Harper Valley PTA is a country music song written by Tom T. Hall. It was a major hit single for country songstress Jeannie C. Riley in 1968 and crossed over to the pop charts as well, eventually selling over 6,000,000 copies as a single. Country music, once known as country and western music, is a popular musical form developed in the southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues. ... Tom T. Hall is an American country musician and songwriter. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-sides, often accompanied by several B-sides—usually remixes or other songs. ... Jeannie C. Riley (born Jeanne Carolyn Stephenson on October 19, 1945 in Anson, Texas) is an American country and gospel music singer. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

The song tells the story of a junior high student who is sent home with a note to her single mother from the PTA of the school decrying her scandalous behavior by small-town standards. The mother decides to speak to a meeting of the PTA where she addresses various episodes of misbehavior on the part of several of its members, concluding, "This is just a little Peyton Place / And you're all Harper Valley hypocrites." Middle school and junior high school cover a period of education that straddles primary education and secondary education and serve as a bridge between them. ... A Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is a voluntary organisation bringing together parents and teachers of pupils in a particular school, usually for fund-raising and other activities relating to the welfare of the school rather than the progress of individual pupils. ... A scandal involves widely publicized allegations of wrong-doing, disgrace or moral outrage. ... Peyton Place, derived from the 1956 novel by Grace Metalious; a common catch phrase to describe any place known for its sordid atmosphere or nefarious doings. ...

In an interview, Hall admitted his inspiration for the song was passing by the Harpeth Valley Elementary School in Bellevue, Tennessee, not far from his then-home in Franklin. He liked the sound of the name and decided to write a song using a similar place name. Bellevue, Tennessee, is a large unincorporated suburb of Nashville. ... Franklin is a city located in Williamson County, Tennessee, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 41,842. ...

The song was later the inspiration for a television series of the same name (see: Harper Valley PTA (television show)). A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...