Howard Crockett

CROCKETT, HOWARD (1925–1994). Singer and songwriter Howard Crockett was born Howard Hausey in Yellow Pine, Webster Parish, Louisiana, on December 25, 1925. He pitched in the Brooklyn Dodgers' farm system but turned to singing and songwriting after a shoulder injury ended his baseball career. Among the best known of the more than 200 songs he wrote are "Whispering Pines," "Slew Foot," and "Honky Tonk Man." These three, plus several others, were released and made famous by Johnny Horton.