Written by: Melanie Smith-Howard Producer extraordinaire, Tony Brown, called and asked if Harlan and I would be willing to host a cocktail party gathering at...

Harlan and Dennis were more than just writing pals, they were also friends. It was imperative to Harlan to be friends first. He disliked co-writing with comp...

The title of this musing is a reference to a line in a country song by our friend, Thom Schuyler, who wrote “16th Avenue,” a hit for Lacy J. Dalton in the ea...

Today, March 3, 2020 is the anniversary of the death of Harlan Howard. An eighteen year void. Nearly two decades of longing. Longing to see his smile, longin...

Harlan Howard was a great friend to many. He loved hanging round songwriters but also liked singers and bartenders - anyone who would sit and chat while he d...

“Life Turned Her That Way” was the first of many #1 records I got to experience with Harlan Howard. It was in the latter part of 1987 and the song was brand ...

Harlan Perry Howard may not be a household name, but I bet you know some of his songs. Being an introvert, Harlan didn’t relish the spotlight. Yet, he wanted...

During the 1990’s, I had the pleasure of serving on the board of a school in Nashville that I dearly love, W.O. Smith Music School https://www.wosmith.org/. ...

Usually on the Tuesday closest to September 8th, a large stage was erected in the parking lot of BMI, bars were set up and a huge honky-tonk took over Music ...

When Harlan Howard moved from California to Nashville in June 1960, he hit the ground running. Fresh from shucking his blue collar, Harlan got up early, smok...

In 1989 shortly after Harlan and I married, we started a publishing company and appropriately named it, Harlan Howard Songs. During that time, we lived in a...

The year was 1992, early summer, and Harlan Howard had an appointment to write with Kostas at Shoney’s Inn on Demonbruen. After forty plus years of professio...

Harlan Howard and Buck Owens were “starvation buddies” in the early 1950’s. Harlan had moved from Michigan to California where there was a burgeoning music s...

Most of my stories are about Harlan Howard, and though Harlan is involved in this story; he is not the central figure. In the early 2000’s, Dan Rather, wante...

Melanie Smith-Howard/Candi Staton Well he did. Harlan sometimes called me child bride, but most days he referred to me as Baby. When we first met, he called ...

Harlan Howard spent his adult life as a professional songwriter and was proud to be one. He often referred to his songs as his children. He loved them all eq...

Harlan’s early years were much like a dandelion on a windy, spring day. He was a tender weed with a strong root system. Harlan was that cheerful, little, bri...

I love the surprise of finding a classic Harlan Howard song that is reimagined or unfamiliar to me. I am most impressed when artists take a well-known song a...

Harlan Howard wrote two paragraphs in July 1999 about co-writing the iconic song “I Fall To Pieces” with Hank Cochran. Harlan moved to Nashville on June 6th ...

In the spring of 2004, I was working with the gifted singer songwriter, Mary Gauthier. She was at my office telling me about a fellow Bostonian singer songwr...