John Conlee

John Conlee was born John Wayne Conlee on August 11, 1946, on a tobacco farm in Versailles, Kentucky. His early life involved farm work, and by the age of 10, he had begun singing and playing the guitar. He also sang tenor in a barbershop quartet. Prior to pursuing a music career, Conlee worked as a licensed mortician and later as a disc jockey at radio stations WQXE in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and WLAC in Nashville. In 1971, Conlee relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue his musical aspirations. He signed with ABC Records in 1976, marking the beginning of his commercial music career. His debut album, “Rose Colored Glasses” (1978), launched his first top five hit with the title track. This album also produced his initial two number-one hits: “Lady Lay Down” and “Backside of Thirty.” His early career established his characteristic approach of addressing the challenges and lives of ordinary people in his songwriting.

Following ABC’s merger with MCA Records, Conlee continued to release successful music. In 1979, his album “Forever” yielded two top-10 singles: “Before My Time” and “Baby, You’re Something.” The subsequent album “Friday Night Blues” (1980) featured two more number-two hits: the title track and “She Can’t Say that Anymore.” The 1981 album “With Love” included another number-two hit, “Miss Emily’s Picture.” In 1982, his album “Busted” saw him return to the top of the charts with “Common Man” (1983). The 1983 album “In My Eyes” delivered three additional number-one hits: “I’m Only in It for the Love,” the title track, and “As Long as I’m Rockin’ with You.” Conlee was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1981, a testament to his established presence in country music. He transitioned to Columbia Records in 1985, where he achieved his final number-one hit, “Got My Heart Set on You” (1986) from the album “Harmony.” In 2005, he used his performance of “Rose Colored Glasses” at the Wildhorse Saloon to benefit the Lymphatic Research Foundation, auctioning a pair of “rose-colored glasses” for the cause. He has also been involved in fundraising for Wounded Warriors and was instrumental in forming the Family Farm Defense Fund, contributing to Farm Aid concerts that raised over $13 million.