Tom T. Hall "The Ballad Of Forty Dollars" (Mercury Records, 1969)
Tom T. Hall "Homecoming" (Mercury Records, 1969)
Tom T. Hall "I Witness Life" (Mercury Records, 1970)
Tom T. Hall "One Hundred Children" (Mercury Records, 1970)
Tom T. Hall "In Search Of A Song" (Mercury Records, 1971)
Tom T. Hall "We All Got Together And..." (Mercury Records, 1972)
Tom T. Hall "The Storyteller" (Mercury Records, 1972)
Tom T. Hall "Rhymer And Other Five And Dimes" (Mercury Records, 1973)
Tom T. Hall "For The People In The Last Hard Town" (Mercury Records, 1973)
Tom T. Hall "Country Is..." (Mercury Records, 1974)
Tom T. Hall "Songs Of Fox Hollow" (Mercury Records, 1974)
Tom T. Hall "I Wrote A Song About it" (Mercury Records, 1975)
Tom T. Hall "Faster Horses" (Mercury Records, 1976)
Tom T. Hall "Magnificent Music Machine" (Mercury Records, 1976)
Tom T. Hall "About Love" (Mercury Records, 1977)
Tom T. Hall "New Train Same Rider" (RCA Victor, 1978)
Tom T. Hall "Places I've Done Time" (RCA Victor, 1978)
Tom T. Hall "Saturday Morning Songs" (RCA Victor, 1979)
Tom T. Hall "Ol' T's In Town" (RCA Victor, 1979)
Tom T. Hall "A Soldier Of Fortune" (RCA Victor, 1980)
Tom T. Hall & Earl Scruggs "The Storyteller And The Banjo Man" (Columbia Records, 1982)
Tom T. Hall "Everything From Jesus To Jack Daniels" (Mercury Records, 1983)
Tom T. Hall "Natural Dreams" (Mercury Records, 1984)
Tom T. Hall "Song In A Seashell" (Mercury Records, 1985)
Tom T. Hall "Country Songs For Kids" (Mercury Records, 1989)
Tom T. Hall "Songs From Sopchoppy" (Mercury Records, 1996)
Tom T. Hall "Home Grown" (Mercury Records, 1997)
Tom T. Hall "Sings Miss Dixie And Tom T" (Blue Circle Records, 2007)
Best-Ofs
Tom T. Hall "Greatest Hits" (Mercury Records, 1972)
Tom T. Hall "Greatest Hits, v.2" (Mercury Records, 1978)
Tom T. Hall "Greatest Hits, v.1/Greatest Hits, v.2" (Hux Records, 1972)
Tom T. Hall "The Essential Tom T. Hall" (Mercury Records, 1988)
Tom T. Hall "Storyteller, Poet, Philosopher" (Mercury Records, 1995)
Tom T. Hall "Loves Lost And Found" (Mercury Records, 1995)
Tom T. Hall "Country Songs For Children" (Mercury Records, 1995)
Tom T. Hall "Nashville Storyteller" (BMG International, 1999)
Tom T. Hall "The Millennium Collection" (MCA, 2000)
Tom T. Hall "The Definitive Collection" (Universal/Hip-O, 2006)
Discography
Tom T. Hall "The Ultimate Collection" (Universal/Hip-O, 2001)
An outstanding best-of that has it all, from big hits like "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died," "Faster Horses" and "Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine" to his boozer's anthem, "I like Beer," the bluegrassy "Fox On The Run" and numerous odd, discursive ramblings such as "Salute To A Switchblade" and "Your Man Loves You Honey." Weighing in at 24 songs, this disc gives you a lot of bang for the buck -- and even if it doesn't have "Sneaky Snake" (drat!), this is still probably the best single-disc Tom T. Hall set you're likely to see! Recommended.
Tom T. Hall "The Ballad Of Forty Dollars/Homecoming" (Hux Records, 1969)
Hall's first two albums, reissued together as part of a series of twofers covering his early work.
Tom T. Hall "I Witness Life/One Hundred Children" (Hux Records, 1970)
Tom T. Hall "In Search Of A Song/Rhymer And Other Five And Dimes" (Hux Records, 1973)
Tom T. Hall "We All Got Together And.../The Storyteller" (Hux Records, 1972)
Tom T. Hall "Greatest Hits, v.1/Greatest Hits, v.2" (Hux Records, 1972)
Tributes
Tom T. Hall/Various Artists "REAL: THE TOM T. HALL PROJECT" (Sire/London, 1998)
A very strong tribute album, with contributions from several alt-rock and Americana-scene heavyweights, including Kelly Willis, Richard Buckner, Iris DeMent, Freedy Johnston, Calexico, Whiskeytown, Syd Straw and even fabled elders such as Ralph Stanley and Johnny Cash. It's front-loaded: the second half of the album has some of the strongest material, but pleasant surprises about throughout. Definitely worth checking out!
