Although he retired from the business in the early 1990s, Hall remained a towering influence over country songwriters. After a stint in the army, Hall worked as a radio DJ on stations in West Virginia and Kentucky. In ten short verses and less than three minutes, we bear witness to a place, its people, their rituals and their debts. There wont soon be another like him. (Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine (1972, #1) Aint but three things in this world thats worth a solitary dime but old dogs and children and watermelon wine. Hall appears as himself, a troubadour on the road, pourin blended whiskey down alone in a lounge in Miami. He's a storyteller like Everest is a mountain. Clayton Delaney was a pseudonym for Olive Hill, Kentucky booze hound/blues picker Lonnie Easterly, who lived on Clayton Hill and had neighbors named Delaney. I Like Beer (1975, #4) In some of my songs I have casually mentioned the fact that I like to drink beer. Nuff said! Thank you for visiting my profile. Who was lonnie easterly? Hall largely retired from writing new music in the mid-1980s and from performing in the early 1990s. 1 international pop crossover smash "Harper Valley PTA" and the hit "I Love", which reached No. Jessicas family told Dateline they believe foul play was involved in her death and that her body was placed where she was found. (His poor mother.) more FAVORITE (4 fans) The Dixieland horns dont seem particularly country, but where else would this song have fit on the radio in 1971? Po Box 30181. Your writing is beautiful, descriptive and relevant. He became known to fans as "The Storyteller," thanks to his storytelling skills in his songwriting. He was as complicated a gentleman as he was a masterful storyteller and poet. For much of the next year he treaded water, releasing a couple more singles that went nowhere, selling a couple songs to other artists, and hoping for another hit. Halls #1 hits, all self-penned, included A Week in a Country Jail (196970), The Year That Clayton Delaney Died (1971), (Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine (197273), I Love (197374), Country Is (1974), I Care (197475), and Faster Horses (the Cowboy and the Poet) (1976). (As a bonus, it was Key who gave Tom Hall his T., suggesting it would make his rather pedestrian given name stand out.). It's been said the Lonnie was a musical mentor for a young Tom T. Hall, but that could be as much legend as f act. A multi-instrumentalist and wordsmith like no other, Hall penned hundreds of songs and from 1976 to 1996 wrote nine books. "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Tom T. Hall..which was released in July 1971.as the only single from the album, In Search of a Song..which was Hall's 2nd # 1 song on the country chart..and it stayed at # 1 for two weeks. Yet, his legacy lived on in another young man whom he inspired. One of the biggest lessons he learned from Delaney, something that actually bothered Hall at the time, was Delaney's preference for singing in his natural voice instead of mimicking the artists whose songs he was covering. At the time of his passing it had been 35 years since he had cut a hit record, and a decade since he had last set foot on a stage, but Hall left behind a legendary body of work, earning him gold records, Grammy and CMA awards, near-universal respect among the songwriter community, a spot in the Grand Ole Opry, plus permanent enshrinement in the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and dearest to his heart the Songwriters Hall of Fame. but the I Care/Sneaky Snake 45, too. As his singing career got underway, Hall continued to provide hit songs for other artists, chief among them Harper Valley P.T.A., for Jeannie C. Riley. Before serving in her current role, Jen was . She accompanied Mother Maybelle Carter to the dinner and was on hand to accept an award for co-writing Dave Dudleys 1965 hit Truck Drivin Son-of-a-Gun.. Get the latest creative news from Blues Scene about music & art. @TheKateMulgrew. Hall was about eight years old when he knew Delaney. Besides his musical output, Hall was the author of nine books, including novels, songwriting advice volumes and the important memoir The Storytellers Nashville. Per the Facebook account Classic Country Music Stories, Easterly was. Who once was a country girl is now a socialite. This 50-song collection showcases Hall's immense talent as a songwriter that grabs you with detailed vignettes: sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes both, but always listenable. He was 85. Dec 15. You are now leaving our website and onto another web property, which may include a different set of terms or conditions. Dixie and Tom T. Hall, with limousine, at the Halls Fox Hollow farm in Williamson County, Tennessee. 