Tom T. Hall, the songwriter known as “The Storyteller,” died on Aug. 20, 2021.
Wednesday The Williamson County, Tennessee Medical Examiner’s report revealed Hall committed suicide.
The report, conducted by Samuel Smith M.D., says that Hall “had sustained an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, to the head, on the morning of 8/20/2021. A 911 call was placed at 1115 hours on 8/20/201. Williamson County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and Williamson Medical Emergency Medical Services (WMC EMS) responded to the call. Paramedics confirmed death at approximately 1133 hours, due to obvious injuries.”
Saving Country Music reported Hall’s cause of death Wednesday afternoon.
Hall wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, most notably Jeannie C. Riley’s pop crossover “Harper Valley PTA” and his own “I Love.” In addition, he had 26 Top 10 hits. He was born in Olive Hill, Kentucky, on May 25, 1936. He enlisted in the military and served in Germany before moving to Nashville in 1964. He signed a publishing deal with Jimmy C. Newman and Jimmy Key and wrote songs for $50 a week.
Rolling Stone named Hall in its list of 100 Greatest Songwriters, and artists including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson, and Bobby Bare recorded his songs. In addition to “Harper Valley PTA,” his other most notable tunes include: “A Week in a Country Jail”; “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine”; “Country Is”; “The Year Clayton Delaney Died”; and “I Like Beer.”
Hall became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, along with Emmylou Harris, The Statler Brothers and Ernest Stoneman.
His beloved wife Dixie passed away on Jan. 17, 2015.
If you need help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.