John Conlee – Got My Heart Set on You

“Got My Heart Set on You” is a country song written by Dobie Gray and Bud Reneau and recorded by John Conlee. Conlee’s version was released in May 1986 as the second single from his album Harmony. The track was produced by Bud Logan and issued on Columbia Records; it followed the album’s title track and was part of Conlee’s move to Columbia after a long run with MCA.

At the time of the single’s release John Conlee was an established country artist with a string of top-ten and number-one hits behind him. Conlee’s plainspoken vocal delivery and preference for narrative-leaning material had defined his commercial profile through the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the songs on Harmony continued that focus. The album sessions retained the straightforward production approach that characterized many of his most successful recordings.

The song itself had a recording history prior to Conlee’s hit single: John Denver recorded “Got My Heart Set on You” for his 1985 album Dreamland Express, and other artists also issued versions in the mid-1980s. Conlee’s rendition adapted the material for his vocal style and for mainstream country radio programming, bringing the tune to an audience more focused on country playlists than the earlier pop-leaning recordings.

Lyrically, the composition is built around a simple, declarative sentiment of commitment: the narrator makes clear that his intentions are set on a particular partner and expresses that resolve through direct phrasing rather than elaborate metaphor. Musically the arrangement for Conlee’s single is presented in a mid-tempo country idiom, with instrumentation that supports the vocal narrative—acoustic and electric guitars, steady rhythmic backing and tasteful accompaniment intended to foreground the lyric. This straightforward treatment aligned the track with contemporary country radio expectations of the period.

On the charts, “Got My Heart Set on You” became John Conlee’s seventh and, to date, final number-one country single. The single reached the top position on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the country chart during its run. It also reached number one on Canadian country listings, marking it as a notable late-career commercial success for Conlee.

In retrospect, the song is commonly cited as a solid example of mid-1980s mainstream country craftsmanship: a professionally produced single that emphasized clarity of message and radio-friendly structure. While not an experimental entry in Conlee’s catalog, it served the commercial purpose of sustaining his presence on country radio and remains part of his core chart legacy. The track continues to appear on compilation albums and is included in discographies that document Conlee’s string of charting singles through the 1970s and 1980s.