Charlie Sizemore "The Story Is... The Songs Of Tom T. Hall" (Rebel Records, 2002)
A fine, bouncy truegrass tribute to songwriter Tom T. Hall, with clean, bright playing and warm vocal interpretations of over a dozen of Hall's tunes. The song selection includes some of his less well-known tunes, as well as old hits like "Pamela Brown," "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died," "Ballad Of Forty Dollars" and others. Along with Sizemore's core backup band, several high-power guest artists are featured on here -- J.D. Crowe, Ralph Stanley, Kathy Mattea and Tom T. Hall himself, delivering the introduction to "Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine." It's interesting to hear Hall's work in the hands of someone else -- his voice and delivery are so distinctive, it's hard to imagine these songs being sung any other way... But Sizemore does a fine job, really getting into the sentimental side of the material, which Hall does as well, though with him it's harder to sort out what's ironic and what's sincere... Anyway, this is a nice record; good example of someone making the most of someone else's work.
Various Artists "I LOVE: TOM T. HALL'S SONGS OF FOX HOLLOW" (Red Beet Records/CMHF, 2011)
(Produced by Eric Brace & Peter Cooper)
A sweet, goofy tribute to a sweet, goofy record. Tom T. Hall's 1974 album, Songs Of Fox Hollow, is one of the kookiest kids' records ever recorded, and this all-star homage brings its charms back to life. Released when Hall was still at the peak of his fame, Fox Hollow yielded the whimsical hit "I Love," but was also packed with songs about barnyard animals with lyrics that didn't anthropomorphize the critters or have them go on fairy tale adventures, but rather described them rather matter of factly: a fox that ran away from dogs, a runt chicken born with only one leg that learns to survive in the barnyard, a basset hound that wasn't particularly intelligent but wound up "famous," onstage at a Johnny Cash concert. Hall lent an odd, pedestrian touch to his songs, a plainspoken tone with a bizarre self-assurance that his audience would still listen, even though he wasn't really saying anything too fantastic, and for some reason it all plays out perfectly, especially with little listeners in mind. This modern-day remake features some alt-country heavy-hitters: Gary Bennett, Elizabeth Cook, Patty Griffin, Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller among them, along with old-timers such as Bobby Bare and Tommy Cash, and even a couple of tracks featuring Duane Eddy(!) With steel guitar legend Lloyd Green anchoring the album, this one's a real winner, sweet in all the right ways and drenched in the oddball charm of the original album... Definitely worth checking out!
Related Records
Hillman Hall "One Pitcher Is Worth A Thousand Words" (Warner Brothers, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Marijohn Wilkin)
This is the lone album by Tom T. Hall's younger brother, Hillman Hall, a modestly talented but entirely likeable country singer as well as a fairly successful songwriter, mainly known for the early '70s hit, "Pass Me By," which was a big hit for Johnny Rodriguez. This album is packed with original material, including the misery-laden title track, and novelty numbers like "Celluloid Cowboy," "You Can't Fool A Country Music Fan," "Fair To Middlin' Lower Middle Class Plain Hard Working Man" and "The Good News She Loves Me (The Bad News She's Gone)," as well as his own version of "Pass Me By." The arrangements are slick but rock-solid studio stuff, earthy though understated mid-1970s hard-country, with plenty of fiddle, dobro and pedal steel... This one's a real hidden gem from an artist who (obviously) lived in his brother's shadow, but did good -- real good -- when he got his chance.
Jack Hall "Don't Know Where I'll Be Tomorrow" (Riverside Records, 1978) (LP)
(Produced by Hillman Hall & Stan Beaver)
Well, I'll be darned. Turns out Hillman Hall and Tom T. Hall had a third brother who also wrote and sang songs, although it's quite possible this was his only album(?). Jack is backed by his siblings, with Hillman on drums and Tom playing lead guitar, Ray Edwards playing steel (and a bunch of other instruments!) and Bill Wence on piano, along with a bunch of other folks. The disc includes four originals written by Jack Hall, one each from Hillman and Tom T., as well as a Hank Williams cover, and one by Jimmie Rodgers, and last of all, the spooky bluegrass classic, "Bringing Mary Home" from John Duffy and The Country Gentlemen.
Links
Hick Music Index
One of country music's great novelty songwriters, Tom T. Hall (1936-2021) was born in Kentucky back in the Great Depression and always kept his rural roots close at hand. He worked his way up through the Nashville system during the 1960s, finally emerging at the end of the decade as a solo artist after Jeannie C. Riley took his song, "Harper Valley PTA," to the top of the charts in 1968. With his gruff yet affable "storyteller" persona, Hall was a consistent presence in the country scene throughout the 1970s and early '80s, scoring numerous number one and Top Ten hits. He and his wife, Dixie Hall became strong proponents of the independent bluegrass scene, producing and promoting countless little-known artists while recording their own material for years after Hall himself had dropped out of the national charts. Here's a quick look at his work...