1 country hit in 1971 and I have to wonder if it inspired the similarly themed "The Ballad of Curtis Loew" by Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1974. Were never backing down - and we will get justice for Jessica. Jessica Easterly Durning, 43, went missing from her home on General Haig Street in the Lakeview area of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 14, 2019. As for Delaney, the man's real name was Lonnie Easterly, whom Hall renamed by pairing Easterly's hometown with the surname of his next-door neighbors. Although Halls recording career started slowly, it hit full stride as the 60s gave way to the 70s. Press Esc to cancel. Dixie put the proceeds to good work, turning the dog kennel in their house into a recording studio, founding an independent bluegrass record label and setting up a music publishing house. The single stayed at number one for two weeks and spent a total of . Adams, Hawa. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (2008) and the. The real fellow, Lonnie Easterly, was Halls guitar-picking musical mentor, and the songs mix of gratitude and regret and questions about death through the eyes of a barefoot kid couldnt be more mature or endlessly fascinating. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. His songs live on forever to prove it. Michael Carmody is a Gen-X musician living and working on the Great Plains. The Orleans Parish Coroner performed an autopsy but has not determined a cause of death. I have numerous avenues of contacts that I may use to help me in marketing the homes and properties of my clients or to the benefit of my customers. Hall's first #1 country hit as an artist is a deceptively straightforward story about a musician who inspired the singer to pick up a guitar and continue his performing legacy. I practice as an attorney/CPA, focusing on contracts, taxation, estate planning, probate, real estate, construction, and corporate matters. Billed as "an authentic Irish cultural experience.". By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. I received my Tennessee Affiliate Broker's License and continue . Aspiring singer Jeannie C. Riley, herself the secretary of another Nashville songwriter, recorded Halls sassy, timely, quasi-feminist Harper Valley PTA and her version not only topped the country chart, but also skyrocketed straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the first time in history a woman hit the top of both charts with the same song. Born May 25, 1936, in Olive Hill, Kentucky, Thomas Hall showed interest in music at an early age. This thing would not have taken this long as it has had she not laid in the New Orleans sun for a week and a half before her body was found, Jessicas stepfather Rick Schmitt, of Summerdale, Alabama, told WDSU after receiving the results. 99. Use partial name search or similar name spellings to catch alternate spellings or broaden your search. Please enter at least 2 characters. He returned in 1996 with the albumSongs from Sopchoppy, which included the Hall original Little Bitty. Alan Jackson spotted the song, recorded it, and scored a #1 country single with it in late 1996. The cemetery is located on the east side of Porter Creek Road (Kentucky Highway 955) about 5.4 miles south of its intersection with Kentucky Highway 174. I haven't ever told people his real name because he had a lot of relatives. Thats what made the autopsy to difficult The fact that she was there, everything points to she was dumped there; she did not die there.. In all, he wrote 12 number one songs, and 26 more that landed in the Top 10. Between the 1960s and 80s, Hall recorded and released more than seven sounds including; "That Song Is Driving Me Crazy," "A Week In A Country Jail," "I Like Beer," "I Care," "The Year Clayton Delaney Died," a song about a man named Lonnie Easterly, who died from Tuberculosis, "I Love," and so on. However, in the report signed January 8, the pathologist did not address how these injuries might have been sustained. Ive been gone so many years I didnt realize you had a phone. A traveling country musician drops by his rural family home briefly after being away a long, long time. His opening lines leap into the middle of situations yet orient us with some precise observation or teaser. Born during the Great Depression to an impecunious brickmaker/preacher in Tick Ridge, Kentucky and christened Thomas Hall no T. the young man had to share his households meager resources with seven siblings. Faster Horses (The Cowboy and the Poet) (1975, #1) Another short story song in the mold of Watermelon Wine, with a young poet asking a wizened old cowboy about the mysteries of life, only to be told the answers lie in faster horses, younger women, older whiskey and more money. The narrator takes issue with this, but is put in his place by the old cowhand: I told him I was a poet, I was lookin for the truth. Adams, Bobbie. Tom T. Hall, in the Country Music Hall of Fame, at a videotaping by ABC affiliate WNGE. .I didnt write this album for my nephews