Johnny Lee

Johnny Lee (born July 3, 1946 in Texas City , Texas ) is an American country musician .

Beginnings

Johnny did not have an easy childhood. His father left the family early and his mother entered into several short marriages. As a schoolboy he founded the band "Johnny Lee & The Roadrunners", which won several prizes in competitions. After finishing school, he served four years in the US Navy, most of which he spent in Southeast Asia. After a brief stay in California, where he married for the first time, he returned to Texas in 1968. With a good deal of show off, he got himself a place as a backup singer and trumpeter in Mickey Gilley 's band. Over the years he rose to lead guitarist and occasionally represented Mickey Gilley at performances in his club, the legendary "Gilley's".

Career

In 1973 Lee tried to start a solo career. His singles, produced by the independent Arista label, were consistently flopping, and so he returned to Gilley shortly afterwards. In the following years he recorded more records for various labels, but they did not get beyond the middle of the charts. His biggest success was the 1977 Top 20 hit Country Party , a cover version of an old Willie Nelson song.

In 1979 he made an appearance in the television film "The Girls In The Office". His big breakthrough came a year later with the Travolta film "Urban Cowboy", which became a huge success in the USA and sparked a wave of country enthusiasm. The key scenes were filmed at Gilley's Club and Johnny Lee had several appearances. His mainstream song Lookin 'For Love became the movie's biggest hit and topped the country and pop charts. It also earned him a Grammy nomination and other awards.

Urban Cowboy made Johnny Lee a star overnight. He left Mickey Gilley and put together his own group, the Western Union Band. A long streak of top 10 hits followed, including One In A Million , Bet Your Heart On Me , The Yellow Rose and You Could Have Heard A Heart Break , each of which reached number one. In 1982 his marriage to Charlene Tilton , who played Lucy Ewing in the popular television series Dallas , caused a sensation . A little later he opened his own club, "Johnny Lee's", not far from Gilley's.

The urban cowboy boom experienced its decline in the mid-1980s. Lee's sales dropped accordingly, and he lost his record deal in 1986. His marriage broke up a year later. After a long dry spell, he tried a fresh start with the Curb Label in 1989, but it failed. Johnny Lee was also financially exhausted and from then on worked again as a musician in the club scene.

Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1980	Lookin 'for love	US132 gold (21 weeks)US	Country8 (56 weeks) Country	First published: November 1980
1981	Bet your heart on me	US147 (8 weeks) US	Country9 (48 weeks) Country	First published: November 1981
1982	Sounds like love	-	Country32 (14 weeks) Country
1983	Hey bartender	-	Country15 (17 weeks) Country
	Greatest hits	-	Country41 (29 weeks) Country
1984	Til 'the Bars Burn Down	-	Country23 (27 weeks) Country
1985	Workin 'for a livin	-	Country23 (29 weeks) Country
	Keep me hangin 'on	-	Country36 (15 weeks) Country

Other albums:

• 1977: Hee-ere's Johnny!
• 1977: For Lovers Only
• 1989: New Directions
• 1989: Buckmasters Presents Woods & Water
• 1990: Greatest Hits Volume 2
• 1990: The Best of
• 1995: Country Party
• 1996: Ramblin 'Rose
• 1999: Live at Gilley's
• 2001: At His Best
• 2002: Live at Billy Bob's Texas
• 2003: The 13th of July
• 2005: Santa Claus Is Lookin 'for Love
• 2006: Country Candy Store

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)		Remarks
		US	Country
1976	Sometimes	-	Country59 (9 weeks) Country
	Red Sails in the Sunset H-ee-ere's Johnny!	-	Country22 (22 weeks) Country
1977	Ramblin 'Rose H-ee-ere's Johnny!	-	Country37 (10 weeks) Country
	Country Party H-ee-ere's Johnny!	-	Country15 (13 weeks) Country
	Dear Alice H-ee-ere's Johnny!	-	Country58 (7 weeks) Country
1978	This Time H-ee-ere's Johnny!	-	Country43 (8 weeks) Country
1980	Lookin 'for love Lookin' for love	US5 gold (21 weeks)US	Country1 (14 weeks) Country	First published: June 1980
	One in a million lookin 'for love	-	Country1 (16 weeks) Country
1981	Pickin 'Up Strangers Lookin' for Love	-	Country3 (14 weeks) Country
	Prisoner of Hope lookin 'for love	-	Country3 (16 weeks) Country
	Rode Hard and Put Up Wet Urban Cowboy 2	-	Country52 (6 weeks) Country
	Bet Your Heart on Me Bet Your Heart on Me	US54 (9 weeks) US	Country1 (15 weeks) Country	First published: September 1981
1982	Be There for Me Baby Bet Your Heart on Me	-	Country10 (15 weeks) Country
	When You Fall in Love Bet Your Heart on Me	-	Country14 (13 weeks) Country
	Cherokee Fiddle Sounds Like Love	-	Country10 (18 weeks) Country
1983	Sounds Like Love Sounds Like Love	-	Country6 (18 weeks) Country
	Hey Bartender Hey Bartender	-	Country2 (22 weeks) Country
	My Baby Don't Slow Dance Hey Bartender	-	Country23 (16 weeks) Country
1984	The Yellow Rose 'Til the Bars Burn Down	-	Country1 (19 weeks) Country	with Lane Brody
	One More Shot 'Til the Bars Burn Down	-	Country42 (12 weeks) Country
	You Could've Heard a Heart Break Workin 'for a Livin'	-	Country1 (24 weeks) Country
1985	Rollin 'Lonely Workin' for a Livin '	-	Country9 (20 weeks) Country
	Save the Last Chance Keep Me Hangin 'On	-	Country12 (18 weeks) Country
	They Never Had to Get Over You Keep Me Hangin 'On	-	Country19 (18 weeks) Country
1986	The Loneliness in Lucy's Eyes (The Life Sue Ellen Is Living) Dallas: The Music Story	-	Country56 (9 weeks) Country
	I Could Get Used to This Dallas: The Music Story	-	Country50 (8 weeks) Country	with Lane Brody
1989	Maybe I Won't Love You Anymore New Directions	-	Country59 (6 weeks) Country
	I'm Not Over You New Directions	-	Country69 (5 weeks) Country
	I Can Be a Heartbreaker Too New Directions	-	Country53 (8 weeks) Country
	You Can't Fly Like an Eagle New Directions	-	Country66 (4 weeks) Country

More singles

• 1990: Heart to Heart Talk
• 1990: Dangerously Lonely
• 1990: Money in My Pocket
• 2016: Never Been to Texas

Web links

• Official Johnny Lee Fan Club

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1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: US
2. ↑ ^{a b} Awards for Music Sales: US