| Jan Howard |
Howard at the Grand Ole Opry in 2007
|
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Lula Grace Johnson |
| Also known as |
Jan Howard |
| Born |
March 13, 1930 (1930-03-13) (age 79) |
| Origin |
West Plains, Missouri, U.S. |
| Genre(s) |
country (Nashville sound) |
| Occupation(s) |
singer, songwriter, actress |
| Years active |
1960 – present |
| Label(s) |
Challenge Records
Capitol Records
Decca Records
Con Brio Records
MCA/Dot Records |
| Associated acts |
Harlan Howard, Bill Anderson, Wynn Stewart, Jeannie Seely, Dottie West, Connie Smith, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn |
| Website |
Jan Howard Web site |
Lula Grace Johnson (born March 13, 1930), better known as Jan Howard, is an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry star. She was one of country music's trailblazing female vocalists during the height of her career in the mid-1960s. Her ex-husband was legendary singer-songwriter Harlan Howard.
Howard's biggest hit and signature song is the 1966 country hit, "Evil on Your Mind," included in the book, Heartaches By the Number: The 500 Greatest Country Music Singles. In the late 1960s and early 70s, she dueted with Bill Anderson on a number of top 10 hits, including the number one hit, "For Loving You."
Biography
Early life and rise to fame
Howard was born in West Plains, Missouri in 1930 and was one of eight children. Her family was poor, but was able to maintain a farm. She attended a one-room schoolhouse, wearing homemade clothing. At only age 15, she married, and soon had children. However, three of her children died before she turned 20. After dealing with two unsuccessful marriages, Howard moved to Los Angeles, California, where she met aspiring songwriter Harlan Howard. They married in Las Vegas one month later. One evening though, Jan was washing dishes in her kitchen. While she was washing dishes, she was singing and Harlan heard her sing for the very first time, and liked what he heard. He thought Jan had talent and wanted her to become a country music singer.
Harlan persuaded Howard to make a demo tape of one of the songs he wrote called "Mommy For a Day." The song would later be a big hit for Kitty Wells. She soon worked as a demo singer for her husband, singing demos for other Country artists, like Buck Owens and Tex Ritter. It was Jan Howard who originally sang the demo for the Patsy Cline hit "I Fall to Pieces."
In 1959, she made her debut as a recording artist backed by Wynn Stewart's band. She recorded her first song that year called "Yankee Go Home," along with the Harlan Howard composition, "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down" (which was once recorded by Charlie Walker).
Success As a solo singer in the 60s and "Evil on Your Mind"
In 1959, under the name "Jan Howard" she released the single "Yankee Go Home," which failed to hit the country charts. In 1960, the Howards went to Nashvile, Tennessee where they appeared on The Prince Albert Show, the Grand Ole Opry segment carried nationally by NBC Radio. Howard then released her first single under her new record company, Challenge. Titled, "The One You Slip Around With," the song was Howard's first significant country hit, hitting the Top 15, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard country music chart. Performing on the Grand Ole Opry led to friendships with several country singers, including legendary singer Patsy Cline, who she introduced herself to. According to Cline's 1980 biography, Honky Tonk Angel, Cline originally yelled at Howard after a performance on the Opry stage. Howard fought back, and Cline was shocked by her reply. Cline then said to Howard, "Anybody who stands up to Cline is all right, we're gonna be good friends." The two were good friends on and off the Opry until Cline's death in a plane crash in 1963.
Meanwhile, painfully shy Jan was suffering from the psychological scars of her youth, as well as the anxiety of beginning a new adventure. When her weight dropped below 97 pounds, Harlan hospitalized Jan and she went into therapy. [1]
Howard appeared on Jubilee USA on February 6, 1960, the same year she won Billboard magazine's "Most Promising Female Country Award." In 1962, she charted successfully on the country charts at number 27 with, "I Wish I Was a Single Girl Again." However, none of Howard's other singles were successful, following that. Despite this problem early in her career, Howard did tour extensively. Howard however, felt a lack of self-confidence, which led her to fall out of expectations for the Opry's female acts.
