Con Hunley
Encyclopedia
Conard Logan "Con" Hunley (born April 9, 1945) is a country music
singer.
Hunley was born in Knoxville, Tennessee
. After graduating from Central High School in Knoxville, Hunley began playing with local bands, maturing musically and gaining his first fans. Hunley joined the Air Force
in 1965 and spent most of his service on a military base in Illinois
, teaching aircraft
mechanics. He played music in area clubs whenever possible.
After his tour of duty was finished Hunley returned to Knoxville and began performing weekly at a local nightclub (a dive called, "The Corner Lounge"), where he met businessman Sam Kirkpatrick, who formed the independent label Prairie Dust Records to showcase Hunley's talents. After some minor success on the country music charts, Hunley caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records
, who signed him in 1978. Hunley recorded five albums with Warner Bros., released several singles on MCA Records
and Capitol Records
, and achieved more than 20 charted hits, including “Weekend Friend,” “No Relief In Sight,” and “Oh Girl
”. He toured throughout the U.S., playing large venues around the country with other musical acts, including Alabama
, the Oak Ridge Boys, Larry Gatlin
, George Jones
and Tammy Wynette
.
Though he continued to perform in a variety of venues, including a 1996 performance at the White House
and at the World Heavyweight Championship fight in South Africa
, Hunley recorded no new music for over a decade after his last release for Capitol Records. Hunley’s long recording hiatus ended after signing with IMMI Records in 2004. He teamed again with Grammy-winning producer Norro Wilson
, the architect of several of his early Warner Brothers hits, and added his first new recorded product in twenty years, Sweet Memories, to his catalog. The album was selected by CMT.com as one of the top 10 albums of 2004.
In early 2006, IMMI Records released Shoot From The Heart, another collaboration by Hunley and Norro Wilson. Hunley co-wrote two of the songs with songwriters Kim Williams and Larry Shell.
Hunley participates in celebrity golf
tournaments around the country, and hosts one of his own each year in his hometown of Knoxville, TN, which has raised over a million dollars for charities benefiting underprivileged children.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer.
Hunley was born in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. After graduating from Central High School in Knoxville, Hunley began playing with local bands, maturing musically and gaining his first fans. Hunley joined the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
in 1965 and spent most of his service on a military base in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, teaching aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
mechanics. He played music in area clubs whenever possible.
After his tour of duty was finished Hunley returned to Knoxville and began performing weekly at a local nightclub (a dive called, "The Corner Lounge"), where he met businessman Sam Kirkpatrick, who formed the independent label Prairie Dust Records to showcase Hunley's talents. After some minor success on the country music charts, Hunley caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, who signed him in 1978. Hunley recorded five albums with Warner Bros., released several singles on MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
and Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, and achieved more than 20 charted hits, including “Weekend Friend,” “No Relief In Sight,” and “Oh Girl
Oh Girl
"Oh Girl" is a number-one single recorded by the soul vocal group, The Chi-Lites and released on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group's 1972 album A Lonely Man, "Oh Girl" centers around a relationship on the verge of break-up...
”. He toured throughout the U.S., playing large venues around the country with other musical acts, including Alabama
Alabama (band)
Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
, the Oak Ridge Boys, Larry Gatlin
Larry Gatlin
Larry Wayne Gatlin is an American country music singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for teaming up with his brothers Steve and Rudy in the late 1970s, becoming one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin has had a total of 33 Top 40 singles...
, George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
and Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
.
Though he continued to perform in a variety of venues, including a 1996 performance at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and at the World Heavyweight Championship fight in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Hunley recorded no new music for over a decade after his last release for Capitol Records. Hunley’s long recording hiatus ended after signing with IMMI Records in 2004. He teamed again with Grammy-winning producer Norro Wilson
Norro Wilson
Norris "Norro" Wilson is an American country music singer, songwriter and producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame....
, the architect of several of his early Warner Brothers hits, and added his first new recorded product in twenty years, Sweet Memories, to his catalog. The album was selected by CMT.com as one of the top 10 albums of 2004.
In early 2006, IMMI Records released Shoot From The Heart, another collaboration by Hunley and Norro Wilson. Hunley co-wrote two of the songs with songwriters Kim Williams and Larry Shell.
