Career
Born and raised in Lubbock, Texas, Hancock"s grandmother had him classically trained in violin. At age 16, Tommy joined the military and traveled overseas as a paratrooper and military policeman, serving in the Pacific towards the end of World War Two. Upon his discharge at the end of the war, he returned to Lubbock, where he led a popular swing band called the Roadside Playboys.
The Playboys had various members over time, including performers such as guitarist Sonny Curtis and fiddler Benjamin "Tex" Logan.
In the late 1940s, Hancock hired Charlene Condray as a singer. They went on to marry.
In the early 1970s, Hancock was introduced to fellow performer Jimmie Gilmore. They bonded over a desire to seek out new spiritual experiences.
Hancock noted that "my whole thing with taking acid was I want to know God.
If there"s a god, I want to know him. And Jimmie was the first intelligent person I"d ever run into who was searching for God." Hancock played fiddle for Dale"s band, The Flatlanders. In 1980, the Hancock family settled in Austin, Texas.
In 2002, The Supernatural Family Band was inducted into the Country Music Association of Texas Hall of Fame.
