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".