Biography

Tom Kimmel is one of those unique singer-songwriters whose heartfelt artistry with words and music is both genre-crossing and timeless. Since 1980, when his songs were recorded by Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman (of Byrds fame) and Levon Helm (of The Band), dozens of his compositions have been covered by a host of major artists including Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Shawn Colvin, Waylon Jennings, the Stray Cats, Randy Travis and the Spinners. Tom’s unique ability to write songs that connect stems from his lifelong career as a touring performer.

Once an eclectic rock and roller, Tom found his voice as a singer-songwriter while opening Nanci Griffith’s 1991-92 world tour. A New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in ’93, he began performing as a solo act, stressing a lean, acoustic-centered approach to his music and bringing a poignant and humorous spirit to his poetry and storytelling.

Tom’s peers have joined critics in commending the Alabama native's unadorned stylings as uniquely soulful. Irish songstress Maura O’Connell, who has recorded haunting versions of Tom’s The Blue Train and Poetic Justice, says, "Tom is an incredible songwriter... And he seems to be getting better as the years go on." Crow Johnson, former ZMN publisher, calls Tom a "singer’s singer, writer’s writer." And according to The Nashville Scene, "Tom Kimmel's moody textured songwriting reaches into soulful realms that few Music Row pros enter."

After releasing two critically praised major label albums (in ’87 and ’90), Tom made his first independent album in 1994. Bones, a collection of live recordings, was followed by Short Stories, which featured guest performances by Emmylou Harris, The Fairfield Four, Gillian Welch, Jerry Douglas and other friends. Shallow Water, released in 2002, is a collection of spirit-infused songs and hymns, and Light of Day features vibrant, spare voice-and-guitar recordings written and produced by Tom in his home studio. A volume of poetry, The Sweetest & the Meanest, was published in 2005, and Never Saw Blue, an anthology of TK songs featured in film and television, arrived in the fall of 2008.

Featured in motion pictures such as Runaway Bride, Serendipity, and Twins, and in television shows as varied as Captain Kangaroo, Miami Vice and Touched By An Angel, recordings of Tom’s compositions have sold millions of copies around the world, achieving gold and platinum sales in many countries.

An avid whitewater enthusiast, Tom has kayaked through the Grand Canyon, in the remote Himalayan kingdoms of Bhutan and Nepal, and in the mountains of Mexico and France. A graduate of the University of Alabama, he was born in Memphis and raised in rural south Alabama. Along with his artistic endeavors he is a long time student of Siddha Yoga Meditation and is a Practitioner of Yoga for the Emotional Body, a spirit-centered therapy.