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Biography
Tom T. Hall (born May 25, 1936 in Olive Hill, Kentucky; died August 20, 2021) was an American country music songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, novelist, and short-story writer. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the No. 1 international pop crossover hit "Harper Valley PTA" and "I Love", which reached No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. He is included in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Songwriters. He became known to fans as "The Storyteller", thanks to his storytelling skills in his songwriting. Hall won the Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in 1973 for the notes he wrote for his album Tom T. Hall's Greatest Hits. He was nominated for, but did not win, the same award in 1976 for his album Greatest Hits Volume 2. He was a member of the Grand Ole Opry from 1971.
As a teen, Hall put together a band called the Kentucky Travelers that performed before movies for a travelling theater. During a stint in the Army, Hall performed over the Armed Forces Radio Network and wrote comic songs about Army experiences. His early career included being a radio announcer at WRON, a local radio station in Ronceverte, West Virginia.
