Tommy Womack

Biography

My new record is called I Thought I Was Fine. It's great. It's a rock and roll record. I'm categorized as Americana because this business loves putting labels on people. Yes, there's a couple of country-ish songs on it, I do live in Nashville, and my southern accent is what it is, but I had an epiphany one day. I realized, hey, I hate dobros. And if I hear another song about a train in the key of G, somebody's gonna get hurt.

Personal Journey

I realized I'm 58 years old, I've survived a horrendous car crash, I've had cancer three times, and this might be my final shot so I wanted to go back to my first love while there's still time. I went into the studio with Jonathan Bright (Raelyn Nelson Band). He played drums and I played the guitars and the bass. This time I declared that there would be none of my skilled session friends on the record. They're all great players, but I didn't want great. I wanted ME.

Professional Achievements

Who ME is can be summed up by saying I'm a songwriter and an author. I've won the Best Song award in the Nashville Scene Critics Poll twice. My three books (including Cheese Chronicles, which I've been told is a cult classic) have four and five-star reader ratings on Amazon. I've written songs for Todd Snider, Jimmy Buffett, Jason 85 to 92. I played in the bis-quits (with Will Kimbrough) from 92 to 94, and we had the honor of making a record for John Prines label.

Discography

I've made eight solo albums since then (counting this new one) and I've made three albums with a side project band called Daddy (again with Will Kimbrough).

Album Highlights

The songs? My new one starts off with Pay it Forward. It's about perseverance in a world that wants to conquer you with apathy. A Little Bit of Sex Part 2 is about the joys of post-cancer libido loss and finally the heat's off. (I'm serious.) I Got No Place to Go and You Don't Get Over Love are both about lost love. Job Hunting While Depressed is self-explanatory. I Thought I Was Fine is about my waking up the morning after a good gig, checking my email and finding out it wasn't a great gig after all. (Thank God my drinking days are over.) I Do is about being on the road and missing your wife. It's All About Me is about a narcissist in love, if such a thing can happen. I Wish I'd Known You Better, the only ballad on the album, is a salute to my late older brother.

Cover Songs

The record has two covers: That Lucky Old Sun and Cole Porter's Miss Otis Regrets. I've never heard those songs done as rock songs before and they're now two of my favorite tracks on the record.

Closing Remarks

Oh what else is on the record? I think that's it. If you've read this all the way to the bottom, I appreciate it. You know, maybe I'll turn out in my dotage to be some revisionist hero for college listeners, like Mississippi John Hurt of something; then again, maybe I'll flap my arms and fly to the moon. Have a nice day and God Bless.

Tommy. Nashville, TN Fall, 2021