John Conlee

John Wayne Conlee (born August 11, 1946) is an American country music singer. Between 1978 and 2004, Conlee charted a total of 32 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and recorded 11 studio albums. His singles include seven #1 hits: "Lady Lay Down," "Backside of Thirty," "Common Man," "I'm Only in It for the Love," "In My Eyes," "As Long As I'm Rockin' with You" and "Got My Heart Set on You." In addition to these, Conlee sent 14 other songs into the Top Ten.

John Conlee
Conlee performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 2007
Background information
Birth nameJohn Wayne Conlee
Born (1946-08-11) August 11, 1946
Versailles, Kentucky, United States
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Singer
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1970s–present
LabelsABC, MCA Nashville, Columbia, 16th Avenue
Associated actsBud Logan
Websitewww.johnconlee.com

Biography

Conlee was born on a tobacco farm in Versailles, Kentucky.[1] By age 10, Conlee had begun singing and playing guitar, and later sang tenor in a barbershop quartet.[2] Conlee did not immediately take up a musical career, instead becoming a licensed mortician,[3][2] employed by Duell-Clark Funeral Chapel, and later a disc jockey at radio station WLAC.[4]

Musical career

Conlee singing at the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, October 31, 2015, in Nashville, Tennessee.

By 1971, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in pursuit of a musical career, signing to ABC Records in 1976.[1] Conlee charted for the first time in 1978 with "Rose Colored Glasses," a No. 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts, as well as the title track to his 1978 debut album.[1] This album would go on to produce his first two number one hits in "Lady Lay Down" and "Backside of Thirty."[1]

Following ABC's merger with MCA Records, he released his 1979 album Forever on MCA. Its singles, "Before My Time" and "Baby, You're Something," respectively reached No. 2 and No. 7.[4] A second MCA release, Friday Night Blues, produced two more No. 2 hits in the title track and "She Can't Say That Anymore," followed by the No. 12 "What I Had with You." 1981's With Love accounted for yet another No. 2 in "Miss Emily's Picture." John performed his song live on Hee Haw on January 3, 1981 with great reviews. In 2005, Conlee donated his performance of "Rose Colored Glasses" at a concert at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville to benefit the Lymphatic Research Foundation (New York). Conlee sang his signature song and auctioned off a pair of "rose colored glasses" with the proceeds going to LRF.

Conlee has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1981.[5][6]

Conlee's 1982 album Busted was led off by a cover of the Harlan Howard song of the same name; the album's last single, "Common Man," returned him to the top of the charts in 1983.[1] Three more number one hits came from In My Eyes: "I'm Only in It for the Love", cowritten with Kix Brooks; the title track; and "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You." MCA released a Greatest Hits album later in 1983.

Blue Highway in 1984, his last studio album for MCA, produced a No. 2 in "Years After You." A year later, a second Greatest Hits package produced his last MCA single in the No. 5 "Old School" before he moved to Columbia Records. Conlee's first Columbia release, Harmony, gave him his last number one hit in "Got My Heart Set on You" in 1986. A second and final album for Columbia, American Faces, took him into the Top 10 for the last time with "Domestic Life," followed by his last Top 40 at No. 11, "Mama's Rockin' Chair." From there, Conlee moved to 16th Avenue Records, releasing Fellow Travelers.

Discography

Albums

Year Album Chart Positions Label
US Country CAN Country
1978 Rose Colored Glasses 11 3 ABC
1979 Forever 20 MCA
1980 Friday Night Blues 16 11
1981 With Love 22
1982 Busted 21
1983 In My Eyes 9
1984 Blue Highway 14
1986 Harmony 9 Columbia
1987 American Faces 16
1989 Fellow Travelers 60 16th Avenue
2004 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus RCR

Compilation albums

Year Album Chart Positions Certifications Label
US Country US US CAN
1983 Greatest Hits 17 166 Gold Gold MCA
1985 Greatest Hits Volume 2 33
1986 Songs for the Working Man
Conlee Country
1987 20 Greatest Hits
1999 Live at Billy Bob's Texas Smith Music
2000 Classics RCR
2015 Classics 2
2018 Classics 3

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Album
US Country
[4]
CAN Country
1978 "Rose Colored Glasses" 5 6 Rose Colored Glasses
"Lady Lay Down" 1 2
1979 "Backside of Thirty" 1 5
"Before My Time" 2 1 Forever
1980 "Baby, You're Something" 7 7
"Friday Night Blues" 2 3 Friday Night Blues
"She Can't Say That Anymore" 2 11
1981 "What I Had with You" 12 15
"Could You Love Me (One More Time)" 26 37 With Love
"Miss Emily's Picture" 2 7
1982 "Busted" 6 5 Busted
"Nothing Behind You, Nothing in Sight" 26 36
"I Don't Remember Loving You" 10 3
1983 "Common Man" 1 1
"I'm Only in It for the Love" 1 2 In My Eyes
"In My Eyes" 1 2
1984 "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You" 1 1
"Way Back" 4 2
"Years After You" 2 2 Blue Highway
1985 "Working Man" 7 6
"Blue Highway" 15 13
"Old School" 5 6 Greatest Hits Volume 2
1986 "Harmony" 10 19 Harmony
"Got My Heart Set on You" 1 1
"The Carpenter" 6 1
1987 "Domestic Life" 4 5 American Faces
"Mama's Rockin' Chair" 11 7
"Living Like There's No Tomorrow" 55
1988 "Hit the Ground Runnin'" 43 Fellow Travelers
1989 "Fellow Travelers" 48 54
"Hopelessly Yours" 67
1990 "Don't Get Me Started"[7]
"Doghouse" 61 N/A
2002 "She's Mine"[8] Classics
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year Video
1989 "Fellow Travelers"
"Hopelessly Yours"
1990 "Doghouse"
2006 "They Also Serve"

References

  1. Huey, Steve. "John Conlee biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  2. "John Conlee biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  3. "List of active licensees" (pdf). An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Louisville, KY: Kentucky Board of Embalmers & Funeral Directors. 2019-10-17. p. 12. Retrieved 2020-02-02. funeral director and embalmer license number 3783
  4. Whitburn, Joel (August 2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 102. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  5. "John Conlee". Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  6. "Opry Member List PDF" (PDF). April 23, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  7. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. January 13, 1990.
  8. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 20, 2002.
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