I was introduced to Tom T. Hall like millions of others. Through his songs.

It's no secret that, for me, the greatest country songs (or any songs really) are the one's that tell a compelling story. I've always had a special admiration for the songwriters, especially the lyricist's, those men and women that have a special way of stringing words together that reach into your mind, your heart (and if they're the best of the best), your soul.

And so it was when I first heard the songs of Tom T. Hall. Or should I say, listened to the songs of Tom T. Hall. I really 'got into' the artists and writers of country music in the 1970's. And I'm not sure which was the first Tom T. song I heard and liked. Might have been 'The Year Clayton DeLaney Died', or maybe 'Ballad Of Forty Dollars' or 'The Homecoming'. But there were two that really blew me away. One you know and one maybe not.

The one you know and, like me, love is the all time classic 'Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine'. Tom T.'s signature song? Well, he's had a lot of hits, but this might be his biggest and most well known.

The other that I just loved was a song called 'Pay No Attention To Alice'. Though it wasn't a hit (I don't think it was even ever released as a single), the song hit me just right, I guess. As something of a writer myself (amateurish...very amateurish), I loved the way Tom put those words together. The opening line is something I still remember over forty years later:

Pay no attention to Alice

She's drunk all the time, hooked on that wine

Bunches of it and it's ruined her mind

I had the great privilege to meet Tom T. Hall back in the late 1970's in Aberdeen. He was playing at the Brown County Fair (Remember when the biggest country stars in the world would still play county fairs??) and I spent about a half hour with him. What do I remember most? That he was every bit as warm and friendly as I hoped he would be, a true gentleman to a young kid from northeast South Dakota.

With all that being said, its always fun to listen to a storyteller tell how a story came about. And that's what Tom T. does in this intimate interview video.

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