Country music star Jan Howard performs during the Grand Ole Opry’s last show at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.
Howard began her career in music by singing on demos written by then-husband Harlan Howard that were recorded by Nashville acts like Kitty Wells and Charlie Walker, and had her first own country hit with “The One You Slip Around With” in 1960.
Jan Howard, country singer and songwriter and longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry, died on Saturday in Gallatin, Tennessee. She was 91.
Howard, born Lula Grace Johnson, began her career in music by singing on demos written by then-husband Harlan Howard that were recorded by Nashville acts like Kitty Wells and Charlie Walker, and had her first own country hit with “The One You Slip Around With” in 1960.
Other notable singles she released as a solo artist — which made the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart — included “Evil on Your Mind” (1966), “Bad Seed” (1966) and “My Son” (1968), an emotional track written for one of her sons, Jimmy, who was soon after killed in action in Vietnam. She received Grammy nominations for both “Evil on Your Mind” and”My Son.”
Howard also recorded several songs as Bill Anderson’s duet partner, such as their 1967 hit “For Loving You,” and joined him on tour and on his syndicated television show.
As a songwriter, she penned songs for her own albums and worked on tracks for other artists, including Kitty Wells (1966’s “It’s All Over But the Crying”), Bill Anderson (1970’s “Love Is a Sometimes Thing”) and Connie Smith (1970’s “I Never Once Stopped Loving You,” which she co-wrote with Anderson).
Howard was inducted into the Opry in March 1971, making her a member for 49 years before her death.
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