The Successor of a Legacy: Meet Tom T. Hall’s son, Dean Hall
More often than not, Dean Hall would always receive that question asking if he was really that Dean Hall, son of Tom T. Hall. He wasn’t very into telling people about his heritage, so unless he was asked, he never really introduced himself as such.
Dean grew up in Kentucky with his mom Opal Inez McKinney, and he was already deep into music before he ever heard of the name Tom T. Hall. As the story went, Tom was fresh out of the army at the time, and when he returned to Olive Hill, he was out looking for work. Later on, he found this place, a restaurant and entertainment center in Morehead, just twenty miles away from Olive Hill. There he met Opal, co-owner of the restaurant and ten years his senior. They started dating and married on February 16, 1961. But after a dispute over the restaurant’s ownership, he left town. He was born four months later.
It was only in 1971 that he discovered who his father was after one of his classmates sang “Harper Valley PTA,” and his teacher asked him if he knew that his father wrote the song. He didn’t quite get to sink that in because he was up next, performing an original song with his guitar.
Fast forward, Dean Hall started working with his father first as an assistant then soon became a lead guitarist. Then he formed his own blues band and performed with many other talented artists.
He confirmed his father’s death last August 25. Tom T. Hall was 85.