This article marks the 93rd birthday of Tompall Glaser, born in Spalding, Nebraska, on 3 September 1933, and highlights his overlooked role in founding the "outlaw country" movement of the 1970s alongside better-remembered peers Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Glaser produced Jennings' 1973 album Honky Tonk Heroes, widely regarded as the first outlaw country record, and his Nashville studio became a creative hub for artists resisting the polished conventions of Music Row.

Glaser began performing with his brothers Jim and Chuck as Tompall & the Glaser Brothers, earning a break in 1957 after appearing on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, which led to a deal with Marty Robbins' label and later Decca Records. The trio recorded ten studio albums between 1960 and 1975 and had their biggest hit with "Lovin' Her Was Easier" in 1981. In 1970 the brothers opened Glaser Sound studio, nicknamed "Hillbilly Central," which hosted figures including Kris Kristofferson and Shel Silverstein; Glaser also contributed two tracks, including his solo hit "Put Another Log On the Fire," to the landmark 1976 compilation Wanted! The Outlaws. He died in Nashville on 12 August 2013, aged 79.