About The Song
“Easy Loving” is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Freddie Hart. It was released as a single in July 1971 by Capitol Records (catalog number 3115), with “Brother Bluebird” as the B-side. The track runs 2 minutes and 29 seconds and was produced by George Richey. It first appeared on Hart’s 1970 album California Grapevine and was later featured as the title track of the 1971 album Easy Loving.
Hart, born Frederick Segrest on December 21, 1926, in Alabama, had been active in country music since the 1950s. He recorded for labels including Columbia and Kapp before joining Capitol. Prior to “Easy Loving,” his singles achieved modest chart positions. His previous release, “California Grapevine,” peaked at number 68 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, after which Capitol Records initially declined to renew his contract.
The song was recorded in 1970. Session documentation places portions of related album work at Buck Owens Studio in Bakersfield in 1969 and at Jack Clement Studio in Nashville in 1970. Musicians associated with the Easy Loving album sessions included guitarists Billy Sanford, Pete Wade, Jimmy Capps, Harold Bradley, Ray Edenton, and Kelso Herston; steel guitarist Lloyd Green; bassist Roy Huskey; drummers Buddy Harman and Jerry Carrigan; pianists Hargus “Pig” Robbins and Larry Butler; and multi-instrumentalist Charlie McCoy.
In mid-1971, a disc jockey at Atlanta radio station WPLO began airing the track from the California Grapevine album. Listener response led to increased national airplay. By August 1971, the single had entered the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It reached number one on the chart dated September 11, 1971. The song held the top position for a total of three weeks, with the run interrupted between the first and second weeks by Tom T. Hall’s “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died.” It was the number-one country single of 1971 on the Billboard year-end chart.
On the Billboard Hot 100, “Easy Loving” entered the chart on the issue dated August 21, 1971, at number 79. It climbed steadily, reaching the top 40 on September 25, 1971, and peaking at number 17 for two weeks beginning November 20, 1971. The single spent 17 weeks on the Hot 100 and ranked number 68 on the 1971 year-end Hot 100 chart. It also peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, number 12 on the Cash Box Top 100, number 1 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart, number 21 on the RPM Top Singles chart, and number 31 on the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. In Australia, it reached number 25 on the Kent Music Report.
The Recording Industry Association of America certified the single gold in November 1971 for sales exceeding one million units. The corresponding album Easy Loving (Capitol ST-838), released in August 1971, peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 37 on the Billboard 200.
At the 1972 Academy of Country Music Awards, Hart received awards for Top Male Vocalist, Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for “Easy Loving.” The album also won Album of the Year. The Country Music Association awarded “Easy Loving” Song of the Year in both 1971 and 1972. The song received a Grammy Award nomination.
Following the single’s success, Capitol Records re-signed Hart. He subsequently scored five additional consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart between 1972 and 1973: “My Hang-Up Is You,” “Bless Your Heart,” “Got the All Overs for You (All Over Me),” “Super Kind of Woman,” and “Trip to Heaven.” Additional top-10 country singles followed through 1977. Hart continued recording into the 1980s and later focused on gospel material. He died on October 27, 2018, at age 91.
These release dates, chart positions, production credits, and award records are documented in Billboard chart archives, Capitol Records catalog data, RIAA certification records, Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association award listings, and contemporary discography references.
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Lyric
Easy lovin', so sexy lookin' I know from the feelin' that it comes from the heart Easy lovin', every day's Thanksgivin' To count all my blessings, I wouldn't know where to start Every time I look you over So real-to-life it seems For upon your pretty shoulders There's a pair of angel wings Easy lovin', seein's believin' Life with you's like livin' in a beautiful dream Every time I look you over So real-to-life it seems For upon your pretty shoulders There's a pair of angel wings Easy lovin', seein's believin' Life with you's like livin' in a beautiful dream