan 22 - 05:16 PM Tom T. Hall, Country Music’s ‘Storyteller,’ Is Dead at 85 Mr. Hall, who wrote hits like “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” helped to imbue country lyrics with newfound depth and insight in the 1960s and ’70s ... Known to his fans and fellow musicians as “the Storyteller,” Mr. Hall was among a small circle of Nashville songwriters, including Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller and others, who imbued country lyrics with newfound depth and insight in the 1960s and ’70s. As his nickname suggests, he was a skilled narrator, although he told his stories less through the unfurling of linear plots than through the presentation of one-sided conversations or interior monologues that invited listeners into the lives of his often conflicted protagonists ... |
|
Subject: RE: Tom T Hall From: cnd Date: 06 Jan 22 - 08:05 AM What a loss to music. Tom T was a powerful songwriter and a great musician. One of my favorite albums of his was Magnificent Music Machine, though The Storyteller and the Banjo Man with Earl Scruggs is a close second. Hopefully he can relax in heaven with Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine. |
|
Subject: Tom T Hall From: Ebbie Date: 06 Jan 22 - 03:55 AM I am sad at learning that Hall died of suicide. I always enjoyed his songs. He was a gifted songwriter and he always gave it a homey touch. You don't have to a Country Music fan to remember 'Old Dawgs, Children and Watermelon Wine'. Don't get me wrong: I don't really object to old people taking themselves off the planet- and he was 85. I think that is their own decision to make. But it implies such a loneliness. I don't get lonely but I understand the concept. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: Joe Offer Date: 23 Aug 21 - 04:26 PM Joe - needs crosslinks |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: GUEST,Jerome Clark Date: 21 Aug 21 - 09:20 PM Those who don't follow bluegrass are likely to be unfamiliar with Hall's second career as a writer (with his late wife, Iris aka "Miss Dixie") who focused his work in that genre, where he had begun his music career and which always held a place in his heart and ear. He wrote numerous bluegrass tunes, so many that at one point listeners couldn't be blamed for thinking it might be illegal to release a BG album without a new Tom T./Miss Dixie tune on it. The quality of composition was as high as, and often more adventurous than, it was at his mainstream-country peak. On his own recordings Hall rarely covered other people's songs. So it was a huge honor in my life when he cut "Famous in Missouri," which I co-wrote with my longtime friend Robin Williams (the male half of the country-folk duo Robin & Linda Williams, not the late comedian and actor), for one of his Mercury releases. It bears remarking that Hall's story-telling songs were straight out of the ballad tradition, a point seldom if ever made by his folk-clueless admirers and colleagues in Nashville. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: GUEST,LarrytheRadioGuy Date: 21 Aug 21 - 09:06 PM What a huge loss...even though he had retired. But, to quote him, "life is just like that sometimes". He wrote some amazing songs...even in his later years. Two favourites of mine are It Sure Can Get Cold in DesMoines, and a later one called The Shoes and Dress That Alice Wore. Tom T. Hall, Shoes and Dress That Alice Wore And here are the lyrics to It Sure Can Get Cold In DesMoines. It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines" The iowa weather was 13 below I had come to des moines for a radio show I awoke in the evening from a traveler's sleep With notions of something to eat The old elevator slid down past the floors My head and my eyes said "you should have slept more." The man at the desk said the restaurant was closed Outside it was 14 below The lounge was still open and so I walked in In place of my food I had two double gins I looked 'round the room, as a tourist would do That's when I saw the girl in the booth She sat there and cried in the smoky half-dark The silent type crying that tears out your heart Her clothes were not cut in the new modern way And her suitcase had seen better days Nobody asked her what caused her such pain Nobody spoke up, yet no one complained Without even asking, I knew why she cried Life is just like that sometimes The man at the desk said, "it's 15 below." The bellhop said "yeah man, that's cold...that's cold." I went back to my room and I wrote down this song Oh it sure can get cold in des moines |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: GUEST,pattyClink Date: 21 Aug 21 - 07:45 PM Yes keb, he did write "I Love". I Love leaves in the wind, pictures of my friends, Birds of the world, and squirrels. I Love coffee in a cup, little fuzzy pups, Bourbon in a glass, and grass. And I love you too. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: GUEST,Nathan Tompkins Date: 21 Aug 21 - 06:44 PM His humour was always so on point, like in his Ballad of Forty Dollars. Dammit... |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: GUEST,keberoxu Date: 21 Aug 21 - 05:14 PM Isn't he the author/composer of "I Love Little Baby Ducks" ? |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: voyager Date: 21 Aug 21 - 05:14 PM Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine "How old do you think I am?" he said I said, well, I didn't know He said, "I turned 65 about 11 months ago" I was sittin' in miami pourin' blended whiskey down When this old gray black gentleman was cleanin' up the lounge There wasn't anyone around 'cept this old man and me The guy who ran the bar was watchin' Ironsides on tv Uninvited, he sat down and opened up his mind On old dogs and children and watermelon wine "Ever had a drink of watermelon wine?" he asked He told me all about it, though I didn't answer back "Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime But old dogs and children and watermelon wine" He said, "Women think about they-selves, when menfolk ain't around And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down" He said, "I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime Now it's old dogs and children and watermelon wine" "Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes God bless little children while they're still too young to hate" When he moved away I found my pen and copied down that line 'Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine I had to catch a plane up to atlanta that next day As I left for my room I saw him pickin' up my change That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: cnd Date: 21 Aug 21 - 04:20 PM What a shame. Out of pure happenstance I actually listened to Watermelon Wine a few days ago. I'll be listening to more over the next few days. His album with Earl Scruggs, The Storyteller and the Banjo Man, is one of my all-time favorites. Every song is a hit. And he even did a few covers of classic folk songs, like Lonesome Valley and Shackles and Chains. A Week In Country Jail is a classic, as is Ballad of Forty Dollars. Probably the least 'deep' of his songs, but one of my favorites, is Never Having You, which is one of his more obscure songs. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: pattyClink Date: 21 Aug 21 - 09:18 AM Well, hell. What a songwriter. Here is a live performance of Watermelon Wine, done in his later years, just voice and guitar, with a long lead-in telling the story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45u0kdUgFgo |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: gillymor Date: 21 Aug 21 - 09:01 AM From Rolling Stone I still sing his excellent Pamela Brown. He also played some bluegrass banjo. |
|
Subject: RE: Obit: Country singer Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) From: BTMP Date: 21 Aug 21 - 06:47 AM RIP Tom T. My personal favorite is ‘Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine’. He was definitely a talented individual and was a refreshing departure from the standard Nashville artists. |
|
Subject: Obit: RIP Tom T. Hall August 2021 From: Ebbie Date: 21 Aug 21 - 04:31 AM The country music world is mourning the loss of one of its most beloved artists, Tom T. Hall who died Friday, August 20, 2021. He was 85. Darn, I've forgotten how to make a blue clicky-Could someone please fix it? Anyway, Tom T. and his story songs were favorites of mine. A hugely talented individual. Tom T Hall Obit |
| Share Thread: |
