Harlan Howard

Harlan Perry Howard (born September 8, 1927 in Detroit , Michigan , † March 3, 2002 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was an American country musician and composer . Many of the most famous country pieces are from his pen.

Life

Childhood and youth

Born in Detroit, the Howards family moved to Lexington , Kentucky two years after he was born . From a young age he developed a great interest in country music; his idol was Ernest Tubb and he listened to the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night . At the same time he began to write his own texts, inspired by the Tubbs. After successfully completing school, he spent the next two years in Fort Benning , Georgia . There he learned to play the guitar and on his free weekends he traveled with a friend to Nashville , Tennessee , the "capital" of country music.

Career

After military service, he traveled around the United States and worked as a casual worker. Eventually he settled in Bakersfield , California , where musicians such as Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart developed what is known as the Bakersfield Sound . Singers like Tex Ritter and Johnny Bond could already record small successes with his songs. With Howards You Took Her off My Hands , Wynn Stewart was able to land a hit; in the following time Charlie Walker with Pick Me Up on Your Way Down and Jimmy Skinner with What Makes A Man Wonder had further successes. His big break as a songwriter came in 1960 when Ray Price recorded his song Heartaches by the Number . The title took first place in the Billboard Country Charts and also in the pop charts, the title in the version of Guy Mitchell was able to place well.

By 1961, 15 of his titles had hit the charts and he was voted Songwriter of the Year for two years in a row . Howard had since moved to Nashville, where he continued to enjoy success, including the titles Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache) (Buck Owens), Heartbreak USA ( Kitty Wells ), as well as The Blizzard and I Won ' t Forget You ( Jim Reeves ). In 1961 he brought out his first LP Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard . In the same year he wrote his best known song I Fall to Pieces with Hank Cochran , which became a hit in the version of Patsy Cline . In the years that followed, almost every Howard title became a hit. In 1967 Waylon Jennings released the album Waylon Sings Ol 'Harlan , on which Jennings only sang pieces written by Howard. His pieces reached the top of the charts until the early 1970s, after which things slowly calmed down around him. However, individual singers like Conway Twitty and Charlie Rich still had success with Howard's titles.

Harlan Howard died on March 3, 2002 at the age of 74. Howard was buried in Nashville City Cemetery . He is considered one of the greatest composers in country music. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997 .

Discography

Singles

year	title	Remarks
Tally Records
1959	Guy Named Joe / Fun on the Way
Capitol Records
1961	We're Proud to Call Him Son / Legion of the Lost
1964	Wishin 'She Was There (Instead of Me) / She Called Me Baby	She Called Me Baby later covered by Charlie Rich
1962	I Ain't Got Nobody / Ramblin 'Son of a Gun
1963	My Baby's His Baby Now / Someday Sweeheart
Monument Records
1964	It's All in Your Mind / I Can't Stand It
1964	Time to Bum Again / Previews of Coming Attractions	Time to Bum Again later covered by Waylon Jennings
1964	Hobo Jungle / Deepening Snow
1965	How Slow Time Goes / What's Left on Me
1965	Everglades / Busted	Everglades later covered by the Kingston Trio, Originally Busted by Johnny Cash (written by Howard)
1966	Another Bridge to Burn / Baby That Would Sure Be Good
1970	Too Many Rivers / Look Behind You
RCA Victor
1967	I'd Rather Be a Fool / Take It and Go
1967	It's Nothing to Me / Home from the Forest
1968	Old Podner / Where Were You When I Was Young
Nugget Records
1971	Sunday Morning Christian / That Little Boy Who Follows Me	Howard's only chart placement as a solo artist (# 38)
1971	Uncle Sam / Better Get Your Pride Back Boy

Albums

• 1961: Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard (Capitol Records)
• 1965: All Time Favorite Country Songwriter (Monument Records)
• 1967: Mr. Songwriter (RCA Victor)
• 1967: Down to Earth (RCA Victor)
• 1971: To the Silent Majority with Love (Nugget Records)
• 1981: Singer and Songwriter (Mill Records)

Web links

• Harlan Howard in the All Music Guide
• Harlan Howard on Hillbilly Music.com
• Official website
• Harlan Howard in the database of Find a Grave (English)