Earl Thomas Conley (October 17, 1941 – April 10, 2019) was an American country music singer-songwriter known for many hit records, including his 1981 top hit "Fire and Smoke" ("...what a rush I got..."). Between 1980 and 2003, he recorded ten studio albums, including seven for the RCA Records label. He had more than 30 hit records, along with his hit-single "Holding Her and Loving You". As a songwriter, he also wrote popular songs for other singers, with Mel Street's number 13 hit "Smokey Mountain Memories" or Conway Twitty's song "This Time I've Hurt Her More".