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John Wesley Ryles, a prolific country music<\/a> entertainer with tons of hits from the late 1960s through the 1980s, died Sunday, Nov. 2. He was 74.<\/p>\n Ryles\u2019 death was first announced on Facebook by Tracy Pitcox<\/a>, owner of Heart of Texas Records<\/a>, who detailed the singer\u2019s illustrious career.<\/p>\n \u201cAt age 17, he made his debut in 1968 with the single \u2018Kay,\u2019 a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, and the title track to his debut album for Columbia Records,\u201d Pitcox wrote. \u201cRyles later recorded one album, \u2018Reconsider Me,\u2019 for the Plantation label, which produced a No. 39 single in its title track. It was followed by two non-album singles, \u2018Tell It Like It Is\u2019 and \u2018When a Man Loves a Woman,\u2019 both on the Music Mill label in 1976.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryles then signed to Dot Records where his first single under the label, \u201cFool,\u201d peaked at No. 18 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1977. He followed this up with \u201cOnce in a Lifetime,\u2019 which became Ryles\u2019 highest-charting single at No. 5.<\/p>\n The musician continued to release many more successful country singles over the next decade including \u201cLiberated Woman,\u201d \u201cAlways on My Mind,\u201d \u201cPerfect Strangers,\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ve Got to Start Meeting Like This,\u201d \u201cJust Once,\u201d \u201cShe Took It Too Well\u201d and \u201cLouisiana Rain.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the release of his last single \u201cNobody Knows\u201d in 1998, Ryles had mostly served as a background singer. He became \u201cone of Nashville\u2019s most in-demand background vocalists,\u201d working with the likes of Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Randy Travis and Blake Shelton, Parade reported<\/a>. Overall, his credits include hits by more than 25 members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the museum wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost a GIANT in the music industry,\u201d country singer Mark Willis wrote in a tribute to Ryles on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn Wesley Ryles sang more harmonies on records, that to the listener, sounded like the artist themselves! He could blend with ANYBODY!,\u201d Willis continued. \u201cJohn sang on my first four records and always had a flawless blend with the lead vocal. It was perfect. My condolences to Joni and his entire family! Please lift them up in prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryles was married to Joni Lee, the daughter of country music icon Conway Twitty.<\/p>\n Read the original article on MassLive<\/a>. Add MassLive<\/a> as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nMore Country Music News<\/h2>\n