"Easy Loving" is a song composed by country music singer-songwriter

Freddie Hart Frederick Segrest (December 21, 1926 – October 27, 2018), known professionally as Freddie Hart, was an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country song and lone pop hit "Easy Loving," which won the Cou ...

. Released in the summer of

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, it became Hart's breakthrough hit and a country music standard.

Song history

Hart, a country music stalwart since the late 1950s, had a string of minor hits for several labels, including Kapp, Columbia and his then-current label,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

. However, his hits were modest at best. "Easy Loving," about deep commitment in a monogamous relationship, very nearly did not become a hit. Hart's previous single, "California Grapevine," had stalled at No. 68 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart, 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 ...

decided to drop Hart's contract. In mid-1971, a disc jockey at

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

radio station WPLO began playing "Easy Loving" to great response. The song quickly caught on nationwide, and by that August, "Easy Loving" had broken into the top 10 of the ''Billboard''

chart. On September 11, it was his first No. 1 song, spending three weeks atop the chart (interrupted between its first and second weeks for

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "the Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more ...

's "The Year Clayton Delaney Died."). "Easy Loving" also was a modest pop hit, reaching No. 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the fall of 1971, and was the only pop hit of Hart's career.

Awards

The success of "Easy Loving" won Hart numerous awards. For instance, during the 1972

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...

Awards, he was named Top Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year, plus Single and Song of the Year; the album from which it came, ''Easy Loving'', won the ACM's award that year, too. The

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

bestowed Song of the Year honors upon "Easy Loving" in both 1971 and 1972. "Easy Loving" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, and was the No. 1 song of 1971 on ''Billboard's'' Hot Country Singles chart.
Billboard
', December 25, 1971. In addition to all of its awards and honors, "Easy Loving" sparked Hart's flagging career. After quickly being re-signed by Capitol Records, Hart went on to score five more consecutive No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart during the next two years, plus scored more than a dozen more top 10 hits through 1977.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

Bibliography

*Millard, Bob. ''Country Music: 70 Years of America's Favorite Music'' (1993). New York: HarperCollins. () *Roland, Tom. ''The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits'' (1991). New York: Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications. () {{authority control 1971 singles Freddie Hart songs Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles of the year Songs written by Freddie Hart 1971 songs Song recordings produced by George Richey Capitol Records singles