Country music legend Tom T. Hall’s cause of death was revealed this week, over five months after his death. The songwriter’s death was ruled a suicide, according to an autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE. Hall was best known for bringing a sense of humor to his lyrics and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
Hall died at his home in Franklin, Tennessee on Aug. 20, 2021, his son, Dean Hall, said at the time without giving a cause of death. The Williamson County Medical Examiner’s report shows that a 911 call was placed at 11:15 a.m. that day. After paramedics arrived at the scene, his death was confirmed at 11:33 a.m. “due to obvious injuries,” the documents read.
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Hall was a beloved country singer and songwriter who earned the nickname “The Storyteller.” The Kentucky-born musician’s best-known songs are “I Like Beer,” “That’s How I Got to Memphis” and “Harper Valley PTA.” When Jeannie C. Riley released a recording of “Harper Valley PTA” in 1968, it became a smash hit and earned Hall Grammy nominations for Best Country Song and Song of the Year.
Hall scored eight number-one singles on the Hot Country Songs chart, starting with “A Week in a Country Jail.” He continued recording until 1986. He never released “That’s How I Got to Memphis” as a single himself, but it became a country standard. Bobby Bare and Deryl Dodd both scored hits with the song. In 1972, Hall won a Grammy for Best Album Notes for his Greatest Hits album. He is a member of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1971. His wife, songwriter Dixie Hall, died in January 2015 at 80.
“Few could tell a story like Tom T. Hall,” Sarah Trahern, CEO of the Country Music Association, told Variety after Hall’s death last year. “As a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, he was one of those triple threat artists who continued to make an impact on the next generation. I’ll always remember growing up listening to Tom T.’s music with my father, who was a huge bluegrass and country fan.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.
