Jan Crutchfield born 26 February 1938

Jan Lynn Crutchfield (February 26, 1938 – October 30, 2012) was an American singer and songwriter. During his career, Crutchfield earned seven BMI Awards and was twice nominated for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. His “Statue of a Fool” was a top-10 hit three different times.

A native of Paducah, KY, Jan Crutchfield emerged on Nashville’s country-music scene in the early 1960s. Released his first single for the Phillips label in 1962 under the name of Jan Fields. 

                              

 In 1963, Faron Young sang the first of the songwriter’s many subsequent country hits, “Down By the River” and “We’ve Got 
Something in Common.” In 1965, Perry Como took Crutchfield’s  “Dream on Little Dreamer” onto the pop hit parade.

Bonnie Guitar scored with his “I’m Living in Two Worlds” in 1966, and the song went on to be recorded by at least eight other stars, including Loretta Lynn and Dinah Shore. Charley Pride sang Crutchfield’s “Does My Ring Burn Your Finger” into the country top-10 in 1967.

In that same year, Wilma Burgess introduced the songwriter’s melodic “Tear Time.” It was revived and taken to No. 1 by Dave & Sugar in 1978 and re-recorded by K.T. Oslin in 1996.

The classic “Statue of a Fool” became one of Jack Greene’s signature songs in 1967, when it became a No. 1 hit. He continued to sing it on Grand Ole Opry broadcasts into the 2000's. Brian Collins returned the song to the country top-10 in 1974, and it became a major hit a third time when sung by Ricky Van Shelton in 1989.

Jean Shepard (1970’s “Another Lonely Night”), Wanda Jackson (1971’s “Fancy Satin Pillows”), Faron Young (1972’s “This Little Girl of Mine”) and Tanya Tucker (1977’s “Ridin’ Rainbows”) kept Jan Crutchfield’s songs on the charts during the 1970s.

Lee Greenwood revived the songwriter’s fortunes in the 1980s by recording the Crutchfield-penned “It Turns Me Inside Out” (1981), “She’s Lying” (1982) and “Going, Going, Gone” (1984). Both Tucker and Greenwood were produced by Jan Crutchfield’s brother, Jerry Crutchfield.

The songwriter’s last charted title was 1985’s “It Should Have Been Love by Now,” a duet by Barbara Mandrell and Greenwood. But he continued to have songs recorded in the 1990s, such as 1993’s “Heartaches on Parade” by Cleve Francis. Even more recently, Ray Price recorded the Jan Crutchfield tune “You Just Don’t Love Me Anymore” in 2002.

Crutchfield died on October 30, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 74.

(Edited from MusicRow & Wikipedia)