Johnny Lee (singer)

Did You Know?

• "Lookin' for Love" peaked at No. 20 on the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and No. 54 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada.
• "Heart to Heart Talk" peaked at No. 4 on Hot Country Radio Breakouts.

Biography

Johnny Lee was born John Lee Ham in Texas City, Texas, and spent his early years on a dairy farm in Alta Loma, which later became part of Santa Fe, Texas. While in high school, he started a rock n' roll band called Johnny Lee and the Roadrunners. After finishing school, he joined the U.S. Navy and served on the guided missile cruiser USS Chicago. Once discharged, he legally changed his name to Johnny Lee and spent the late 1960s performing cover songs in Texas bars and nightclubs.

For a decade, he worked alongside Mickey Gilley, both on tour and at Gilley’s Club in Pasadena, Texas. His big break came from the 1980 film Urban Cowboy, which was largely filmed at Gilley’s; its soundtrack included his hit "Lookin' for Love." He also scored five number-one songs on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Lee married Dallas actress Charlene Tilton in 1982, and they had a daughter named Cherish before divorcing in 1984.

In 1986, he married Deborah Spohr Lee; they had a son, Johnny Lee Jr., in 1990 and later divorced. Deborah died in 2002 from prescription painkiller abuse. After their son died of a drug overdose in 2014 at age 23, Lee became involved in fighting the illegal drug epidemic. He started performing regularly in Branson, Missouri, in late 2008.