and not for kids in general. The songs influence was enormous and later inspired a 1978 movie and a 1980-82 TV series, both starring Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie). There was a problem getting your location. Easterly wasn't an old man, but was a teenager when he died of lung cancer. "The Year Clayton Delaney Died" was a no. Goes the Country, which also gave Jim Ernest Varney his first regular coast-to-coast television exposure. It was released in July 1971 as the only single from the album, In Search of a Song. This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. And sometimes I act like a grouchy old bear I want you to know I care. The b-side is entirely different, a funny uptempo number alerting children about a certain pilfering reptile. After the singer details a lifetime and regrets, he wishes that itll rain at his funeral so that hes the only one dry. Halls catalog is full of complicated stories like this one, songs that sneak up on you and stick with you longer than many of his flashier hits. Address: Law Offices of Connie Easterly, PO Box 30181, Walnut Creek, CA 94598-9181 Phone: 925-323-4382 | Fax: Not Available This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. He was fascinated by Clayton, who performed around town. Learn more about Western Edge: The Roots and Reverberations of Los Angeles Country-Rock. 00:00 I said I was a writer, my soul was all on fire. Oh, but I'd sit around and watch him pick, and he was a real pro.". Expert Answers: Lonnie Easterly, the man immortalized as "Clayton Delaney" probably died of tuberculosis, his death slow and painful, and he passed away without ever fulfilling. Leave A Comment. Still, his three-minute telling of the entire Watergate scandal is nearly politics free, unless youre one of the handful who still think Richard Nixon was framed. Hall recorded a CDs worth of their songs for an album, Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie and Tom T. In 2005, Hall gave a series of performances at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as the museums artist-in-residence. Hall couldnt get arrested on Music Row. Hall sometimes tried to see the world with naive eyes. I Love You. Following the release of the albumSong in a Seashellin 1985, Hall took a ten-year sabbatical from recording. Mr. Hall, center, performing with. A year later, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The whole time, he continued honing his craft, composing countless songs and trying to get them noticed by anybody, anywhere. 'Clayton Delaney' is a bit fact and a bit fiction. Halls final lines remind us that modern worries about the government arent really new worries: Well, somewhere in this country there's a hard-workin' man/Readin' his paper as he tries to understand/Are there no honest people left anymore?/One might well heed hear a poundin' on his door/If it gets that way, Lord help us all.. The song hails from the album "In Search Of A Song". Jen was nominated by President Biden in April 2021 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on July 12, 2021. In a flurry of frantic messages, Jessicas husband told Maria that he last spoke to her around noon that day and that she had left everything behind, including her cell phone, car keys, money and her ID. Hall was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and granted a BMI Icon award in 2012. (Not. Lonnie Easterly, a local musician and raconteur, was an early influence, as well as the man Mr. Hall later memorialized in song as the colorful Clayton Delaney. The real person behind the fictitious Delaney was a childhood hero of Hall of Famer Hall. to send home a note attacking her alleged poor choices. lonnie easterly find a grave. It was Jessicas husband, Justin Durning. Dixies health went into decline; at the time of her death in January 2015, she had set a record for the greatest number of recorded bluegrass songs ever written by a woman (with over 500! His solitary reverie is broken when the old gray Black gentleman who cleans the place engages him in philosophical conversation about the things the older man has come to find precious and meaningful in life. In 1973, he won a Grammy Award for Best Album Notes for his album "Tom T. Hall's Greatest Hits." Since 1971, he has been a member of the popular Grand Ole Opry. It also claims status as the city's premier rugby pub, along with proper obeisance to soccer including hometown team Lou . When Lonnie Easterly was born in 1898, in Claiborne, Tennessee, United States, his father, John Maston Preston Easterly, was 31 and his mother, Maggie Nola Love Ausmus, was 23. The new discount program will be accessed through the exchange stores or websites, not Home Depot locations. This photo was not uploaded because this cemetery already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this cemetery. 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