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Jan Howard: Grand Ole Opry member and country singer dies at 91

Among her many iconic tracks was her first hit 'The One You Slip Around With' which was written by her husband and Fuzzy Owen, and ended up being a Top 20 single in the 1960s
PUBLISHED MAR 29, 2020
Jan Howard (Getty Images)
Jan Howard (Getty Images)

Legendary country singer Jan Howard, who was also a 49-year-old member of the Grand Ole Opry, has died. The Opry released a statement announcing the chart-topping hitmaker's death, revealing that she died on Saturday in Gallatin, Tennessee, at the age of 91.

Howard, who was born Lula Grace Johnson in West Plains, Missouri, in 1930, has 10 other siblings. She was the eighth of 11, two out of whom died before reaching the age of two. Howard dropped out of high school and got married at 16, but she divorced soon and moved to Los Angeles. There she went on to meet one of the Bakersfield Sound creators Wynn Stewart, and later, she also met her second husband, songwriter Harlan Howard.

She then signed with Challenge Records, and upon their request, changed her name to Jan Howard.

Singers/Songwriters Roy Clark and Jan Howard attend The Country Music Hall of Fame 2015 Medallion Ceremony at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on October 25, 2015, in Nashville, Tennessee (Getty Images)

Among her many iconic tracks was her first hit 'The One You Slip Around With', which was written by her husband and Fuzzy Owen, that ended up being a Top 20 single in 1960. After the Howards relocated to Nashville, she began appearing on the Opry. From singing demos of songs written by her husband to teaming up with Opry star Bill Anderson on several duets, Howard was inducted into the Opry on March 27, 1971. She continued having hits throughout the 70s and ended up serving as one of the Opry's key performers and ambassadors for the rest of her life.

In her own autobiography, 'Sunshine & Shadow: My Story', Howard detailed a rather turbulent life which she herself would often refer to as "a great soap opera." In their book 'Finding Her Voice', authors Robert K Oermann and Mary Bufwack can be seen praising Howard's “blunt, no-nonsense manner and stylish, no-frills look."

“Jan Howard was a force of nature in country music, at the Opry, and in life,” said Grand Ole Opry Vice President and Executive Producer Dan Rogers in a statement. “We were all so lucky so many nights to hear her voice on stage and to catch up with her backstage. We’re all better for having had her in our lives.”

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