Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. The Dean of Nashville Songwriters once described country music as “three chords and the truth” and saw his own six-decade version of the truth told through the recordings of Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash and scores more,
Howard’s name and face would go unrecognized by casual
country music fans, but not the hit recordings of songs he wrote or co-wrote,
including: “I Fall to Pieces” by Cline, “Busted” by Charles, “Heartaches by the
Number” by Ray Price and “Why Not Me?” by the Judds. In all, he wrote more than
4,000 songs and had more than 100 of his compositions crack the country top 10.
Harlan Perry Howard was born in Detroit--a publicist later
persuaded him to cite a more industry-appropriate birthplace of Kentucky, but
he abandoned the myth in recent years, his wife said Monday. His parents were
indeed from Kentucky, and like
many of the transplants seeking work with the automobile industry, they brought their love of country and blues music to Michigan. The Depression and troubles at home splintered the family, though, and Howard spent many of his youthful nights in foster homes.He dropped out of school in the ninth grade to work as a labourer but he already had another occupation on his mind..
many of the transplants seeking work with the automobile industry, they brought their love of country and blues music to Michigan. The Depression and troubles at home splintered the family, though, and Howard spent many of his youthful nights in foster homes.He dropped out of school in the ninth grade to work as a labourer but he already had another occupation on his mind..
Inspired by Ernest Tubb, he had fancied himself a songwriter
since the age of 12 and his unfolding life saga informed his lyrics with a
lonesome tinge. He joined the Army in 1947 and a stint as a paratrooper gave
him time to learn the guitar and took him close enough to Nashville to spend
weekends there, but he found it difficult to crack the city’s songwriting club.
Buck Owens with Harlan and Jan Howard |
Moving west also led to a new friendship, with a Bakersfield
singer named Buck Owens. The two would have a series of hits, but began their
collaboration with the song “Mommy for a Day,” which Kitty Wells would record. Howard
had by then written his first country hit, “Pick Me Up on your Way Down,” which
Charlie Walker took to No. 2 on the country charts in 1958.A year later,
“Heartaches by the Number” was a Howard-written hit not only for Price on the
country charts, but also for Guy Mitchell, who reached No. 1 on the pop charts.
Still, the songwriter was working in a book bindery in
Huntington Park for $200 a week when, in 1960, he opened the mail one day and
found “Heartaches” had delivered him a royalty check for $48,000. Within days
another one, for $52,000, arrived. “I went out and did the typical hillbilly
thing: I bought a brand-new
white-on-white Coupe de Ville,” he told Robert
Hilburn of The Times in 1992. “Paid
$5,200 cash for it.... The next thing I did was move to Nashville and hit the
ground running, writing day and night for 10 to 12 years.”
Waylon Jennings with Harlan |
He ran hard. In 1961, he had 15 songs on the country chart
at one time. He also struck up cocktail friendships with other writers such as
Hank Cochran, Willie Nelson and Roger Miller at Tootsies Orchid Lounge in
Nashville, across from the Grand Ole Opry. Howard launched a recording career
of his own, but unlike Nelson, he could never change his sheet-music success
into a performer’s spotlight--nor was Howard willing to forgo his passion for
fishing to hit the tour road.
Willie Nelson, Harlan and Hal Smith |
The reach of his hits earned him the nickname “the Irving
Berlin of country music” and, more simply, “Mr. Songwriter.” Noted for his
doting attention to younger generations of artists, he was famous in music
circles as a mentor as well. Howard was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters
Hall of Fame in 1973, the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997, and the
Songwriters Hall of Fame also in 1997.
He died of an apparent heart attack in Nashville in 2002, aged 74 after weathering a number of health problems and operations in recent years. Ongoing circulation problems in his legs limited his mobility in recent years but not his spirits, friends say. He was buried in Nashville City Cemetery.
(Edited from an article by Geoff Boucher @ The New York
Times & Wikipedia)
6 comments:
For “Harlan Howard Sings Harlan Howard (1961)” go here:
https://www.upload.ee/files/12247968/Harlan_Howard_-_Sings.rar.html
1. Come On Home, Boy 2:45
2. She Called Me Baby 2:17
3. Put Me Back Together Again 2:14
4. Has Anybody Seen Me Lately 2:19
5. Wishin' She Was Here (Instead Of Me) 2:18
6. Maybe The Hurt Will Go Away 1:58
7. We're Proud To Call Him Son 2:35
8. I Hope You're Lonesome 2:19
9. Legion Of The Lost 2:06
10. He's Just A Little Meaner 2:32
11. Life Goes On (I Wonder Why) 2:27
12. Pretty Good Shape 2:46
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Here’s a budget K-Tel 2010 MP3 Album of Various Artists
For “From the Pen of Harlan Howard” go here:
https://mega.nz/file/F6pDDDiS#UivhR6IlRCWXXAoV2ANE3Ypb4Y3gCpUslSmnFetOS1E
1. Baby, Don't Be Lookin' In My Mind - Joe Simon
2. Mommy For A Day - Kitty Wells
3. Busted - Johnny Russell
4. No Charge - Melba Montgomery
5. Cry Softly Darling - Willie Nelson
6. Odds And Ends (Bits And Pieces) - Warren Smith
7. Don't Call Me From A Honky Tonk - Johnny & Jonie Mosby
8. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down - Charlie Walker
9. Evil On Your Mind - Jan Howard
10. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down - Stonewall Jackson
11. Foolin' Around - Waylon Jennings
12. Sally Was A Good Old Girl - Waylon Jennings
13. He Called Me Baby - Ella Washington
14. Second Hand Rose - Roy Drusky
15. Heartaches By The Number - Guy Mitchell
16. She Called Me Baby - Ferlin Husky (a.k.a Simon Crum)
17. Heartaches By The Number - Ray Price
18. She's Gone, Gone, Gone - David Frizzell
19. Heartaches By The Number - Melba Montgomery
20. The Chokin' Kind - Joe Simon
21. Heartaches By The Number - Waylon Jennings
22. The Chokin' Kind - Z.Z. Hill
23. Heartbreak U.S.A.- Kitty Wells
24. The Hurtin's All Over - Connie Smith
25. Go Cat Go - Norma Jean
26. The Key's In The Mailbox - Tony Booth
27. I Don't Believe I'll Fall In Love Today - Warren Smith
28. The One You Slip Around With - Jan Howard
29. I Fall To Pieces - Wanda Jackson
30. The One You Slip Around With - Carl Belew
31. I Fall To Pieces - Al Hirt & Ace Cannon
32. Watermelon Time In Georgia - David Frizzell
33. I Wouldn't Buy A Used Car From Him - Norma Jean
34. Will Your Lawyer Talk To God - Kitty Wells
35. I've Got A Tiger By The Tail - Faron Young
36. Yours Love - Freddie North
37. I've Got A Tiger By The Tail - Waylon Jennings
38. Yours Love - Joe Simon
39. Let My Heart Be Broken - Willie Nelson
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
These early Country pioneers are fascinating to me, and this one is a real treasure!
Mark
Great songs from a great era. Thanks.
https://we.tl/t-UnNPmKnI8W
A big thank you goes to Duke who has kindly supplied the LP's listed below.
1961 - All Time Favorite Country Songwriter
1967 - Down To Earth
1967 - Mr. Songwriter
1971 - To The Silent majority With Love
1981 - Singer & Songwriter
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