John Conlee
Encyclopedia
John Conlee is an American
country music
singer. Between 1978 and 2004, Conlee charted a total of thirty-two singles
on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
charts and recorded eleven studio album
s. His singles include seven Number One 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
." Besides these, Conlee has sent fourteen other songs into the Top Ten.
farm in Versailles, Kentucky
. By age 10, Conlee had begun singing and playing guitar
, and later sang tenor
in a barbershop quartet. Conlee did not immediately take up a musical career, instead becoming a licensed mortician, employed by Duell-Clark Funeral Chapel, and later a disc jockey
at radio station WLAC
.
, in pursuit of a musical career, signing to ABC Records
in 1976. Conlee charted for the first time in 1978 with "Rose Colored Glasses," a #5 hit on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs
) charts, as well as the title track to his 1978 debut album. This album would go on to produce his first two Number One hits in "Lady Lay Down" and "Backside of Thirty."
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 #2 and #7. A second MCA release, Friday Night Blues, produced two more #2 hits in the title track and "She Can't Say That Anymore," followed by the #12 "What I Had with You." 1981's With Love accounted for yet another #2 in "Miss Emily's Picture."
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. Three more Number One hits came from In My Eyes: the Kix Brooks
co-write "I'm Only in It for the Love," 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 #2 in "Years After You." A year later, a second Greatest Hits package produced his last MCA single in the #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 #11, "Mama's Rockin' Chair." From there, Conlee moved to 16th Avenue Records, releasing Fellow Travelers.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer. Between 1978 and 2004, Conlee charted a total of thirty-two singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts and recorded eleven studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
s. His singles include seven Number One hits: "Lady Lay Down
Lady Lay Down
"Lady Lay Down is a 1978 single written by Rafe VanHoy and Don Cook and recorded by John Conlee. "Lady Lay Down" would be John Conlee's second country hit and his first of seven number ones on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of twelve weeks within...
," "Backside of Thirty
Backside of Thirty
"Backside of Thirty" is a 1979 single written and recorded by John Conlee. "Backside of Thirty" would be John Conlee's third country hit and second number one on the country chart...
," "Common Man
Common Man
"Common Man" is a 1983 single by John Conlee, written by Sammy Johns. "Common Man" was John Conlee's third number one on the country chart. It would his first number one since, 'Backside of Thirty" in 1979. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of thirteen weeks on the...
," "I'm Only in It for the Love
I'm Only in It for the Love
"I'm Only in It for the Love" is a 1983 single written by Kix Brooks, Deborah Allen, and Rafe VanHoy and recorded by John Conlee. "I'm Only In It For the Love" was John Conlee's fourth number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of twelve weeks...
," "In My Eyes
In My Eyes (John Conlee song)
"In My Eyes" is a 1983 single by John Conlee. "In My Eyes" was John Conlee's fifth number one on the country chart and was written by Barbara Wyrick. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart....
," "As Long As I'm Rockin' with You
As Long As I'm Rockin' with You
"As Long as I'm Rockin' with You" is a 1984 single written by Bruce Channel and Kieran Kane and recorded by John Conlee. "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You" was John Conlee's sixth number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent twelve weeks on the country...
" and "Got My Heart Set on You
Got My Heart Set on You
"Got My Heart Set on You" is a 1986 single written by Dobie Gray and Bud Reneau and recorded by John Conlee. "Got My Heart Set on You" was John Conlee's seventh and final number one country hit. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country...
." Besides these, Conlee has sent fourteen other songs into the Top Ten.
Biography
John Conlee was born August 11, 1946, on a tobaccoTobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
farm in Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
. By age 10, Conlee had begun singing and playing guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and later sang tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
in a barbershop quartet. Conlee did not immediately take up a musical career, instead becoming a licensed mortician, employed by Duell-Clark Funeral Chapel, and later a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
at radio station WLAC
WLAC
WLAC is a clear channel radio station based in Nashville, Tennessee, operating at 1510 kHz on the AM dial.-Early history:Its first broadcast took place on November 24, 1926. The call letters were chosen to contain an acronym for the first owner of the station, the Life and Casualty Insurance...
.
Musical career
By 1971, he moved to Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, in pursuit of a musical career, signing to ABC Records
ABC Records
ABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company . ABC-Paramount Records' first president was Samuel H....
in 1976. Conlee charted for the first time in 1978 with "Rose Colored Glasses," a #5 hit on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
) charts, as well as the title track to his 1978 debut album. This album would go on to produce his first two Number One hits in "Lady Lay Down" and "Backside of Thirty."
Following ABC's merger with MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
, he released his 1979 album Forever on MCA. Its singles, "Before My Time" and "Baby, You're Something," respectively reached #2 and #7. A second MCA release, Friday Night Blues, produced two more #2 hits in the title track and "She Can't Say That Anymore," followed by the #12 "What I Had with You." 1981's With Love accounted for yet another #2 in "Miss Emily's Picture."
Conlee's 1982 album Busted was led off by a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Harlan Howard
Harlan Howard
Harlan Perry Howard was a prolific American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists...
song of the same name
Busted (Harlan Howard song)
-Cover versions:* Johnny Cash, with the Carter Family, reached #13 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 1963.* Ray Charles reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. This was from his album Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul...
