Actor, writer and producer Tommy (C. Thomas) Howell is known to audiences worldwide for his iconic role of Ponyboy Curtis in the 1983 film The Outsiders. But beyond his obvious talent as an onscreen storyteller, Howell is also a gifted singer-songwriter. Now, Howell is releasing his debut single, the Dean Miller-produced "Rose Hill," inspired by a life-changing visit to the Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Ga. where the Allman Brothers Band members Duane and Gregg Allman and Berry Oakley were laid to rest.
Howell says the experience had a profound impact on him — not only because it's the Allmans' final resting place, but also because of what Rose Hill had meant to the band as young songwriters.
"It was a place of solitude for them," Howell tells Wide Open Country. "It was a place where they could get away from everybody and be quiet and sort of spread out and be artistic. I went there and I had the exact same experience. There I was hanging out in Rose Hill feeling very sentimental and my imagination sort of took over and I couldn't help but think 'they were alive one time and walking around here writing songs' and it was just a direct reflection of life. Here I am walking around here and writing songs and one day I'm not going to be here — just like them."
Hear "Rose Hill" below.
Howell will bring "An Evening of Music & Storytelling'' to select stages this Fall.
The multi-talented artist is also set to star in Netflix's forthcoming action comedy series Obliterated, from the creators of Cobra Kai.
