Few songwriters are as prolific as Harlan Howard. Howard, who passed away in 2002, is the songwriter behind some of country music’s most revered songs. These four country classics were all written by Harlan Howard, and all became huge hits.

“Somebody Should Leave” by Reba McEntire

Harlan Howard wrote “Somebody Should Leave” with Chick Rains. The song is on Reba McEntire’s My Kind Of Country album, becoming a No. 1 single for McEntire.

According to Classic Country Music Stories, Howard played McEntire several other songs, ones without much substance, with McEntire passing on all of them. After several of those songs, Howard played her “Somebody Should Leave”.

“This was his cherished baby, and he was very protective of it,” McEntire recounts.

“Blame It On Your Heart” by Patty Loveless

Patty Loveless released “Blame It On Your Heart” in 1993, from her Only What I Feel record. Howard wrote the song with Kostas, with the song landing at the top of the charts for Loveless. It’s a hit that almost didn’t happen, since Loveless’s team kept passing on the song until Deborah Allen recorded a version.

“[They] kept rejecting it for those two or three months,” Kostas tells The Tennessean, adding that they had a renewed interest in the song, thanks to Allen.

“I Fall To Pieces” by Patsy Cline

Right before Patsy Cline had a big hit with “Crazy”, her signature song, she released “I Fall To Pieces“. Out in 1961, Howard wrote the song with Hank Cochran. The song begins with, “I fall to pieces / Each time I see you again / I fall to pieces / How can I be just your friend?“

“I wrote it with Hank Cochran,” Howard tells Performing Songwriter. “It was his idea. It was a nice song, a good song, but I have to believe that Patsy Cline, her treatment of the song, made it better than I thought it was.

“Why Not Me” by The Judds

“Why Not Me” is the title track of The Judds’ 1984 debut album. Written by Howard along with Sonny Throckmorton and Brent Maher, the song became a multi-week No. 1 hit for the duo. It was Maher who was producing the album and reached out to Howard to help write the song.

“To get a really good record, you’ve gotta write a hell of a song when you’re dealing with a title that average,” Howard says (via Songfacts). “The only thing I know to do with songs like ‘Why Not Me’ or ‘Busted’ – which I never thought was a good title – is to put the title in there often so that people remember it. The weaker the title, the more you gotta hear it.”