Howard Crockett; Wrote Country Music’s ‘Honky Tonk Man’

Howard Crockett, 69, who wrote country music’s classic “Honky Tonk Man” and sang his last major hit himself--”The Last Will and Testament of a Drinking Man,” which became a success in 1973. “Honky Tonk Man,” recorded by Johnny Horton, first reigned atop the charts in 1956 and then in 1986 when Dwight Yoakum made it popular again. Crockett wrote more than 200 songs; four went gold, two platinum and one double platinum. In Fort Worth, Tex., on Tuesday of lung cancer.