Chronicle: Country Music Hall of Famer Tom T. Hall passed away today (8/20) at the age of 85. A singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, novelist and short-story writer, Hall penned 12 No. 1 songs and had more than two dozen entries in the Top 10, including the international crossover hit “Harper Valley PTA.”

Born in Olive Hill, KY on May 25, 1936, Hall organized a band called The Kentucky Travelers as a teen and during a stint in the Army, he performed via the Armed Forces Radio Network and wrote comedic songs about his experiences as an enlisted service member. After his time with the Army, Hall attended Roanoke College where he worked as a disc jockey before launching his radio career at WRON/Ronceverte, WV. Hall went on to have a career in radio that spanned WMOR/Morehead, KY and WSPZ/Spencer, WV before Jimmy C. Newman recorded his song, “DJ For A Day,” in 1963. The following year, Hall relocated to Nashville and began work as a songwriter for Newkeys Music. In 1968, Jeannie C. Riley took her recording of Hall’s “Harper Valley PTA” to No. 1, selling more than six million copies and winning both a Grammy Award and CMA Award for the song. Hall later released his version as part of his The Definitive Collection album.

Hall penned songs for Johnny Cash, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Alan Jackson and Bobby Bare in addition to releasing his own material, including “A Week In A Country Jail,” “Ballad Of Forty Dollars,” “The Year Clayton Delaney Died,” “(Old Dogs, Children And) Watermelon Wine,” “Ravishing Ruby,” “I Love,” “Country Is,” “I Care” and “Faster Horses (The Cowboy And The Poet).” From 1980-1982, Hall hosted the syndicated country music television show Pop! Goes The Country. A member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1971, Hall was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. He and his late wife Dixie Hall were enshrined in the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2018, and in 2019 Hall was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Services are pending.