In 1966, Howard's career took off as a solo artist. In 1965, her record of "What Makes a Man Wander" hit the Top 25 on the country charts. Her next single was released in 1966 titled, "Evil on Your Mind." The song was the biggest solo hit of Howard's career, hitting number 5 on the Billboard country charts and proved to be her signature song throughout her career. The song also helped to prove that female country singers could speak of trouble in their marriages. An album of the same name was released that year. The follow-up to "Evil on Your Mind" was "Bad Seed." The song reached the Top 10 in 1966, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard charts.
That same year, Howard paired up with singer Bill Anderson on the Top 40 hit, "I Know You're Married (But I Love You Still)." This song set the trend of the future hits to be recorded by the pair. Between 1967 and 1968, Howard acquired a number of Top 40 hits, like "Roll Over and Play Dead" (1967), "Any Old Way You Do" (1967), and "I Still Believe in Love" (1968). In 1967, Howard paired up again with Anderson. Their single "For Loving You" hit number 1 on the Billboard country chart, and spent four weeks at the top of the chart. The song was her only chart-topper. Between 1968 and 1969, her solo career continued to be successful, starting with the 1968 song, "Count Your Blessings Woman." The song reached the Country Top 20 at number 16. Her other Top 20 hits from this time include "My Son" (1969) and "We Had All the Good Things Going" (1969).
"My Son" was Howard's favorite composition. She dreamed in 1968 that her son, who was fighting in the Vietnam War, would be killed in battle, which came true. She pleaded that her son would return home, but he died that year. The song was a Top 15 country hit in 1969.
Success continues in the early 1970s
In the early 1970s, Howard paired up again with Bill Anderson for a series of duet singles. In 1970, their song, "If It's All the Same to You" hit number 2 on the country charts that year, just missing the top spot. Their album of the same name was released that year also. Soon, Howard and Anderson were one of the biggest duet groups of the early 70s, racking up two other Top 10 Country hits between 1970 and 1971. Their 1970 album Bill and Jan or Jan and Bill spawned their other two Top 10 country singles, "Someday We'll Be Together" (1970) and "Dis-Satisfied" (1971). In 1968 and 1970, the duet pair were nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year by the CMA Awards, but never won the award.
Shortly after the success Howard had with Anderson, she went back to recording as a solo artist again. However, this time she wasn't as successful as she was in the 60s. She had one other Top 40 hit, which was released in 1972 titled "Love is Like a Spinning Wheel", which only reached No. 36. Another single from the album of the same name of her Top 40 hit didn't even chart the Top 40. In 1973, Howard joined The Johnny Cash Show, and continued to release minor hits up until 1978. Her last charting single, released in 1978, was "To Love a Rolling Stone".
Howard was also an experienced songwriter. In 1966, she wrote the Kitty Wells hit "It's All Over But the Crying", and in 1970 she wrote the Bill Anderson hit "Love Is a Sometimes Thing". Together, Bill and Jan wrote the 1970 Connie Smith hit "I Never Once Stopped Loving You". Jan also co-wrote "Dis-Satisfied" with her son Carter. Four years after her son's death (1973), Howard's other son David committed suicide. Throughout her career, Howard has been nominated for countless Grammy awards and CMA awards, but has yet to win either. Jan Howard placed 30 singles on Billboard's country music charts between 1960 and 1978. In 1979, Howard and Tammy Wynette went on a tour throughout the United States and Great Britain.
Later career and life today
Since March 27, 1971, Howard has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry where she has been a regular performer for over 30 years. She has also opened many doors for other country music artists. She has toured every state in the United States, and has also toured in 21 countries. She has also appeared on The Today Show, Family Feud, and Hee Haw. In 1984, Howard released the album Tainted Love, and that same year she published her best-selling autobiography, Sunshine and Shadow. In 1987, she released another album titled, The Life of a Country Girl Singer, but by this time, her chart success had faded.
In 1990, Howard re-married. In 2005, she was inducted into the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame. Most recently, she has released a box set called Through the Years. Her hometown of West Plains, Missouri pays homage to Howard by observing a Jan Howard Day annually. In West Plains, the US 63 bypass is known as the Jan Howard Expressway.
In 2002, Howard made her acting debut in the feature film Changing Hearts starring Faye Dunaway, which also featured Howard's friend and country singer, Jeannie Seely.
Discography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
