Harlan Howard

Dubbed "the Irving Berlin of country music" due to his status as the most successful and prolific songwriter in the history of the genre, Harlan Howard wrote literally hundreds of hits over the span of five decades, sometimes charting as many as 15 songs at one time. Originally a factory worker who composed music as a hobby, Howard moved to Los Angeles in 1955 and before long placed songs with the likes of Wynn Stewart, Bobby Bare, and Ray Price. After relocating to Nashville in 1961, he became a one-man hit-making machine, even recording several albums of his own music. In later years, Howard cemented his legacy even further by mentoring scores of aspiring songwriters and starting his own publishing company. A brilliant everyman lyricist with a gift for simple stick-in-the-head melodies and catch phrases, Howard produced work that continues to have universal appeal.