Conard Logan Hunley (born April 9, 1945) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer.

Life and career

Hunley was born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

, United States. 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 An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

in 1965, and spent most of his service on a military base in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, 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 chart, Hunley caught the attention of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, who signed him in 1978. Hunley recorded five albums with Warner Bros., released several singles on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, and achieved more than 20 charted hits, including "Weekend Friend", "No Relief In Sight", and "

Oh Girl "Oh Girl" is a song written by Eugene Record and recorded by American soul vocal group the Chi-Lites, with Record on vocals and also producing. It was released as a single on Brunswick Records in 1972. Included on the group's 1972 album '' A Lon ...

". He toured throughout the U.S., playing large venues around the country with other musical acts, including

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, the

Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

Larry Gatlin Larry Wayne Gatlin (born May 2, 1948) is an American country and Southern gospel singer and songwriter. As part of a trio with his younger brothers Steve and Rudy, he achieved considerable success within the country music genre, performing on 3 ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

. In 1986 Hunley had his final chart appearance with "Quittin' Time". 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 producer

Norro Wilson Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was an American country music singer-songwriter, producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Wilson wrote or co-wrote numerous hit songs during more than 40 yea ...

, 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 is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournaments around the country, and hosts one of his own each year in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, which has raised over a million dollars for charities benefiting underprivileged children.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

*
CMT:News "Top 10 Country Albums of 2004 Contemporary Superstars, Newcomers and Seasoned Veterans Make the List" December 28, 2004 Edward Morris Retrieved On 2009-04-09''Knoxville News Sentinel'' "Con Hunley Led By His Heart" March 7, 2004 Wayne Bledsoe Retrieved On 2009-04-09
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunley, Con 1945 births Living people American country pianists American male pianists American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters People from Knoxville, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Warner Records artists 20th-century American pianists Country musicians from Tennessee 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians