John Wesley Ryles

John Wesley Ryles
Ryles in 1970
Background information
Also known as	John Wesley Ryles I
Born	(1950-12-02) December 2, 1950 (age 74)[1]
Origin	Bastrop, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, session musician
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1968–1971, 1976–present
Labels	Columbia RCA Plantation Music Mill ABC/Dot MCA Primero 16th Avenue Warner Bros.
Spouse	Joni Lee

John Wesley Ryles (born December 2, 1950) is an American country music artist. Ryles recorded a string of hit country songs, beginning in 1968 when he was still a teenager, and continuing through the 1980s. He no longer records as a headline artist but remains active in the music industry as a session musician.

Biography

At age 17, he made his debut in 1968 with the single "Kay", a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles (now Hot Country Songs) charts, and the title track to his debut album for Columbia Records.^[2]

Ryles later recorded one album, Reconsider Me, for the Plantation label, which produced a No. 39 single in its title track. It was followed by two non-album singles, "Tell It Like It Is" and "When a Man Loves a Woman," both on the Music Mill label in 1976.^[2]

He then moved to Dot Records. His first single on ABC/Dot, "Fool", Made it to No. 18 on the Hot Country chart followed by his highest-peaking single, the No. 5 "Once in a Lifetime Thing."^[1] When that label merged with MCA Records, he issued the album Let the Night Begin there. The first single, "Liberated Woman" climbed to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot Country chart. It was followed by a rendition of "Always on My Mind, which went to #20 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.."^[2] The last song released from this album, "Perfect Strangers", reached No. 24 on the Billboard chart.

Two more singles followed on the Primero label: "We've Got to Start Meeting Like This" and "Just Once," followed by "She Took It Too Well" on 16th Avenue Records in 1984.^[2] The last label for which he recorded was Warner Bros. Records between 1987 and 1988. Although he reached Top 20 with "Louisiana Rain" during his stay on Warner, he did not release an album for the label.^[2]

Since the release of his last single in 1988, Ryles has served primarily as a background vocalist. Ryles is married to Joni Lee, the daughter of country singer Conway Twitty.^[3][4][5]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart Positions	Label
		US Country
1969	Kay	22	Columbia
1971	Reconsider Me	—	Plantation
1977	John Wesley Ryles	39	ABC/Dot
1978	Shine on Me	—	ABC
	Love's Sweet Pain	—
1979	Let the Night Begin	—	MCA

Singles

Year	Single	Chart Positions			Album
		US Country [2]	CAN Country	AU
1968	"Kay"^A, B	9	6	38	Kay
1969	"Heaven Below"^B	55	—	—
1970	"The Weakest Kind of Man"^B	57	—	—
	"I've Just Been Wasting My Time"^B	17	6	—
1971	"Reconsider Me"^B	39	—	—	Reconsider Me
1976	"Tell It Like It Is"	83	—	—	John Wesley Ryles
	"When a Man Loves a Woman"	72	—	—
1977	"Fool"	18	—	—
	"Once in a Lifetime Thing"	5	9	—
1978	"Shine on Me (The Sun Still Shines When It Rains)"	13	14	—	Shine on Me
	"Easy"	63	—	—	single only
	"Kay" (new recording)	50	55	—	Shine on Me
	"Someday You Will"	45	—	—	Love's Sweet Pain
1979	"Love Ain't Made for Fools"	33	40	—
	"Liberated Woman"	14	17	—	Let the Night Begin
	"You Are Always on My Mind"	20	24	—
1980	"Perfect Strangers"	24	—	—
	"May I Borrow Some Sugar from You"	52	—	—	singles only
	"Cheater's Trap"	54	—	—
1981	"Somewhere to Come When It Rains"	80	—	—
	"Mathilda"	78	—	—
1982	"We've Got to Start Meeting Like This"	76	—	—
	"Just Once"	80	—	—
1984	"She Took It Too Well"	78	—	—
1987	"Midnight Blue"	36	—	—
	"Louisiana Rain"	20	—	—
1988	"Nobody Knows"	53	—	—

• ^APeaked at No. 83 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 88 on RPM Top Singles.
• ^BCredited to John Wesley Ryles I.

References

1. Brennan, Sandra. "John Wesley Ryles biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 367. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
3. "Meet Conway Twitty's Children Who Keep His Memories Alive". May 26, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
4. "Conway Twitty's Posthumous 'Timeless': His Daughter Shares the Story Behind Undiscovered Material". Billboard. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
5. "Interview: Conway Twitty's Daughter Joni Talks Re-discovering Dad's Music". The Boot. December 6, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2021.