The final scene of the series finale of “The Newsroom” includes Jeff Daniels and a few others singing the Tom T. Hall classic “That’s How I Got to Memphis.” I was not familiar with it, which isn’t surprising because I know precious little about country music, but that is entirely my loss. A great song that is now considered a standard.
Thomas T. Hall (1936 – 2021) was an American county music star. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10. He wrote “Harper Valley PTA ,” which was a No. 1 international crossover hit, and “I Love” which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. He is included in Rolling Stone‘s list of 100 Greatest Songwriters.
A quick refresher on the Newsroom: It was an American political drama about life in a newsroom. The television series was created and principally written by Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame. It premiered on HBO on June 24, 2012, and concluded on December 14, 2014, consisting of 25 episodes over three seasons.
If you didn’t know, actor Jeff Daniels is pretty serious about his music, as you can read about here.
As with so many country songs of the classic variety, “That’s How I Got to Memphis” is a sad tale in this case of a man who comes to Memphis to find an old lover who would likely be just as happy if he failed in the attempt. The song first appeared on Hall’s 1969 album Ballads of Forty Dollars: His Other Great Songs and has been covered by many other since.
First the classic version by Tom T. Hall and then the Newsroom cover.