John Richard Duncan (October 5, 1938 – August 14, 2006) was an American country music singer-songwriter, best known for a string of hits in the mid- to late 1970s. In his career, he released 14 studio albums, including thirteen on Columbia Records. These albums produced more than 30 chart singles, with three of those reaching number one: "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous", "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better", and "She Can Put Her Shoes Under my Bed (Anytime)" from 1976, 1977, and 1978, respectively. Seven more of his singles were top-10 hits.

Biography Duncan was born in Dublin, Texas, United States. Before he went to Nashville, Duncan attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. He then spent a few years in Clovis, New Mexico.

Early life and influences Duncan's early life was steeped in the music of West Texas. He picked this up naturally as a boy listening to his mother play rhythm guitar in his uncle's country band. Later, he began sharpening his vocal skills, influenced by his early idols Eddy Arnold, Perry Como, Jim Reeves, and Frank Sinatra. He was born into a musical family. He was proud of his talented cousins, including Eddie Seals, Jimmy Seals of Seals & Crofts, and country singer Dan Seals. "He knew when he was 12 years old that playing music and singing songs was going to be his life", said his wife, Connie Duncan.

"He grew up here in a small country town and loved music", Jim Harrell said. "His mother played herself and a lot of his cousins played with him." (Jim Harrell, owner and funeral director of Harrell Funeral Home in Dublin, which handled arrangements for his funeral)

After playing and singing with his musically gifted family for a few years, he auditioned demos in April 1959 for Norman Petty in Clovis. Petty recognized his talent as a gifted songwriter, and Duncan was signed to Leader Records, a subsidiary of the Kapp Records label. After three US singles and one UK release between 1959 and 1962 garnered little attention, Duncan grew tired of being marketed as a pop vocalist and decided to pursue the country genre, moving to Nashville.

Duncan wrote many songs recorded by artists such as Charley Pride, Marty Robbins, Chet Atkins, Conway Twitty, and Jim Ed Brown.

Career In Franklin, Tennessee, Duncan worked as a DJ and performed on local morning TV shows. He began to record for Columbia Records in the late 1960s. Between 1967 and 1973, Duncan's recordings never reached the top 20 until "Sweet Country Woman" entered at number six.

In the 1970s, Duncan performed duets with Janie Fricke, many of which were successful. Their songs "Stranger" and "Thinking of a Rendezvous" (both 1976), "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" (1977), and "Come A Little Bit Closer" (1978, a remake of the song first made popular by Jay and the Americans) were the most successful. "Thinking of a Rendezvous" and "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" both went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, as did Duncan's solo 1978 single "She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed Anytime".

Duncan's string of top-10 hits continued into 1979 – most notably a cover of Johnny Rivers' "Swayin' to the Music" (released by Duncan as "Slow Dancing") and "The Lady in the Blue Mercedes" – and he even enjoyed another top-20 hit with Fricke in 1980 with a duet version of Michael Jackson's "She's Out of My Life". His star power faded in the early 1980s with changing musical tastes, although his biggest songs were popular on country radio through the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Personal life and death Duncan died of a heart attack on August 14, 2006, at the age of 67. Duncan has three daughters: Angela, Lezlie and Lori with his first wife, Betty Deisher,[ Johnny Duncan] at AllMusic and his son John “Ike” Duncan, with wife Connie Duncan, who survived him.

Discography

Studio albums Year Album Chart Positions Label US Country CAN Country 1968 Johnny One Time 40 — Columbia 1969 Back to Back (w/ June Stearns) — — 1971 There's Something About a Lady — — 1973 Sweet Country Woman 34 — You're Gonna Need a Man — — Harmony 1977 Johnny Duncan 21 — Columbia Come a Little Bit Closer 27 — 1978 The Best Is Yet to Come 42 8 1979 See You When the Sun Goes Down — — Straight from Texas — — 1980 In My Dreams 61 — Nice 'n' Easy (w/ Janie Fricke) — — You're on My Mind — — 1986 Faraway Hideaway — — Pharaoh 2005 The Thing To Do — — JRD Records

Compilation albums Year Album US Country Label 1976 The Best 5 Columbia 1978 Greatest Hits 45 1998 Pure Country — Classic Country — Simitar 2003 It Couldn't Have Been Any Better — Collector's Choice 2018 Thinkin' Of A Rendezvous ~ Columbia Country Hits 1969–1980 — T-Bird Americana

Singles Year Single Chart Positions Album US Country CAN Country 1967 "Hard Luck Joe" 54 — Johnny One Time 1968 "Baby Me Baby" 67 — "To My Sorrow" 47 — "Jackson Ain't a Very Big Town" (w/ June Stearns) 21 — Back to Back 1969 "I Live to Love You" 70 — Single only "Back to Back (We're Strangers)" (w/ June Stearns) 74 — Back to Back "When She Touches Me" 30 — Johnny One Time 1970 "Window Number Five" 65 — You're Gonna Need a Man "You're Gonna Need a Man" 39 — There's Something About a Lady "My Woman's Love" 68 — "Let Me Go (Set Me Free)" 27 43 1971 "There's Something About a Lady" 19 — "One Night of Love" 39 — Sweet Country Woman "Baby's Smile, Woman's Kiss" 12 — You're Gonna Need a Man 1972 "Fools" 19 16 Sweet Country Woman "Here We Go Again" 66 — Single only 1973 "Sweet Country Woman" 6 8 Sweet Country Woman "Talkin' with My Lady" 18 42 The Best 1974 "The Pillow" 47 — The Best Is Yet to Come "Scarlet Water" 66 — The Best 1975 "Charley Is My Name" 57 — Johnny Duncan "Jo and the Cowboy" 26 28 The Best 1976 "Gentle Fire" 86 — "Stranger" 4 13 "Thinkin' of a Rendezvous" 1 1 Johnny Duncan 1977 "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" 1 1 "A Song in the Night"A 5 5 Come a Little Bit Closer "Come a Little Bit Closer" (w/ Janie Fricke) 4 2 1978 "She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed (Anytime)" 1 1 The Best Is Yet to Come "Hello Mexico (And Adios Baby to You)" 4 7 1979 "Slow Dancing" 6 8 See You When the Sun Goes Down "The Lady in the Blue Mercedes" 9 21 Straight from Texas 1980 "Play Another Slow Song" 17 31 "I'm Gonna Love You Tonight (In My Dreams)" 17 48 In My Dreams "He's Out of My Life" (w/ Janie Fricke) 17 20 Nice'n Easy "Acapulco" 16 — You're on My Mind 1981 "All Night Long" 40 — Single only 1986 "The Look of a Lady in Love" 69 — Faraway Hideaway "Texas Moon" 81 — A"A Song in the Night" also peaked at No. 5 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

References

External links Johnny Duncan Music