Tom T. Hall, the story Teller.

The songwriter Peter Cooper tells that when he is asked "Why Tom T. Hall ?", he answers "Because Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson, Mickey Newberry and John Hartford are among those who really changed the langage Country Music, with an emotional depth and clarity it did not have before.".

Podcast : Listen to Riverside Drive special Tom T. Hall August 25th 2021. The second song "Once Upon a Road" is a real instance of that.

Y a t-il un petit veinard qui a ça (le vinyle, pas la coiffure d'Earl Scrugs) ?

Une belle liste de succès. A nice list of hits.

Ah, l'Amérique et la route... America and the road...

 

If most French people do not know Tom T. Hall, they sure know the French adaptation of his song "That's How I Got To Memphis", that became "Sur la Route de Memphis" with the voice of French Singer Eddy Mitchell and the arrangement of Pierre Papadiamandis.

Just to say, one of the very few American songs really well adapted in French (even if the lyrics tell another story).

Note that the chords are slightly different in the French song, more minor mode.

Tom T. Hall loved telling stories, that is how he got his nickname "The Story Teller". And his songs are not just laments or ballads, each one of them really tells a story..

Video : Tom T. Hall - That's How I Got To Memphis.

Video : Tom T Hall - I Washed My Face In The Morning Dew.

Video : Tom T. Hall Old Dogs Children & Watermelon Wine.

Video : Same song, later, with a story before.

He was born in Kentucky, he sometimes talks about it in his songs. More about the man and his work with these links.

Tom T. Hall on Wikipedia (English).

Tom T. Hall, in Paste Magazine du 23 août 2021 (English).

On the road to Memphis he sure drove. Now teh Story Teller drives among the clouds.

Article rédigé par Ti' Pierre