Hart, a country music stalwart since the late 1950s, had a string of minor hits for several labels, including
Kapp,
Columbia and his then-current label,
Capitol. However, his hits were modest at best. "Easy Loving," about deep commitment in a monogamous relationship, very nearly did not become a hit. Hart's previous single, "California Grapevine," had stalled at No. 68 on the
Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, and
Capitol Records decided to drop Hart's contract. In mid-1971, a disc jockey at
Atlanta, Georgia radio station WPLO began playing "Easy Loving" to great response. The song quickly caught on nationwide, and by that August, "Easy Loving" had broken into the top 10 of the
Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. On September 11, it became his first No. 1 song, spending three weeks atop the chart (interrupted between its first and second weeks by
Tom T. Hall's "The Year Clayton Delaney Died."). "Easy Loving" also was a modest pop hit, reaching No. 17 on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1971, and was the
only pop hit of Hart's career. ==Awards==