Tommy Hancock

Who is Tommy Hancock?

Thomas O. Hancock is widely regarded as the godfather of West Texas music.

Born and raised in Lubbock, Texas, Hancock's grandmother had him classically trained in violin. But at age 16, Tommy joined the military and traveled overseas as a paratrooper and military policeman. In 1946 he left the service and returned to Lubbock, where he led a popular swing band called the Roadside Playboys. He hired young Charlene Condray as a girl singer in the late 1940s; they were later to wed and have four children. Together they traveled the Rocky Mountains as The Supernatural Family Band.

In 1980 the Hancock family settled in Austin, Texas, where they found the local attitudes much to their liking. After a long musical career in his new hometown, in March 2000 Tommy was inducted into the Austin Chronicle Music Awards Hall of Fame. In 2002 The Supernatural Family Band was inducted into the Country Music Association of Texas Hall of Fame.

In the early 1970s, Hancock and his family became followers of Guru Maharaj Ji.