Freddie Hart

[admin]

 [ You are not allowed to view this attachment ]

Frederick Segrest (born December 21, 1926), known professionally as Freddie Hart, is an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country song and lone pop hit "Easy Loving," which won the Country Music Association Song of the Year award in 1971 and 1972.

Hart charted singles from 1953–1987, and later became a gospel singer. He continues to perform at music festivals and other venues.

[admin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzRhrBCHiBU

"Easy Loving" is a song composed by country music singer-songwriter Freddie Hart. Released in the summer of 1971, it became Hart's breakthrough hit and a country music standard.

Hart, a country music stalwart since the late 1950s, had a string of minor hits for several labels, including Kapp, Columbia and his then-current label, Capitol. However, his hits were modest at best.

"Easy Loving," about deep commitment in a monogamous relationship, very nearly did not became a hit. Hart's previous single, "California Grapevine," had stalled at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and Capitol Records decided to drop Hart's contract.

In mid-1971, a disc jockey at Atlanta, Georgia radio station WPLO began playing "Easy Loving" to great response. The song quickly caught on nationwide, and by that August, "Easy Loving" had broken into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. On September 11, it was his first No. 1 song, spending three weeks atop the chart (interrupted between its first and second weeks for Tom T. Hall's "The Year Clayton Delaney Died.").

"Easy Loving" also was a modest pop hit, reaching No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1971, and was the only pop hit of Hart's career.