Earl Thomas Conley

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Earl Thomas Conley (born October 17, 1941, in Portsmouth, Ohio) is an American country music singer and composer.

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[edit] Biography

When Conley was only 14, his father lost his job, forcing the young boy to move in with his older sister. He was offered a scholarship to an art school, but rejected it in favor of joining the U.S. Army. After being honorably discharged from the military, he began playing in clubs in Nashville, Tennessee at night, supporting himself working blue-collar jobs during the day.

Feeling that he wasn't making any progress in Nashville, Conley moved to Huntsville, Alabama to work in a steel mill. There, he met record producer Nelson Larkin, who helped him sign with independent record label GRT in 1974. Conley released four singles on that label, none of which became large hits. At the same time he was selling songs that he had written to other artists, including Conway Twitty and Mel Street, who were having much success with them.

Conley returned to Nashville, now writing for Nelson Larkin's publishing house. In 1977, he signed a recording contract with Warner Brothers. Two years later, he had his first Top 40 hit, "Dreamin's All I Do". He left the label in 1979 and joined Sunbird Records, where he again worked with Nelson Larkin. This time, Conley found success, with a Top Ten and a Number One single within the next two years. He continued to have success over the next few years, and in 1983 he was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards for his song "Holdin' Her and Lovin' You". He set a record the following year as the first artist in any genre to have four Number One singles from the same album. Conley also appeared on Soul Train in 1986, the first and only country artist to do so.

By the end of the 1980s, Conley began collaborating with Randy Scruggs (son of legendary country singer Earl Scruggs), in the hopes that he could bring his music back to his country roots. His record sales began to drop in the 1990s, as country music took a more pop turn, and Conley was dropped from his record label in 1991. He continued to tour throughout the 1990s, but was without a recording contract for most of that time. He began recording again in 1998.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Album US Country US Label
1980 Blue Pearl 20 Sunbird
1981 Fire And Smoke 19 RCA
1982 Somewhere Between Right And Wrong 10 RCA
1983 Don't Make It Easy For Me 3 RCA
1984 Treadin' Water 7 210 RCA
1985 Greatest Hits (Compilation plus 2 new songs) 1 RCA
1986 Too Many Times 3 RCA
1987 The Best 1 (Compilation) RCA
1988 The Heart Of It All 33 RCA
1990 Greatest Hits 2 (Compilation Album plus 2 new songs) 35 RCA
1991 Yours Truly 53 RCA
1997 Essential (Compilation Album) RCA
1998 Love Out Loud (Compilation Album) RCA
1998 Super Hits (Compilation Album) RCA
1998 Perpetual Emotion Intersound
2003 Should've Been Over By Now (Contains some re-recordings and new songs) Smith
2004 Live At Billybobs Texas Smith

[edit] Singles

Year Title US Country Album
1981 "Silent Treatment" 7 Fire and Smoke
1981 "Fire and Smoke" 1 Fire and Smoke
1981 "Tell Me Why" 10 Fire and Smoke
1982 "After the Love Slips Away" 16 Fire and Smoke
1982 "Heavenly Bodies" 8 Somewhere Between Right and Wrong
1982 "Somewhere Between Right and Wrong" 1 Somewhere Between Right and Wrong
1983 "I Have Loved You Girl (But Not Like This Before)" 2 Somewhere Between Right and Wrong
1983 "Your Love's on the Line" 1 Don't Make It Easy For Me
1983 "Holding Her and Loving You" 1 Don't Make It Easy For Me
1984 "Don't Make It Easy For Me" 1 Don't Make It Easy For Me
1984 "Angel in Disguise" 1 Don't Make It Easy For Me
1984 "Chance of Lovin' You" 1 Treadin' Water
1985 "Honor Bound" 1 Treadin' Water
1985 "Love Don't Care (Whose Heart it Breaks)" 1 Treadin' Water
1985 "Nobody Falls Like a Fool" 1 Greatest Hits
1986 "Once in a Blue Moon" 1 Greatest Hits
1986 "Too Many Times" (feat. Anita Pointer) 2 Too Many Times
1987 "I Can't Win For Losin' You" 1 Too Many Times
1987 "That Was a Close One" 1 Too Many Times
1987 "Right From the Start" 1 Too Many Times
1988 "What She Is" 1 The Heart of It All
1988 "We Believe in Happy Endings" (feat. Emmylou Harris) 1 The Heart of It All
1989 "What I'd Say" 1 The Heart of It All
1989 "Love Out Loud" 1 The Heart of It All
1989 "You Must Not Be Drinking Enough" 26 The Heart of It All
1990 "Bring Back Your Love to Me" 11 Greatest Hits 2
1990 "Who's Gonna Tell Her Goodbye" 61 Greatest Hits 2
1991 "Shadow of a Doubt" 8 Yours Truly
1992 "Brotherly Love" (feat. Keith Whitley) 2 Yours Truly
1992 "Hard Days and Honky Tonk Nights" 36 Yours Truly
1992 "If Only Your Eyes Could Lie" 74 Yours Truly

[edit] References