TUSCUMBIA, Ala. (WHNT) – In the words of Tosha Hill, music is life. The Shoals singer-songwriter is now living the dream. Tosha’s introduction to music started under a Christmas tree. When she was three years old, her parents gave her a keyboard. “I started playing guitar when I was about 11,” she told me, “Dad was showing me some chords on the guitar and my brother Josh. So, it’s really neat how it kinda evolved.”
Her family has deep musical roots that go back to her father Billy’s parents. They were sharecroppers. “After a long day of picking cotton, they would come home. Paw Paw would pull out his French harp. Maw Maw would sing along to a Mother Mabel Carter song, and they had eight beautiful kids together,” she said with a smile, “The kids, they would just sit there and just listen to their parents play and sing and they would join in. It’s just beautiful.”
That love of music was passed down by her parents, Billy, and Tina. “I’ve always thought that mom has a beautiful voice but she’s not one to get out and sing in front of everybody, but I just love it,” she said, “We were always surrounded by music growing up and I love that.”
The Hill kids grew up on a lot of different genres. “It was from Chuck Berry to Little Richard to Diana Ross and the Supremes, Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris,” Tosha recalled with a smile. They blared them all in their music room. “Me and my brothers would get down there and jam out to those cassette tapes,” she remembered fondly, “I mean, it was just so much fun.”
That fun continues today. Her two brothers, Josh and Caleb play in her band. Mom and Dad stay out of the spotlight, taking care of things behind the scenes. Tosha’s musical journey is a family affair. “It is,” she said with a huge smile, “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Her first original album is her story. “To me, it’s about being real,” she told me. Tosha and her dad wrote all five songs for “Forty Miles.” And she loves that. “I can just be myself,” she said, “It’s like writing with my best friend.”
They’ll grab their guitars and just sit. “He’ll talk about things that have happened in his life and we’ll just sit there and have a heart to heart and before we know it, a song is being born,” she said.
Rolling Stone Magazine got wind of “Forty Miles” and wrote, “A powerful voice carrying shades of Margo Price and Linda Ronstadt.” When I read that to her while sitting in the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia, she smiles and said, “It was really complimentary, and it was so beautiful. I mean, I’m so grateful.”
The article continued, “A promising entry that makes Hill a young performer worth watching.” That’s a huge compliment. “It really is and I’m so thankful for it Jerry. I really am,” Tosha responded, “I’m just so excited. “
She brings that excitement to the stage. I saw it firsthand when she had a free cd release concert at the Mars Music Hall at Huntsville’s VBC. “I want people to find some healing from this record, to find something they can connect with and enjoy,” she said before smiling and continuing, “And you know, just go down the road with the top down and just crank it up because that’s what music is. Music is life.”
Tosha added, “I want to connect with people on that level. It’s very important for me to do that.” She’s well on her way. There are several ways for fans to do that. You can click on any of her social media links to keep up with all things Tosha! You can find those on her Tosha Hill website, or you can click on the links to find her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
