Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard

Subject: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Gene
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 12:38 PM

INHO: The greatest songwriter the world has ever known.

Country music's preeminent composer, Harlan Howard boasted an unparalleled body of work encompassing well over 4,000 songs; the writer behind such perennials as "I Fall to Pieces," "Life Turned Her That Way," and "Heartaches by the Number," he scored major chart hits during every decade of the postwar era. Harlan Howard was born September 8, 1929, in Lexington, KY. After graduating high school, Howard spent the next four years stationed in Fort Benning, GA, serving as a military paratrooper; in his off hours, he learned to play guitar, and each Friday night he and a friend would hitchhike to Nashville, spending the weekends soaking up live country music.

After leaving the service, Howard spent the last half of the 1950s traveling the country, accepting short-term jobs everywhere from Michigan to Arizona; he finally ended up in California, in the Bakersfield area. There performers including Buck Owens and Wynn Stewart were developing the famed Bakersfield sound. Howard's fledgling compositional skills were recognized, and soon artists like Tex Ritter and Johnny Bond agreed to publish his songs. Then Stewart recorded Howard's "You Took Her off My Hands," and virtually overnight his work was in hot demand; in 1958 his "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" was cut by Charlie Walker, a short time later "What Makes a Man Wander" was covered by Jimmy Skinner.

In early 1959, Kitty Wells scored with her rendition of "Mommy for a Day"; Howard's significant breakthrough came later in the year, when his classic "Heartaches by the Number" became a smash for Ray Price.

In mid-1960, the Howards relocated to Nashville; he soon authored another hit for Price, "I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today," And a pair of tracks for Buck Owens, "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)" and "Above and Beyond." In 1961, Howard and Hank Cochran co-wrote arguably his best-loved song, "I Fall to Pieces," a crossover success for the legendary Patsy Cline. Howard then penned the hit "Three Steps to the Phone (Millions of Miles)" for Jim Reeves, Jim Reeves also recorded Howard's "He'll Have to Go"; and "The Blizzard. In all, Howard notched 15 chart hits in 1961 alone; Among his other notable compositions that year were "Heartbreak U.S.A." (covered by Kitty Wells), And "Under the Influence of Love" and "Foolin' Around" (two more by Buck Owens).

Harlan Howard was writing a minimum of two or three songs daily, with about a dozen of those recorded each week; not surprisingly, he was named Billboard's Songwriter of the Year two years running. Harlan Howard scored a minor hit with his own single "Sunday Morning Christian," but a serious recording career was clearly never his intention. Instead, he remained Nashville's most prolific composer; between 1962 and 1963, his major hits included Johnny Cash's "Busted" (later a pop hit for Ray Charles), Ray Price's "You Took Her off My Hands," George Jones' "You Comb Her Hair," Roy Drusky's "Second Hand Rose," and Johnny & Jonie Mosby's "Don't Call Me From a Honky Tonk."

In 1964, Howard established his own publishing imprint, Wilderness Music, and George Jones notched another hit with "Your Heart Turned Left (And I Was on the Right)"; The following year, Howard and Owens co-authored the latter's chart-topper "I've Got the Tiger by the Tail." In 1966, Howard and Tompall Glaser teamed to write the superlative "Streets of Baltimore" for Bobby Bare, and a year later wife Jan Howard had a hit with "Evil on Your Mind." In 1967, Mel Tillis cut "Life Turned Her That Way," another of his greatest compositions (it was later covered by Ricky Van Shelton). Hank Williams, Jr. scored in 1968 with "It's All Over (But the Crying).

Howard fell prey to an extreme case of writer's block which threatened to derail him for the duration of the 1970s. He scored only a handful of hits in the years to follow, among them a pair of chart-toppers, Melba Montgomery's "No Charge" and Charlie Rich's "She Called Me Baby."

By the 1980s, Howard had settled into semiretirement, although he regularly tutored up-and-coming songwriters at Tree Publishing; In 1982, John Conlee dusted off his "Busted" and reached the Top Ten, And two years later a pair of his more recent gems -- "I Don't Know a Thing About Love (The Moon Song)," covered by Conway Twitty, and the Judds' rendition of "Why Not Me" -- reached number one.

Other contemporary artists to hit with Howard's songs include Reba McEntire, Highway 101, and k.d. lang.

Howard died on March 3, 2002, in Nashville.

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: catspaw49
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 01:32 PM

"Country music's preeminent composer"......yeah, I think he was all of that.

