John Wesley Ryles

about

John Wesley Ryles (born in Bastrop, Louisiana, on 2 December 1950; died 2 November 2025) was an American country musician remembered for his string of hit country songs, beginning in 1968 when he was still a teenager, and continuing through the 1980s. His recordings include his debut 1968 single "Kay", a top-ten hit on the US Billboard country charts. From the late 1980s until his death, Ryles worked mainly as a session backing vocalist. Ryles later recorded one album, Reconsider Me, for the Plantation label, which produced a #39 single in its title track. It was followed by two non-album singles, "Tell It Like It Is" and "When a Man Loves a Woman," both on the Music Mill label in 1976. He then moved to ABC Records, releasing three albums for them as well as his highest-peaking single, the #5 "Once in a Lifetime Thing." When that label merged with MCA Records, he issued the album Let the Night Begin there. It included a rendition of "Always on My Mind". Two more singles followed on the Primero label: "We've Got to Start Meeting Like This" and "Just Once," followed by "She Took It Too Well" on 16th Avenue Records in 1984. The last label for which he recorded was Warner Bros. Records between 1987 and 1988. Although he reached Top 20 with "Louisiana Rain" during his stay on Warner, he did not release an album for the label. Since the release of his last single in 1988, Ryles served primarily as a background vocalist and demo singer. User-contributed text is available un

top songs

albums

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Greatest Hits

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Reconsider Me

Kay / Once In A Lifetime Thing

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Kay / Once In A Lifetime Thing - Single

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Truck Stop Sweethearts & C.B. Savages (The Plantation Records Story 1968-1981)

Country Woman

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Tell It Like It Is

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Once In A Lifetime Thing

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Kay / Once In A Lifetime Thing (Rerecorded Version)

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Jukebox Country

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Nashville Country & Western Collection

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Kay Once In A Lifetime Thing

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