Earl Thomas Conley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Earl Thomas Conley
|
|
|---|---|
Earl Thomas Conley in concert, 2011
|
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Earl Conley |
| Born | October 17, 1941 Portsmouth, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 10, 2019 (aged 77) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1974–2019 |
| Labels | GRT, Warner Bros., Sunbird, RCA |
Earl Thomas Conley (born October 17, 1941 – died April 10, 2019) was a popular American country music singer and songwriter. He was known for his smooth voice and heartfelt songs. From 1980 to 2003, he released ten studio albums. Many of his songs became big hits.
In the 1980s, Earl Thomas Conley had eighteen songs reach Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. This was a huge achievement! He had the third most Number One country hits of any artist in the 1980s. Only Alabama and Ronnie Milsap had more.
Contents
About Earl Thomas Conley
His Early Life
Earl Thomas Conley was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, on October 17, 1941. When he was 14, his family faced tough times. He moved to live with his older sister in Jamestown, Ohio.
He had a chance to go to art school, but he chose to join the U.S. Army instead. While in the Army, he joined a singing group. This is where he first realized he had a special talent for music and singing. He then decided he wanted to be a performer.
He started listening to classic country artists like Merle Haggard and George Jones. During this time, he also began writing his own songs. After leaving the Army in 1968, he started traveling to Nashville. Nashville is a famous city for country music.
In 1973, he met Dick Heard in Nashville. Dick Heard helped him with his song "Smokey Mountain Memories." This song became a Top 10 hit for another singer named Mel Street.
His Music Career
Before he became famous, Earl Thomas Conley worked in a steel mill. One day, he made a big decision to move to Nashville to chase his music dreams.
He later moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where he met a music producer named Nelson Larkin. Nelson Larkin helped him sign with a record label called GRT in 1974. He released a few songs, but they didn't become big hits yet. At the same time, he was writing songs for other famous artists. Singers like Conway Twitty and Mel Street had great success with his songs.
Conley eventually returned to Nashville. In 1979, he signed a new record deal with Warner Bros. Records. Two years later, he had his first song, "Dreamin's All I Do," reach the Top 40.
He then joined Sunbird Records and worked with Nelson Larkin again. This time, he found great success! He had a Top Ten hit and a Number One song within two years. He continued to have many hits.
In 1983, he was nominated for several Grammy Awards for his song "Holding Her and Loving You." The next year, he set a record. He was the first artist in any type of music to have four Number One songs from the same album! That album was called Don't Make It Easy for Me.
In 1986, Earl Thomas Conley did something special. He sang a duet with a pop and R&B singer named Anita Pointer. She was part of the famous group Pointer Sisters. Their song, "Too Many Times," reached No. 2 on the Country chart. With this song, Conley also became the only country artist to appear on the TV show Soul Train. This show was known for R&B and soul music.
Later Years and Legacy
By the end of the 1980s, Conley started working with Randy Scruggs. Randy is the son of the famous banjo player Earl Scruggs. They wanted to bring his music back to its country roots.
In the 1990s, country music started to change. Earl Thomas Conley's record sales began to slow down. He took a break from recording music for seven years. He had some vocal problems and was tired from touring.
He started recording music again in 1998. In 2002, a popular country singer named Blake Shelton had a Top 20 hit with a song called "All Over Me." Earl Thomas Conley helped write that song with Blake Shelton and his friend Michael Pyle.
Earl Thomas Conley passed away on April 10, 2019. He died from a brain condition. He left behind a great legacy of country music.
Discography
