  thomas "tom t." hall (born may 25, 1936, in olive hill, kentucky) is a retired american country music songwriter, singer, novelist, and short-story writer. he has written 11 no.&nbsp;1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the top 10, including the no.&nbsp;1 international pop crossover smash "harper valley pta" and the hit "i love", which reached no.&nbsp;12 on the billboard hot 100. he became known to fans as "the storyteller," thanks to his storytelling skills in his songwriting. ==biography== as a teenager, hall organized a band called the kentucky travelers that performed before movies for a traveling theater. during a stint in the army, hall performed over the armed forces radio network and wrote comic songs about army experiences. his early career included being a radio announcer at wron, a local radio station in ronceverte, west virginia. hall was also an announcer at wspz, which later became wvrc, radio in spencer, west virginia in the 1960s. hall's big songwriting break came in 1963, when country singer jimmy c. newman recorded his song, "dj for a day." soon, hall moved to nashville, arriving in 1964 with $46 and a guitar; within months he had songs climbing the charts. hall has been nicknamed "the storyteller," and he has written songs for dozens of country stars, including johnny cash, george jones, loretta lynn, waylon jennings, alan jackson, and bobby bare. one of his earliest successful songwriting ventures, "harper valley pta," was recorded in 1968 by jeannie c. riley, hit no.&nbsp;1 on the billboard hot 100 and billboard country music chart a week apart, sold over six million copie
1936_births American_country_singer-songwriters American_country_singers Country_Music_Hall_of_Fame_inductees Grammy_Award-winning_artists Grand_Ole_Opry_members Living_people Members_of_the_Country_Music_Association Mercury_Records_artists Musicians_from_Kentucky