The Johnny Lee Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places song was released in June 1980 as part of the soundtrack to the film Urban Cowboy, released that year. Marcy Levy was one of the female singers who provided backing vocals on the track. Lee, whose biggest hit to date had been a 1977 cover of Ricky Nelson’s “Garden Party”, had previously been one of the main nightclub acts at Gilley’s, a nightclub owned by country music superstar Mickey Gilley. Record executive Irving Azoff offered Lee the chance to record “Lookin’ For Love”, a song that 20-plus artists had rejected. The success of the Urban Cowboy movie made this a #1 hit for Johnny Lee. “Lookin’ for Love” rose to No. 1 (for a three-week stay) on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and was a No. 5 Billboard Hot 100 Pop chart as well. The song is now recognized as a standard in country music, praised by country music fans and critics alike.
John Lee Ham (born July 3, 1946), known professionally as Johnny Lee, is an American country music singer. He racked up a total of 17 top 40 country hits in the early and mid-1980s. Lee was born in Texas City, Texas, and grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Alta Loma (now part of Santa Fe, Texas). In high school he formed a rock n’ roll band, “Johnny Lee and the Roadrunners”. After graduation Lee enlisted in the United States Navy and served a tour of duty on the USS Chicago, a guided missile cruiser. After his discharge, he played cover tunes in Texas nightclubs and bars throughout the 1960s. Lee worked 10 years with Mickey Gilley, both on tour and at Gilley’s Club in Pasadena, Texas.
The Urban Cowboy movie focused on the love-hate relationship between Buford Uan “Bud” Davis (John Travolta) and Sissy (Debra Winger). The film captured the late 1970s/early 1980s popularity of country music and created a boom in country line dancing.
Watch the video performances of “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places” and check out the written lyrics below.
Johnny Lee Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places Live Performance
“Lookin’ for Love” is a song written by Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison and Patti Ryan
Johnny Lee Looking for Love Lyrics
Well, I spent a lifetime lookin’ for you
Single bars and good time lovers were never true
Playing a fools game, hopin’ to win
And tellin’ those sweet lies and losin’ again
I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places
Lookin’ for love in too many faces
Searchin’ their eyes
Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of
Hoping to find a friend and a lover
I’ll bless the day I discover another heart
Lookin’ for love
And I was alone then, no love in sight
And I did everything I could to get me through the night
Don’t know where it started or where it might end
I turned to a stranger just like a friend
I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places
Lookin’ for love in too many faces
Searchin’ their eyes
Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of
Hoping to find a friend and a lover
I’ll bless the day I discover another heart
Lookin’ for love
You came knockin’ on my heart’s door
You’re everything I’ve been looking for
No more lookin’ for love in all the wrong places
Lookin’ for love in too many faces
Searchin’ their eyes
Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of
Now that I found a friend and a lover
I bless the day I discover
You, oh you, lookin’ for love
In all the wrong places
(Lookin’ for love) in too many faces
Searchin’ their eyes
Lookin’ for traces of what I’m dreaming of
Now that I found a friend and lover
I bless the day I discover
You, oh you, lookin’ for love
Remember to “share” the Johnny Lee Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places song with other Country Music fans!
