Tom Higgenson, the frontman and chief songwriter of Plain White T’s, has left an indelible mark on the pop-punk music scene. Born on February 22, 1979, in Villa Park, Illinois, USA, Higgenson initially wanted to be a drummer but later decided to become a singer-songwriter.  Tom co-founded Plain White T’s with Ken Fletcher, Dave Tirio, and Steve Mast in Lombard, IL in 1997. The band gained an underground following in Chicago before achieving national recognition.

Lead singer, Tom Higgenson, wrote the Billboard No. 1 hit song “Hey There Delilah” about Delilah DiCrescenzo, who finished third in the steeple chase at the 2006 US Nationals and won the 6K title at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships in the fall of 2007. She competed at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials, where she made the finals but did not qualify for the Olympic team.

Higgenson met Delilah in 2002 through a mutual friend. When he met her, he said, “I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I told her, ‘I have a song about you already.’ There was no song. But I thought it was smooth.” Although she was not interested in Higgenson, he wrote a song about her a year later and sent it to her. Higgenson said, “There was never anything between us. It was kind of funny, kind of sad, actually. The story of my life.”

DiCrescenzo did accept an invitation to attend the Grammys as Higgenson’s guest. “Hey There Delilah” was nominated for the Grammy for Song of the Year (the award for best songwriting on a song), as well as Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group (Vocal) in 2008. Tom Higgenson was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 annual ceremony in 2023.