Johnny Richard Duncan was an American country music singer, 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 " from 1976, 1977, and 1978, respectively. Seven more of his singles were top-10 hits.
Duncan's early life was steeped in West Texas music. 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. Johnny was born into a musical family. He is very proud of his talented and famous cousins, including Eddie Seals, Jimmy Seals of Seals & Crofts, and country singerDan 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." His cousins became famous, as well – Jimmy Seals of Seals & Crofts and country singer Dan Seals. After playing and singing with his musically gifted family for a few years, he auditioned demos in April 1959 for Norman Petty in Clovis, NM. Norman recognized his talent as a gifted songwriter and Johnny was soon signed to Leader Records, a subsidiary of the Kapp Records label. After 3 US singles and 1 UK release between 1959 and 1962 saw little action, Johnny grew tired of the intent to market him as a pop vocalist and he decided to pursue the country genre and moved 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. Duncan performed duets with Janie Fricke in the 1970s, many of which were highly successful. Their songs "Stranger" and "Thinking of a Rendezvous", "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better", and "Come A Little Bit Closer" were the most successful. In fact, "Thinking of a Rendezvous" and "It Couldn't Have Been Any Better" both went to No. 1number one on the BillboardHot 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" 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.
Death
Duncan died of a heart attack on August 14, 2006, at the age of 67.
Family
Duncan has three daughters with his first wife, Betty Deisher, and one son with wife Connie Duncan, who survives him.
