John Conlee

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John Conlee
John Conlee 2017 (34384243610).jpg
Conlee in 2017
Background information
Birth nameJohn Wayne Conlee
Born (1946-08-11) August 11, 1946 (age 78)
Versailles, Kentucky, U. S.
Genres Country
OccupationSinger
InstrumentVocals
Years active1970s–present
Labels ABC, MCA Nashville, Columbia, 16th Avenue
Website www.johnconlee.com

John Wayne Conlee (born August 11, 1946) [1] is an American country music singer. [2]

Contents

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 No. 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 had 14 other songs reach the Top Ten.

Conlee has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1981. [3] [4]

Early life

Conlee was born on a tobacco farm in Versailles, Kentucky. [5] By age 10, Conlee had begun singing and playing guitar, and later sang tenor in a barbershop quartet. [6]

Conlee did not immediately take up a musical career, instead becoming a licensed mortician, [7] [6] employed by Duell-Clark Funeral Chapel, and later a disc jockey at radio stations WQXE in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, [8] and at WLAC in Nashville. [9]

Music career

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

In pursuit of a music career, Conlee moved to Nashville, Tennessee, by 1971. He signed to ABC Records in 1976. [5] Conlee charted for the first time in 1978 with "Rose Colored Glasses", a No. 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, as well as the title track on his 1978 debut album. [5] The album produced his first two No. 1 hits with "Lady Lay Down" and "Backside of Thirty". [5]

Following ABC's merger with MCA Records, Conlee released his 1979 album Forever on MCA. Its singles, "Before My Time" (No. 2) and "Baby, You're Something" (No. 7), were top ten hits. [9] A second MCA release, Friday Night Blues, produced two more No. 2 hits: the title track and "She Can't Say That Anymore". The song "What I Had with You" (No. 12) followed. The 1981 album, With Love, accounted for yet another hit with "Miss Emily's Picture" (No. 2), which Conlee performed live on Hee Haw on January 3, 1981. [10]

Conlee's 1982 album Busted led off with 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. [5] Three more No. 1 hits came from the 1983 album In My Eyes: "I'm Only in It for the Love" (co-written with Kix Brooks), the title track and "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You". MCA also released a Greatest Hits album in 1983. [11]

Blue Highway in 1984, his last studio album for MCA, produced another No. 2 with "Years After You". A year later, a second Greatest Hits album produced his last MCA single with the No. 5 "Old School", before he moved to Columbia Records. Conlee's first Columbia release, Harmony, gave him his last No. 1 hit with "Got My Heart Set on You" in 1986. A second and final album for Columbia, American Faces, reached the Top 10 for the last time with "Domestic Life". This was followed by "Mama's Rockin' Chair" at No. 11 (his last Top 40 hit). From there, Conlee moved to 16th Avenue Records, releasing Fellow Travelers in 1989. [1]

In 2005, Conlee donated his concert performance of "Rose Colored Glasses" at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, to benefit the Lymphatic Research Foundation in New York. Conlee sang his signature song and auctioned off a pair of "rose-colored glasses" with the proceeds going to LRF.[ citation needed ]

Conlee has appeared on Larry's Country Diner and Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting (released on DVD/CD) via RFD-TV and Country Road TV. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Discography

Studio albums

Awards and nominations

Academy of Country Music Awards

YearNominee / workAwardResult
1979John Conlee Top New Male Vocalist Won

Country Music Association Awards

YearNominee / workAwardResult
1979 Rose Colored Glasses Album of the Year Nominated
John Conlee Male Vocalist of the Year Nominated
1980 Nominated

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<i>Rose Colored Glasses</i> (album) 1978 studio album by John Conlee

Rose Colored Glasses is the debut studio album by American country music artist John Conlee. It was released in 1978 on ABC Records, and was his only disc for the label; he would move to MCA Records the next year.

"Lady Lay Down' is a song written by Rafe Van Hoy and Don Cook, and recorded by American country music artist John Conlee. It was released in October 1978 as the second single from the album Rose Colored Glasses. The song was 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.

"Backside of Thirty" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist John Conlee. It was released in February 1979 as the third single from the album Rose Colored Glasses. The song was Conlee's third country hit and second number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart. The song was originally recorded by Joe Stampley on his 1976 album, Ten Songs About Her.

"As Long as I'm Rockin' with You" is a song written by Bruce Channel and Kieran Kane, and recorded by American country music artist John Conlee. It was released in February 1984 as the third single from the album In My Eyes. The song was 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 chart.

"Rose Colored Glasses" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer John Conlee. It was released in April 1978 as the first single and title track from his debut album Rose Colored Glasses. The song peaked at number 5 in the United States and number 6 in Canada. Conlee wrote the song with George Baber.

<i>Sometimes a Memory Aint Enough</i> 1973 studio album by Jerry Lee Lewis

Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough is an album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on Mercury Records in 1973.

<i>In My Eyes</i> (John Conlee album) 1983 studio album by John Conlee

In My Eyes is the sixth studio album by American country music artist John Conlee. It was released in 1983 via MCA Records. The album includes the singles "I'm Only in It for the Love", "In My Eyes", "As Long as I'm Rockin' with You" and "Way Back"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Conlee discography</span>

American country music singer John Conlee has released twelve studio albums and thirty-five singles.

References

  1. 1 2 Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 90. ISBN   0-85112-726-6.
  2. ↑ 3 Doors Down - Seventeen Days. Hal Leonard. August 2005. ISBN   978-0-634-07675-6.
  3. ↑ "John Conlee".
  4. ↑ "Opry Member List PDF" (PDF). April 23, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Huey, Steve. "John Conlee biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  6. 1 2 "John Conlee biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  7. ↑ "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
  8. ↑ Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State (PDF). HOST Communications. p. 129. ISBN   9781879688933 – via World Radio History.
  9. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (August 2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 102. ISBN   978-0-89820-177-2.
  10. ↑ "Hee Haw - S12E15".
  11. ↑ "John Conlee's Greatest Hits - John Conlee | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic .
  12. ↑ "Episode 5 Featuring John Conlee".
  13. ↑ "Episode 3 Featuring John Conlee & Teea Goans".
  14. ↑ "Episode 5 Featuring John Conlee".
  15. ↑ "Another Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting Episode 1".
  16. ↑ "Country's Family Reunion: Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting DVD & CD - Gaither Music Company".
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