In Search of a Song is the fifth studio album by country singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall, released in 1971. The album includes eleven songs based on Hall's observations of rural life. It became a number eight top country album and the opening track, "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died," became a number one country single.
History In Search of a Song was released amid Hall's first stint with Mercury Records (1969–1977), during which he released one or more albums each year (see Tom T. Hall discography). It is the first full album to result from one of Hall's "song-hunting" trips to Kentucky. Hall was known to make periodic visits to rural Kentucky. He didn't actually write songs on these trips so much as take notes and gather raw material that he would later write about. He typically traveled backroads by car, sometimes with a photographer, to find inspiration by observing and visiting with the common people of his home state. On this particular trip, Hall traveled with music journalist William "Bill" Neuel Littleton of Nashville, TN. Littleton took the photographs that appear on the album's front and back cover, subsequently writing the album's liner notes.Wolfe, Charles, K., Kentucky Country, University of Kentucky Press, 1982, p.146
In a 1998 interview with online publication Perfect Sound Forever, Hall reflected on his songwriting approach: "I used to get into my car and drive out to an intersection and put my finger out the window and find out which way the wind was blowing. And I'd just take off in that direction. I'd just drive around for a couple of weeks stopping in small towns, beer joints, cafes, you know, road side motels. Nobody knew who I was. [...] So I did several albums. I did one great album. My best album is called In Search Of A Song."
Track listing All songs by Hall "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died" – 2:42 "Who's Gonna Feed Them Hogs" – 2:35 "Trip to Hyden" – 2:52 "Tulsa Telephone Book" – 2:21 "It Sure Can Get Cold in Des Moines" – 2:53 "The Little Lady Preacher" – 2:53 "L.A. Blues" – 2:40 "Kentucky, February 27, 1971" – 3:16 "A Million Miles to the City" – 2:51 "Second Handed Flowers" – 2:55 "Ramona's Revenge" – 2:53
Personnel Musicians Tom T. Hall – guitar, vocals Jerry Kennedy – guitar, dobro, sitar Ray Edenton – guitar Chip Young – guitar Harold Bradley – six-string bass guitar, banjo Pete Drake – pedal steel guitar, dobro Bob Moore – bass Buddy Harman – drums Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano George Tidwell – trumpet Charlie McCoy – harmonica, vibes
Production Jerry Kennedy – Producer Tracks 1 & 9 recorded March 26, 1971 Other tracks recorded May 1971, Mercury Custom Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
Charts Year Chart Position 1971 U.S. Top Country 8 1971 U.S. 200 137
Releases Year Format Label Catalog # 1971 LP Mercury 822500-1 1971 Audio cassette Mercury 822500-4 2005 Re-issue CD Mercury 2005 Compilation disc Hux 71 2006 Remastered CD Hip-O Select 000424002
References