Country singer Johnny Lee unwittingly set up the biggest hit of his career with one single act of moxie. As a young singer following his discharge from the Navy in the late '60s, Lee convinced Mickey Gilley to allow him to join his band under the pretense that the two had met years before. They hadn't. However, it established Lee with Gilley and made the former a headliner in the latter's successful Houston club.

Although Lee pursued a solo career, it was mostly a series of fits and starts. Then, in 1980, Gilley's club became the focal point for the John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy. Lee received the chance to sing in the picture and the choice was a song that had been rejected by nearly two dozen singers - "Lookin' For Love."

The movie was a smash and its accompanying soundtrack was even more successful. Lee's easygoing vocal style and the breezy feel of "Lookin' For Love" - it isn't difficult to imagine Jimmy Buffett singing it - made the song an immediate favorite when it was released as a single. The song quickly topped the country singles chart (where it remained perched for three weeks) and began a climb up the pop and adult contemporary charts as well.

In August, "Lookin' For Love" broke into the US Top 40 and would remain there throughout the rest of the summer. During its three months in the Top 40, the song would spend five weeks in the Top Ten, peaking at #5 in October. It would prove to be Lee's lone pop hit. Although he would garner considerable attention for his brief marriage to actress Charlene Tilton (of the television series Dallas), Lee would actually place another dozen songs onto the country singles chart, including eight Top Tens, during the remainder of the '80s.

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