From the archive
Notes from
the guardian
Vignettes written by Melanie Howard after forty years of being the guardian of the flame. These are her recollections of the songs and the people who made them, written first hand.
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Tiger by the Tail
Melanie Howard tells the story of Harlan Howard and Buck Owens as broke roommates in 1950s California, and how Harlan tossed off the lyric to 'Tiger By The Tail' in a car across Texas...
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Darrell Barton…Who the Heck Is Darrell Barton?
Melanie Howard recounts meeting cameraman Darrell Barton at Harlan Howard Songs while he shot footage for a planned 60 Minutes piece, and discovering he had been a student of her father, Robert P. Smith.
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He Called Me Baby
Melanie Howard writes about the nicknames Harlan Howard gave her, the many recordings of 'He Called Me Baby' she loves, and the song's return to his heirs and its use on the FX series...
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"Be Careful Who You Love"
Melanie Howard explains why Harlan Howard refused to put other names on his songs, and how the story of Arthur Q. Smith, who sold his songs for next to nothing, led him to write...
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The Ties That Unbind
Melanie Howard traces Harlan Howard's family roots in Depression era Detroit, the marriage of Ralph Howard and Evelyn Steed, and the social workers who looked after him when no relative could.
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"The Chokin' Kind"
Melanie Howard writes about discovering Allen Toussaint's 1971 version of 'The Chokin' Kind' on the anniversary of Harlan Howard's death, and the many artists who have made the song their own.
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The Writing of "I Fall to Pieces"
Melanie Howard shares the two paragraphs Harlan Howard wrote in 1999 about co-writing 'I Fall To Pieces' with Hank Cochran, and adds what he left out about Patsy Cline and Owen Bradley.
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Lori McKenna
Melanie Howard remembers hearing Lori McKenna's Bittertown album in 2004, signing her to Melanie Howard Music, and the run that led to Faith Hill cutting four of her songs and inviting her onto Oprah.
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The Difference a Word Makes
Melanie Howard explains copyright recapture and the difference between the term and the life of a copyright, and why the foreign rights to songs like 'I Fall To Pieces' stay with the original publisher...
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"Somebody Should Leave"
Melanie Howard tells how Harlan Howard and Chick Rains wrote 'Somebody Should Leave' on the way to a night of fishing in 1983, and how Reba McEntire picked it out of a pitch session...
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From the archive
Harlan Howard, the "Juvenile" Part II
Melanie Howard continues Harlan Howard's childhood story: his years with his alcoholic father Ralph, the fates of his brothers Milton and Wallace, and the stepfather who forced him back into foster care at eight.
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Harlan Howard, "The Juvenile"
Melanie Howard tells how she tracked down a 200 page Michigan state file on Harlan Howard's childhood, found the only known photographs of him at seven, and read the file with him over a...
