"Hello Tom Hambridge, it's Lynyrd Skynyrd."

Grammy-winning Tom Hambridge and Me

Every once in awhile I have a reaction of 'that's just so cool' and that's exactly how I felt when I heard Tom Hambridge and The Rattlesnakes at a recent house concert hosted by Wanda and Terry Seay.

In addition to being a killer songwriter in many genres (hits by Keith Anderson, BB King, Meatloaf and Gretchen Wilson to name a few- read full list here), Tom won a Grammy for producing Buddy Guy's "Living Proof" album in 2010- a project also features his gifts for songwriting, percussion and harmonies.

Tom sings and plays percussion- which is both interesting to watch and musically captivating. During the show, he had us all laughing and singing along to his songs like "The Upside of Lonely" and "I Got Your Country Right Here" while his song about serving in the armed forces, "Nineteen," swept a wave of emotion through the room. He even had his daughters join him on stage for an Amy Winehouse cover- and it's clear that talent runs in the family.
Tom and The Rattlesnakes

Tom shared several great stories about playing at the White House as well as getting called by Lynyrd Skynyrd to write for several of their albums at an 'undisclosed location.' Tom said it was during one of these trips he took a song idea that became "Mad Hatter," the only new song included on their double platinum greatest hits album.

Can you imagine taking that call for a co-write? Yeah- I'd say that's just so cool.