Gene, you make a strong case and though I am sure some will argue, I would tend to agree. If he wasn't the best, than he does have the best tales and the stories of Harlan Howard are legendary. Most come from other songwriters who I think would all agree with you, some from former wife Jan, and a lot of them from the horse's mouth.

I'd be willing to bet that he wrote more songs or the germs of songs on bar napkins than others write in a lifetime. I remember hearing him tell about being pretty well gone in some bar or another one night and he was listening to the two people behind him talking. One of them used a phrase that might have been missed by the rest of us at our best, but Harlan Howard was never quite like the rest of us. He heard that one phrase and had no idea exactly how it fit into the conversation really, but he knew he liked it so immediately wrote it down on the cocktail napkin---"Pick me up on your way down."

John Prine agrees with you too Gene......So who am I to disagree with either you or John Prine?

Was it "I Fall to Pieces" that he brought home and had Jan sing but she knew she'd never get it? Anyway, a good thread here Gene and a nice post from you to start it off.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 02:09 PM

Please Release Me was one of his. I believe. A great writer.

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 04:06 PM

The greatest ("country") songwriter the world has ever known, I suppose is subjective, but in my own humble opinion I agree. If Hank Williams had lived as long a life, who knows, but Harlan was very good and very prolific. It is not easy to combine such a high degree of quality and quantity over a sustained period, but these two rank on top for me, and Hank's short life probably leaves him in second place.

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Gene
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 07:22 PM

well now SMcL that is a horse of a different color...

Hank Williams, Sr. is my all time favorite singer/songwriter/performer, BAR NONE...

I have every song book of his, and every known recording...
since 1947 -- and before - what little survived from radio station
broadcasts. No one will ever accomplish what Hank Williams
did in just over 5 years...NO ONE!

I would not be surprised to find out that his songs have
been recorded in every nation around the world, and by
over 1,000 artists, if not mamy more.

I also have over 100 tribute songs about Hank Williams.

***and Hank Snow is a close second favorite of mine, only because Hank Williams was my favorite severals before Hank Snow came along..
A few years ago in Denver I plopped down $20 for a used Hank Snow LP...only to find to my dismay, when i got home,I already had it, in a different cover...

And many others are tied for 3rd place..But you know it hard to
put singers/songwriters/performers in a box...

...there's Marty Robbins/Jim Reeves/Jimmie Rodgers/Ernest Tubb/
Eddy Arnold/Willie Nelson..& more & lots of bluegrass artists,
folk artists...etc.

about 50 years of wonderful recordings from 1925ish to 1975..
after that Real Country Music went into a tailspin..

just MHO (or MHR, my heartfelt ravings) of course...

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 07:36 PM

the thing about these guys is, you can make a living singing their songs.

You can't say that about a lot of people who have legendary status.

I think the whole basis of folk music is pretty awful.

All these pretty bloody awful celtic ballads are supposed to masterpieces, and yet you sing, please release me and the bloody room joins in.

you work it out.

I bloody can't. Basically because I think the entire world has a what TS Eliot called a dissociation of sensibility. they say one thing's important to it, but its not. Its not Robert Frost, TS Eliot, Ezra Pound - its Harlan Howard, Jerome Kern, Cole Poter and Lennon/MacCartney.

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 10:07 PM

Gene,
As I said subjective. Of course Hank Williams sang his own songs and when you combine his singing and songwriting he was in a class by himself.
Hank Snow was recording his stuff in Canada (my home) before Hank Williams came on the scene, although it was in the early 1950's that he "moved on" to Nashville and the Opry.
   I think the thing that made Harlan so great was that he "made" so many stars of others who were doing his songs.
In any case music to me is not a contest and I think that they were all great!

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: pdq
Date: 05 Oct 06 - 10:14 PM

weelittledrummer,

Just think, if Bill Clifton had covered a few Harlan Howard songs, people would have a clue who he is today.

Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Gene
Date: 06 Oct 06 - 12:14 AM

For you Sandy, I will post my admiration of Hank Snow here.
I compiled this thru the years from LP covers and the Internet.
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The Hank Snow story is a tribute to the talent, hard work and perseverance of a self-made artist. Overcoming many obstacles, Hank first achieved stardom as the foremost Country music star of Canada. He later achieved stardom as one of the foremost Country Music Stars of the United States. Along the way, Hank Snow became a respected member of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
Clarence Eugene Snow, better known as Hank Snow, was born May 9th, 1914, in a small village near Liverpool, Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. His arrival as their first and only son brought great joy to his parents. But family means were moderate and times were hard and Hank learned early in life what it meant to go without the things most of his friends took for granted. At a time when most boys are still learning grammar, Hank was being plagued by life's cold hard realities. Poverty and divorce struck quickly at the two people he loved the most, his Mom and Dad.

