Earl Thomas Conley Marks Historic 25th Anniversary
This week in 1984, Earl Thomas Conley's Don't Make It Easy for Me became the first country album to produce four No. 1 hits. One of those singles was "Holding Her and Loving You," an undeniable '80s country classic about a cheating husband coming clean to his innocent wife. Indeed, he says it's the hardest thing he's ever had to do. The production isn't as thick as some hits from that era, so you can hear the keyboards underscoring the song's regretful message. I'm not sure that kids would like it, but the adults will certainly understand.
A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, Conley first found success as a songwriter, especially when Conway Twitty took "This Time I've Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me" to No. 1 in 1976. However, Conley's own hot streak in the 1980s is largely overlooked today. From 1981 to 1989, he notched 18 No. 1 hits, many of which he wrote. Some of my personal favorites are "Nobody Falls Like a Fool," "I Can't Win for Losing You," "Right From the Start" and "Once in a Blue Moon," as well as "We Believe in Happy Endings" with Emmylou Harris. His duet with Anita Pointer, "Too Many Times," even landed him a guest spot on Soul Train, the first and only country artist to ever appear on the show.
According to his Web site, Conley threw in the towel in 1991, right around the time RCA released "Brotherly Love" (a duet with Keith Whitley, who had died two years earlier). He's been nearly invisible since then, aside from a new album in 1998 and occasional tour dates. Nevertheless, it's worth commemorating his remarkable achievement -- one that's rarely duplicated even 25 years later.
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james2008 says:
One of the most under appreciated artists ever!
Corbin Hosler says:
Great artist, good blog. Why can’t all the blog writers on here (we know who) make intelligent posts such as this?
Joe says:
The “Two Many Times” single is IMPOSSIBLE to find.
I struggle to comprehend the career of Earl Thomas Conley. I LOVE nearly all the hits he produced throughout his career yet, despite an unimaginable number of #1s (at the time), I would argue he never achieved any degree of stardom. Not superstardom, just simple stardom.
And why is a #2 single (the aforementioned “Two Many Times”) not available anywhere today?
I have nothing to back me up now but my only assumption is that he never sold any great number of albums (or singles, for that matter). At that time, the music business was all about record sales so, while it’s great the promotion team garnered a huge number of #1s, when the sales didn’t arrive, no stardom inevitably followed.
Joe says:
Why did I mistitle the single “Too Many Times” … twice?!
Jean says:
I agree with James about ETC being “the most under appreciated artist ever.” Just saw him in concert tonight - for the first time. Have loved his music for the past 25 years. He sounds just the same and he is WONDERFUL.