Hunley participates in celebrity golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tournaments around the country, and hosts one of his own each year in his hometown of Knoxville, TN, which has raised over a million dollars for charities benefiting underprivileged children.
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | No Limit | 34 | Warner Bros. |
| 1980 | I Don't Want to Lose You | 29 | |
| Don't It Break Your Heart | 51 | ||
| 1981 | Ask Any Woman | 59 | |
| 1982 | Oh Girl | 56 | |
| 2004 | Sweet Memories | — | IMMI |
| 2005 | The First Time: From Studio B | — | |
| 2006 | Shoot from the Heart | — | |
| 2011 | Lost and Found: The MCA/Capitol Years | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1976 | "Misery Loves Company" | — | — | Singles only |
| "Loving You Is a Habit I Can't Break" | — | — | ||
| 1977 | "Pick Up the Pieces" | 96 | — | |
| "I'll Always Remember That Song" | 75 | — | ||
| "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" | 67 | — | ||
| 1978 | "Cry Cry Darling" | 34 | 33 | |
| "Week-End Friend" | 13 | 28 | No Limit | |
| "You've Still Got a Place in My Heart You've Still Got a Place in My Heart (song) "You've Still Got a Place in My Heart" is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Leon Payne. It was covered by Con Hunley in 1978, whose version peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Another cover by George Jones, released in 1984, peaked... " |
14 | 20 | ||
| 1979 | "I've Been Waiting for You All of My Life" | 14 | 16 | |
| "Since I Fell for You Since I Fell for You "Since I Fell for You" is a jazz and pop standard. The blues ballad was composed by Buddy Johnson in 1945 and was first popularized by his sister, Ella Johnson, with Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra. The biggest hit version was recorded by Lenny Welch in 1963, reaching number four on the U.S... " |
20 | 42 | ||
| "I Don't Want to Lose You" | 20 | — | I Don't Want to Lose You | |
| 1980 | "You Lay a Whole Lot of Love on Me You Lay a Whole Lot of Love on Me "You Lay a Whole Lot of Love on Me" is a song written by Hank Beach and Forest Borders II. It has been recorded by Con Hunley, Tom Jones and Shania Twain.Con Hunley's version was on his 1980 release, I Don't Want To Lose You... " |
19 | 19 | |
| "They Never Lost You" | 19 | — | Don't It Break Your Heart | |
| "What's New with You" | 11 | — | ||
| 1981 | "She's Steppin' Out" | 17 | — | Ask Any Woman |
| 1982 | "No Relief in Sight" | 20 | 44 | |
| "Oh Girl Oh Girl "Oh Girl" is a number-one single recorded by the soul vocal group, The Chi-Lites and released on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group's 1972 album A Lonely Man, "Oh Girl" centers around a relationship on the verge of break-up... " |
12 | 26 | Oh Girl | |
| "Confidential" | 43 | — | ||
| 1983 | "Once You Get the Feel of It" | 42 | — | Singles only |
| "Satisfied Mind" | 84 | — | ||
| 1984 | "Deep in the Arms of Texas" | 75 | — | |
| "All American Country Boy" | 57 | — | ||
| 1985 | "I'd Rather Be Crazy" | 54 | — | |
| "Nobody Ever Gets Enough Love" | 49 | — | ||
| "What Am I Gonna Do About You What Am I Gonna Do About You (song) "What Am I Gonna Do About You" is a song written by Jim Allison, Doug Gilmore, and Bob Simon. It was first recorded by American country music artist Con Hunley in 1986 on the Capitol Records label and later by Reba McEntire for her 1986 studio album of the same name... " |
48 | — | ||
| 1986 | "Blue Suede Blues" | 49 | — | |
| "Quittin' Time" | 55 | — | ||
| 2004 | "Still" | — | — | Sweet Memories |
| 2005 | "Only Time Will Tell" | — | — | |
| "She Ain't You" | — | — | ||
| "Sweet Memories" | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "I Can't Make It Alone" | — | — | Shoot from the Heart |
| "That Old Clock (Just Keeps on Tickin')" | — | — | ||
| "I Can See You With My Eyes Closed" | — | — | ||
| 2007 | "Hollow Man" | — | — | |
| "The Keys" | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "Victims of the System" | — | — | TBD |