At the age of twelve, Hank struck out on his own, shipping off to sea as a cabin boy on a fishing schooner. It was here that one of the most important single event in Hank's life took place. After several weeks at sea and after the day's strenuous labors were over, one of the crewmen pulled out an old guitar and suggested that Hank sing. Hank did and at that moment the die was cast. He quickly taught himself to play the guitar and whenever duties on board allowed, he sang his heart out. When he ran out of the songs he knew the words to, he improvised songs of his own. After barely escaping death by ship wreck, he gave up the sea to become a lumberjack,

Hank began his career as "The Singing Ranger" on a Canadian radio station. In Halifax, while on radio (at $10 per week), Hank met his "Min" and they were married. Together they missed more meals than they ate, but because "Min" believed completely in Hank, he was able to overcome the difficulties they faced together as he struggled to achieve success as "The Singing Ranger".

Hank made his first recording for RCA Victor in Canada in 1936. Within two years he was the number one best-selling Canadian artist. Hank Snow was moving forward, becoming successful in his homeland, but unable to establish himself across the border in the United States. Twice Hank journeyed to Hollywood and both times he returned to Canada disappointed and nearly broke, but with his spirit unbroken. In 1948 he decided to give the States a final try - traveling to Dallas where he did a LIVE show over radio station KGVL and appeared at the Roundup Club.

After that trip, RCA Victor began to release some of his Canadian recordings in the United States. His rise to stardom in the United States began as the records sold well in Texas and then spread to the east Tennessee area. A small start, but still it looked encouraging. Then, in the fall of 1949 Hank appeared as a supporting act in a show headed by another future Hall of Fame Country Music Great, Ernest Tubb.

In Hank Snow's own words; "Ernest brought me to the Grand Ole Opry when you had to have a hit record to come there. I had everything else but a hit record. It took him over a year to convince the people at WSM that I should have a try, and that he thought I had some talent." At the time, I was in Ft. Worth starving to death. I was on the same show he was headlining. I got $25.00 for my part of it, and that's when he told me, "You need to be at the Grand Ole Opry, that's where it's happenin'. I'll do everything in my power to get you there because I think you have something people like."

Ernest succeeded in getting Hank on the "Grand Ole Opry" in January of 1950. Hank's first major international hit, I'm Movin' On, soon followed. This initial success was followed by hit after hit. The Hank Snow song style caught on and he's been going strong ever since.

THE BEST OF HANK SNOW includes many of his own compositions that were among his biggest hits: I'm Movin' On, The Rhumba Boogie, The Golden Rocket and Music Makin' Mama from Memphis. Although he is well known for his great renditions of ballads and train songs, he is probably more well known for for the hit song - I Don't Hurt Anymore.

According to Hank, the music of Jimmie Rodgers, America's Blue Yodeler, was a major influence in his early career. Hank Snow, like Jimmie Rodgers, is far more than an accompanist on the guitar. He is an accomplished instrumental soloist in his own right, having played "lead" guitar on several of his own recordings and having recorded several albums with the Chet Atkins. Other similarities could be found, from the same intensity and vibrant feeling that each put into their songs to their mutual liking for railroad songs.

Hank Snow climbed up the ladder of success from an extremely humble beginning as cabin boy, to lumberjack, to clerk, to insurance salesman and finally to the position of one of the world's great entertainers.

At an age when most singers in the field are barely getting started, Hank Snow left behind a decade of stardom in Canada to settle in Nashville, Tennessee. He made his first American RCA Victor recordings in March 1949. The following year he became a member and one of the biggest stars of the "Grand Ole Opry".

Hank Snow also achieved the ultimate recognition that every country music entertainer strives for - He was voted the 30th member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Hank Snow - "The Singing Ranger", is loved and admired by many millions of fans in the United States and Canada, and by country music lovers all over the world.



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Subject: RE: Tribute: The Great Harlan Howard
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 06 Oct 06 - 12:55 PM

I am a lifelong fan of Hank Snow. He was born about 250 miles from where I live. I have seen him perform live several times. Most summers I make it to the three day "Hank Snow Tribute" held at Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. There is a museun dedicated to him in his hometown of Liverpool a few miles from there. If the link below works it should go there.
         Sandy
         

Hank Snow Museum