Tompall Glaser

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Tompall Glaser
Tompall Glaser 1977.JPG
Glaser in 1977
Background information
Birth nameThomas Paul Glaser
Born(1933-09-03)September 3, 1933
Spalding, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedAugust 12, 2013(2013-08-12) (aged 79)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1950–2013
LabelsMGM/Curb, ABC, RCA Victor Dot/MCA, Bear Family, Clint Miller
Formerly of Tompall & the Glaser Brothers

Thomas Paul "Tompall" Glaser (September 3, 1933 – August 12, 2013) was an American country singer who was a key figure in the 1970s outlaw country movement. [2]

Contents

Biography

Glaser was born in Spalding, Nebraska, the son of Alice Harriet Marie (née Davis) and Louis Nicholas Glaser. [3] [4] He was raised on a farm along with his brothers Jim and Chuck. Growing up, Glaser and his brothers performed music in local venues and radio stations. [5]

In the 1950s, he recorded as a solo artist. He later formed a trio with brothers Chuck and Jim called Tompall & the Glaser Brothers. [3] In 1957, he and his brothers performed on Arthur Godfrey's television show. [5] They also shared the bill with Patsy Cline at The Mint casino in Las Vegas, from November to December 1962.

Glaser's highest-charting solo single was Shel Silverstein's "Put Another Log on the Fire", which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts in 1975. He and his brothers also reached number 2 on the country charts with Lovin' Her Was Easier (than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) . [6]

Tompall co-produced Waylon Jennings's influential 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes , considered to be one of the first albums of the outlaw period. [6] Honky Tonk Heroes has been called a "milestone album in the breaking of the Nashville studio/recording system, a true watershed event in the music business." [6]

Tompall appeared with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Jessi Colter on the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws . The album was the first ever in country music to be certified platinum for sales of over one million copies. [2]

In the 1970s his Nashville recording studio Glaser Sound Studios, dubbed "Hillbilly Central," was considered the nerve center of the nascent outlaw country movement. [2] Glaser ran the studio with his brothers and gave musicians control over what they recorded instead of their producers, unlike other Nashville studios of the time. [2] Among the groundbreaking albums recorded at his studio were John Hartford's Aereo-Plain and Waylon Jennings' Dreaming My Dreams . [5]

Glaser and his brothers also ran a music publishing company that allowed songwriters to retain ownership and control of their material, which was also unusual for the time period. [2]

Glaser died on August 12, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 79, after a long illness. [7] He was survived by his wife, June Johnson Glaser. His brother, Jim, died of a heart attack on April 6, 2019, at the age of 81. His brother, Chuck, died two months later on June 10, 2019, at the age of 83.

Solo discography

Albums

YearAlbum US Country
1973Charlie—
1974Take the Singer with the Song—
1975Tompall (Sings the Songs of Shel Silverstein)—
1976The Great Tompall and His Outlaw Band13
1977Tompall Glaser & His Outlaw Band38
The Wonder of It All—
1986Nights on the Borderline—
1992The Rogue—
The Outlaw—
2001The Best of Tompall Glaser & the Glaser Brothers—
2006My Notorious Youth—
2007Outlaw to the Cross—

Singles

YearSingleChart Positions [8] Album
US Country US Bubbling CAN Country
1973"Bad, Bad, Bad Cowboy"77——Charlie
1974"Texas Law Sez"96——Take the Singer with the Song
"Musical Chairs"63——Tompall (Sings the Songs of Shel Silverstein)
1975"Put Another Log on the Fire (The Male Chauvinist National Anthem)" (credited to Tompall)21334
1976"T for Texas" (credited to Tompall and His Outlaw Band)36—— Wanted! The Outlaws
1977"It'll Be Her"45——Tompall Glaser & and His Outlaw Band
"It Never Crossed My Mind"91——The Wonder of It All
1978"Drinking Them Beers"79——

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ Rockwell, John (April 8, 1976). "The Pop Life". The New York Times . Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tompall Glaser, Country Artist in Outlaw Movement, Dies at 79" by Bill Friskics-Warren, The New York Times , Aug. 14, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Wolff, Kurt. "Tompall Glaser biography". Allmusic . Retrieved April 1, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Thomas Paul GLASER Obituary (2013) the Tennessean". Legacy.com .
  5. 1 2 3 "Tompall Glaser, outlaw country artist, dies at 79" by Peter Cooper, USA Today , August 13, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 "Remembering Tompall Glaser: An Outlaw Just Beyond the Spotlight" by William Michael Smith, Houston Press , August 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ Associated Press. "Tompall Glaser, an original Nashville outlaw, dies" . Retrieved August 13, 2013.[ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Billboard charted singles" (PDF). Mike Curb official website. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2008.
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