From:   "Shaun Mather"  
Date:  Wed Sep 10, 2003  3:12 am
Subject:  BTBWY: Harlan Howard

Harlan Howard

Born - 8 September 1927, Detroit, MI
Died - 3 March 2002, Nashville, TN

Songwriter Harlan Howard, the "Dean of Nashville Songwriters", was arguably
the most celebrated of the tunesmiths in Nashville thanks to a phenomenal
career that saw him write over 4,000 songs. More than 100 of which hit the
top 10 for artists ranging from Patsy Cline to Ray Charles, Buck Owens to
Dean Martin. Some of biggies include Busted, I've Got A Tiger By The Tail,
Above And Beyond, I Fall To Pieces and Life Turned Her That Way.

Although born in Detroit, he was raised on the surrounding farms. He wrote
his first song at the age of 12 and fell in love with the country sounds of
the Grand Ole Opry. He moved to Los Angeles in 1955 where he worked a
factory in the days, and concentrated on his song-writing during the nights.
He even scribbled songs during his work hours. "I'd come home from work
sometimes with six songs. During that period of time, I never knew there was
that much money in songwriting. I was just writing because I loved it. I
never thought I'd be able to quit the factory and make a living full-time as
a writer."

Within a year of moving to LA, he met Tex Ritter and Johnny Bond who started
to record his songs, together with other West Coast artists like Wynn
Stewart and Skeets McDonald. His first real hit came in 1959 when Charlie
Walker scored with Pick Me Up On Your Way Down. Next came Heartaches By The
Number which hit for Ray Price on the country charts and Guy Mitchellon the
pop charts.

The time was right for a move to Nashville in 1960. By the following year he
had the amazing total of 15 songs in the top 40 of the country charts at one
time. It was a great time for Nashville songwriters and he began to hang
around town with Hank Cochran, Willie Nelson, and Roger Miller.

His success is down to the simplicity and honesty of his work. He descibed
country as "three chords and the truth" and has himself been called the
"three-chord kid". He believed that finding the perfect home for his songs
was the key, matching the right song with the right singer.

On March 3, 2002, Harlan passed away at home with his wife, Melanie, by his
side. A memorial celebrating his life and songs was held at the Ryman
Auditorium with musical contributions from Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell,
Bobby Bare, and Jim Lauderdale among others.

Harlan Howard was a lifetime student of the Civil War and always wanted to
be buried close to General Zollecoffer, the first general killed in the
Civil War. Thanks to the generosity of the General's descendents, a
tombstone is being erected in the family plot. Ever the consummate writer,
Harlan wrote his epitaph years ago..."He wrote the songs; I held the pen."

Of all the songs that he wrote and had recorded, my favourite has to be The
Chokin' Kind by his good buddy, Waylon Jennings.