NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Singer-songwriter Jan Howard, who had a No. 1 country hit “For Loving You” with Bill Anderson, has died at age 91, according to the Grand Ole Opry.
The Opry, of which she was a member for nearly 50 years, announced her death on Saturday.
“Jan Howard was a force of nature in country music, at the Opry, and in life,” said Dan Rogers, the Grand Ole Opry’s vice president and executive producer, said 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.”
Her most personal song was perhaps “My Son,” which she wrote as plea for her son Jimmy’s safe return from the Vietnam war. He was killed two weeks after its release in 1968. Another son later killed himself.
Howard documented her triumphs and struggles in the 1987 autobiography “Sunshine and Shadow.”
She is survived by her remaining son, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
