Johnny Lee (singer)
Johnny Lee, born John Lee Ham on July 3, 1946, is an American country singer known for the 1980 hit “Lookin’ for Love.” The song spent three weeks at number one on the country chart and also reached the top five on the pop chart and top ten on the adult contemporary chart. He notched 17 top-40 country hits in the early 1980s.
He was born in Texas City, Texas, and grew up on a dairy farm in nearby Alta Loma. In high school, he formed a rock band called Johnny Lee and the Roadrunners. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Chicago. He later changed his name to Johnny Lee and started performing cover tunes in Texas clubs.
Lee spent about a decade with Mickey Gilley, touring and performing at Gilley’s Club in Pasadena, Texas. The Urban Cowboy soundtrack, filmed largely at Gilley’s, helped boost his fame and featured his hit “Lookin’ for Love.” He scored several other country hits, including “One in a Million,” “Bet Your Heart on Me,” “The Yellow Rose” (a duet with Lane Brody and theme song for NBC’s The Yellow Rose), and “You Could Have Heard a Heartbreak,” along with many more like “Pickin’ Up Strangers,” “Prisoner of Hope,” “Cherokee Fiddle,” “Sounds Like Love,” “When You Fall in Love,” “Be There for Me Baby,” “Hey Bartender,” “Rollin’ Lonely,” and “Save the Last Chance.”
Personal life: Lee was married to actress Charlene Tilton from 1982 to 1984, and they had a daughter, Cherish (born 1982). He married Deborah Spohr Lee in 1986; they had a son, Johnny Lee Jr. (born 1990). Deborah died in 2002 after a long battle with prescription painkillers. Johnny Lee Jr. died in 2014 at age 23 from a drug overdose. Since then, Lee has been active in anti-drug efforts and began performing regularly in Branson, Missouri, in 2008.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 15:23 (CET).