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Spotlight on Coni Le

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Coni Le has always been a fan of country music singer, David Frizzell.

In 1981, Frizzell’s number-one country duet with Shelly West, “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma,” won the CMA Song of the Year and Vocal Duet of the Year. It was also featured in the movie, “Any Which Way You Can.”

Now, the Belgrade woman is the one singing that song with Frizzell. A duet album was released in 2003 under King Records, called, “The Best of the Best.” Another album, “The Hits of the 80s and 90s,” features another duet.

Coni Le says she’s living her dream. She’s singing and has started a company — the Coni Le Music Company — that she hopes will help other musicians.

By the age of 5, Coni Le was playing several instruments. Later, she was the lead singer for New Life Trio, traveling across Missouri and surrounding states with them.

The year, 1996 was a big year for her. She was performing her own material at a talent show in Nashville when a producer sent a messenger to her family to come back stage. There, he told her he wanted to sign her to a record contract. In less than three months, her first CD, “Lonesome Train,” was released under Platinum Plus Records. That CD earned her four Academy of Independent Recording Artists awards.

She lived in Nashville for seven years, meeting big names like Jo Dee Messina,  with whom she shared a booth at a Fan Fair event. She also has met Tim McGraw, Billy Ray Cyrus, Diamond Rio, and Neal McCoy.

She was part of an annual Lefty Frizzell Day in Nashville, playing with David Frizzell, Gene Watson, and Johnny Rodriguez. She’s been able to record music at some of the most famous studios in the world.

She and her husband, James Black, moved back home a few years ago to be closer to her parents, Bonnie and Frank Smith in Belgrade. They are building a house nearby and they want to expand her music company so they can sell hard-to-find CDs and tapes and make copies of other local bands’ CDs.

She hasn’t stopped singing, though.

Fushia Star Records will release a new gospel album with songs she has written. She wrote a gospel song for her husband and one for her brother, Frankie, that will be featured on the album. This will be her first gospel venture.

Fushia Star Records has recently re-released “Lonesome Train.” It is available by calling 573-438-1919. Her other music can be found in some music stores or at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville.

Coni Le said she loves singing duets, especially with David Frizzell. She also sings with her brother and husband. Coni Le uses the original Clint Black Band when she performs and is on the road. Her father is her bus driver.