Earl Thomas Conley - vocals; Shannon Fontaine - lead guitar, vocals; Kyle Fredrick - lead guitar; Tommy McGovern - keyboards; Bill Watts - drums; J.D. Williamson - bass; Fred Williamson - saxophone, percussion
Country vocalist Earl Thomas Conley appeared numerous times on the Silver Eagle Cross Country radio series. This show was recorded as the country singer's popularity had passed its pinnacle, but his voice had years of good use left in it.
Opening with his hit, "Under Control," Conley delivers a solid performance that shows just how good a country vocalist he is. He offers solid versions of his best known songs, including: "Your Love's On The Line," "Don't Make It Easy For Me," and "Love Don't Care (Whose Heart It Breaks)."
Although not as sad as George Jones and not as full bodied as Vern Gosdin, Conley's voice is rich and powerful, and it is easy to see why he had a long string of number-one country hits.
His story is not that much different than many other rags to riches country artists. After a stint in the military, Conley learned the guitar and embarked on a lifelong devotion to country music. He worked several blue collar jobs, moonlighting at night in honky-tonks as a struggling songwriter. When Conway Twitty finally recorded one of his songs and took it to #1 on the country charts, Nashville started to listen.
He was signed in 1977 to Warner Brothers Records, but failed to see any substantial commercial success. He left Warner's in 1979 to sign with an independent label that had showed a tremendous amount of interest, and when they took his next record over 50,000 units he suddenly found himself being pursued by RCA Records, the leading country label at the time. Conley signed with RCA in 1981 and remained with them for over a decade. While at RCA, he was among the label's biggest country stars.
Conley is no longer charting with Top 10 country hit songs, but he has remained an active touring act. He continues to perform in theaters, large country clubs and outdoor fairs.