Patty Loveless Remembers Harlan Howard
Patty Loveless is making sure that songwriter Harlan Howard is not forgotten. She graciously serenaded an industry crowd with "Blame It on Your Heart" at the ACM Honors last night (Sept. 22) in Nashville, where Howard was posthumously honored with the ACM's Poet's Award. Although he died in 2002, he's still considered country music's most legendary songwriter. In addition to "Blame It on Your Heart," his credits include "Heartaches by the Number," "I Fall to Pieces," "Pick Me Up on Your Way Down," "Tiger by the Tail" and "Why Not Me?" as well as "Busted," which Loveless includes on her new album, Mountain Soul II.
During a recent interview at CMT, Loveless recalled one of the first lunch meetings she took in Nashville, back in the mid-1980s as she was trying to get her career going. On one side was Chet Atkins; on the other, Harlan Howard. "Man, that was something else," she said. "That was the perfect sandwich!"
Loveless said her producer/husband Emory Gordy Jr. once struck up a conversation with Howard about "Busted," which was initially made famous by Johnny Cash as well as Ray Charles. "Emory had mentioned to him about 'Busted' and how it was such a great song, and what a twist that would have been if it would have been about coal miners," Loveless said. "Harlan said, 'You're not even going to believe this, but the original lyrics were about coal miners.'" Indeed, Howard had pitched the song to Cash, but since Cash knew more about cotton than coal, Howard amended the narrative -- and gave Gordy a copy of the original words. "So, no, I didn't change the lyrics to suit me!" she said, laughing. Of course, with Howard's legacy firmly intact, there's no need to change a word.
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Mitchell says:
Patty is the greatest, and always has the most respect for the pioneers in the music business.
Redmaz says:
Pure Americana. Patty Loveless is amazing. One of the all time greats in Country Music. Mountain Soul II is another soulful masterpiece.
peppersprout says:
The lady knows her stuff! … a sharer and a giver with a gigantic respectful soul & heart!
I’ve spent countless hours listenin’ to “teasers” & anticipatin’ the full release of Mountain Soul II … it’s definitely up to par with it’s namesake … no scrimpin’ on quality music and/or talent … Emmylou, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Vince Gill and Del McCoury to name a few whose vocals grace this treasure of a musical gift!
peppersprout says:
correction - it’s supposed to be “its” on the second one! … :)
Redmaz - don’t know if you’re much of a cowboy and/or Christmas music fan but new release, “Christmas on the Range,” is a goody for folks such as myself who like that sort of thing … it’s packed with some golden secular oldies and classic cowboy holiday tunes sung with a definitive western flair … 20 terrific tunes to be exact, if memory serves me correctly! … Hank Thompson, Roy Roger, Gene Autry, Faron Young, Ferlin Young, Tex Ritter, Tennessee Ernie Ford and a passel of others! … some of the music really gets back to the roots of it all!
solongsowrong says:
Thank you all, for the glowing endorsement of Mountain Soul II!
Seriously sounds like one not to miss. I need to do some research and give this one a listen.
Bullride says:
Some of these pop acts like CU and TS could take some lessons from Patty Loveless! She is great and leaves those kids in the dust! Patty has more soul in her voice than those two combined. She’s the Princess of Country Music.