John Conlee

John Conlee
Conlee in 2017
Background information
Birth name	John Wayne Conlee
Born	(1946-08-11) August 11, 1946 (age 78) Versailles, Kentucky, United States
Genres	Country
Occupation	Singer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1970s–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.

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.^[2][3]

Early life

Conlee was born on a tobacco farm in Versailles, Kentucky.^[4] By age 10, Conlee had begun singing and playing guitar, and later sang tenor in a barbershop quartet.^[5]

Conlee did not immediately take up a musical career, instead becoming a licensed mortician,^[6][5] employed by Duell-Clark Funeral Chapel, and later a disc jockey at radio stations WQXE in Elizabethtown, Kentucky,^[7] and at WLAC in Nashville.^[8]

Music career

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.^[4] 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.^[4] The album produced his first two No. 1 hits with "Lady Lay Down" and "Backside of Thirty".^[4]

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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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.^[4] 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.^[10]

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.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

Discography

Main article: John Conlee discography

Studio albums

• Rose Colored Glasses (1978)
• Forever (1979)
• Friday Night Blues (1980)
• With Love (1981)
• Busted (1982)
• In My Eyes (1983)
• Blue Highway (1984)
• Harmony (1986)
• American Faces (1987)
• Fellow Travelers (1989)
• Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (2004)

Awards and nominations

Academy of Country Music Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1979	John Conlee	Top New Male Vocalist	Won

Country Music Association Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1979	Rose Colored Glasses	Album of the Year	Nominated
	John Conlee	Male Vocalist of the Year	Nominated
1980			Nominated

References

1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
2. "John Conlee".
3. "Opry Member List PDF" (PDF). April 23, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
4. Huey, Steve. "John Conlee biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
5. "John Conlee biography". Oldies.com. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
6. "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
7. 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.
8. Whitburn, Joel (August 2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
9. "Hee Haw - S12E15".
10. "John Conlee's Greatest Hits - John Conlee | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
11. "Episode 5 Featuring John Conlee".
12. "Episode 3 Featuring John Conlee & Teea Goans".
13. "Episode 5 Featuring John Conlee".
14. "Another Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting Episode 1".
15. "Country's Family Reunion: Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting DVD & CD - Gaither Music Company".

External links

• Official website
• John Conlee Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2018)