On this date in 1946, John Conlee was born on a tobacco farm in Versailles, Kentucky.
By age 10, Conlee had begun singing and playing guitar, and later sang tenor in a barbershop quartet. Conlee did not immediately take up a musical career, instead becoming a licensed mortician, employed by Duell-Clark Funeral Chapel, and later a disc jockey at radio station WLAC.
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 #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 sent 14 other songs into the Top Ten.
Conlee has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1981.