; the album's last single, "Common Man," returned him to the top of the charts in 1983. Three more Number One hits came from In My Eyes: the Kix Brooks
Kix Brooks
Leon Eric "Kix" Brooks III , is an American country music artist, best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn.-Early life:...
co-write "I'm Only in It for the Love," 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 #2 in "Years After You." A year later, a second Greatest Hits package produced his last MCA single in the #5 "Old School" before he moved to Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. 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 #11, "Mama's Rockin' Chair." From there, Conlee moved to 16th Avenue Records, releasing Fellow Travelers.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1978 | Rose Colored Glasses Rose Colored Glasses (album) Rose Colored Glasses is the debut album by country music artist John Conlee. It was released on ABC Records, and was his only disc for the label; he would move to MCA Records the next year.... |
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 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
CAN Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
|||
| 1983 | Greatest Hits | 17 | 166 | Gold | Gold | MCA |
| 1985 | Greatest Hits 2 | 33 | — | — | — | |
| 1986 | Songs for the Working Man | — | — | — | — | |
| Conlee Country | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | 20 Greatest Hits | — | — | — | — | |
| 1999 | Live at Billy Bob's Texas | — | — | — | — | Smith Music |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1978 | "Rose Colored Glasses Rose Colored Glasses (John Conlee song) "Rose Colored Glasses" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer John Conlee. It was the fourth single release of his career, but the first to enter the American charts. The song is included on his debut album, Rose Colored Glasses. The song peaked at #5 in the... " |
5 | 6 | Rose Colored Glasses |
| "Lady Lay Down Lady Lay Down "Lady Lay Down is a 1978 single written by Rafe VanHoy and Don Cook and recorded by John Conlee. "Lady Lay Down" would be John Conlee's second country hit and his first of seven number ones on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of twelve weeks within... " |
1 | 2 | ||
| 1979 | "Backside of Thirty Backside of Thirty "Backside of Thirty" is a 1979 single written and recorded by John Conlee. "Backside of Thirty" would be John Conlee's third country hit and second number one on the country chart... " |
1 | 5 | |
| "Before My Time Before My Time "Before My Time" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1979, it was the first single from the album Forever. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
2 | 1 | Forever | |
| 1980 | "Baby, You're Something Baby, You're Something "Baby, You're Something" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1979, it was the second single from the album Forever. The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
7 | 7 | |
| "Friday Night Blues Friday Night Blues "Friday Night Blues" is the title of a song co-written by Sonny Throckmorton and originally recorded by him. Throckmorton's version of the song went to number 89 on the Hot Country Songs charts in 1980, released on Mercury Records with "It Always Rains on Me" on the b-side.Only one month after... " |
2 | 3 | Friday Night Blues | |
| "She Can't Say That Anymore She Can't Say That Anymore "She Can't Say That Anymore" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1980, it was the second single from the album Friday Night Blues. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.... " |
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 Miss Emily's Picture "Miss Emily's Picture" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1981, it was the second single from the album With Love. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
2 | 7 | ||
| 1982 | "Busted" | 6 | 5 | Busted |
| "Nothing Behind You, Nothing in Sight" | 26 | 36 | ||
| "I Don't Remember Loving You I Don't Remember Loving You "I Don't Remember Loving You" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1982, it was the third single from the album Busted. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
10 | 3 | ||
| 1983 | "Common Man Common Man "Common Man" is a 1983 single by John Conlee, written by Sammy Johns. "Common Man" was John Conlee's third number one on the country chart. It would his first number one since, 'Backside of Thirty" in 1979. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of thirteen weeks on the... " |
1 | 1 | |
| "I'm Only in It for the Love I'm Only in It for the Love "I'm Only in It for the Love" is a 1983 single written by Kix Brooks, Deborah Allen, and Rafe VanHoy and recorded by John Conlee. "I'm Only In It For the Love" was John Conlee's fourth number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of twelve weeks... " |
1 | 2 | In My Eyes | |
| "In My Eyes In My Eyes (John Conlee song) "In My Eyes" is a 1983 single by John Conlee. "In My Eyes" was John Conlee's fifth number one on the country chart and was written by Barbara Wyrick. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart.... " |
1 | 2 | ||
| 1984 | "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You As Long As I'm Rockin' with You "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You" is a 1984 single written by Bruce Channel and Kieran Kane and recorded by John Conlee. "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You" was John Conlee's sixth number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent twelve weeks on the country... " |
1 | 1 | |
| "Way Back Way Back "Way Back" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1984, it was the fourth single from the album In My Eyes. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
4 | 2 | ||
| "Years After You Years After You "Years After You" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1984, it was the first single from the album Blue Highway. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
2 | 2 | Blue Highway | |
| 1985 | "Working Man Working Man (John Conlee song) "Working Man" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1985, it was the second single from album Blue Highway. The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
7 | 6 | |
| "Blue Highway" | 15 | 13 | ||
| "Old School Old School (John Conlee song) "Old School" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1985, it was the first new single from his Greatest Hits 2 album. The song reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
5 | 6 | Greatest Hits Vol. 2 | |
| 1986 | "Harmony Harmony (song) "Harmony" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1986, it was the first single and title track from the album Harmony. The song reached #10 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart performance:... " |
10 | 19 | Harmony |
| "Got My Heart Set on You Got My Heart Set on You "Got My Heart Set on You" is a 1986 single written by Dobie Gray and Bud Reneau and recorded by John Conlee. "Got My Heart Set on You" was John Conlee's seventh and final number one country hit. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country... " |
1 | 1 | ||
| "The Carpenter The Carpenter (John Conlee song) "The Carpenter" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in September 1986, it was the third single from his album Harmony. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in January 1987 and #1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.-Chart performance:... " |
6 | 1 | ||
| 1987 | "Domestic Life Domestic Life "Domestic Life" is a single by American country music artist John Conlee. Released in 1987, it was the first single from the album American Faces. The song reached #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.-Chart perofrmance:... " |
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 | "Doghouse" | 61 | — | single only |