Song:Lookin' For Love
Album:The Best Of Johnny Lee
Johnny Lee scored his first number one country hit with Lookin' For Love in 1980. It crossed over to the pop top five. It was from the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. He had some other country hits in the 80s and then faded by the late 80s. He was born John Lee Ham July 3, 1946 and grew up on his parents dairy farm in Alta Loma, TX. He had a band in high school and after a tour in the US Navy, he joined Mickey Gilley's band and worked for ten years at Gilley's nightclub in Pasadena, TX. Lee was the star performer when Gilley was touring. Lee recorded for ABC/Dot and GRT Records. He had a top 20 country hit in 1977 with Country Party which was a reworking of Rick Nelson's Garden Party. Lee appeared in the 1979 TV movie The Girls In The Office. The 1980 film Urban Cowboy was shot mostly at Gilley's. Full Moon Records owner Irving Azoff asked Lee to record a song for the film. Lookin' For Love topped the country charts and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Teacher Wanda Mallette got the idea for the song while observing her second grade students and wrote it with partner Patti Ryan. They sent a demo to veteran songwriter Bob Morrison and after a few changes, it bounced around Nashville for a while before Lee recorded it. So now Lee had a record deal. He had three more #1 country hits and you can get them all on this comp from Curb Records. The soundtrack for Urban Cowboy is also available on CD. In 1983, Lee married actress Charlene Tilton of the TV series Dallas. So Lee was riding high in the early 80s. His decline began when Azoff sold Full Moon to Warner Bros. They dropped him in 1986 and Tilton divorced him in 1987. Lee signed with Curb Records in 1989 and opened his own club down the street from Gilley's. Lee hasn't recorded since 2006 but he still tours. Here's Johnny Lee performing Lookin' For Love on The Ralph Emery Show 1980.
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