John Conlee

Video

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Job Title
Vocalist, Songwriter

John Conlee was not even a teenager when he joined a barbershop quartet in Versailles, Kentucky where his father ran a tobacco farm. He was often heard singing and playing his guitar and decided to try his hand as a musician in Nashville. He moved to the music city in 1971 to work in radio and within the decade, recorded a number of hit songs that launched his career. He wrote and recorded “Rose Colored Glasses” and “Backside of Thirty” in 1978 and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1981. He soon began recording songs by some of his favorite songwriters such as Harlan Howard and Kim Brooks.