Conway Twitty

All Music Guide:

Originally a '50s rock & roll singer, Conway Twitty became the reigning country superstar of the '70s and '80s, racking up a record 40 number one hits over the course of two decades. With his deep, resonant down-home voice, Twitty was one of the smoothest balladeers to work in Nashville during the country-pop era, but he was also one of the most adventurous. More than any other singer, he was responsible for selling country as an "adult" music, slipping sexually suggestive lyrics into his lush productions, yet never singing misogynist lyrics -- by and large, his songs were sensitive and sensual, which is part of the reason why he achieved such a large success. Once Twitty reached the top of the country charts in the late '60s, he stayed there for years on end, releasing a consistent stream of Top Ten hits that both defined and expanded the limitations of country-pop by adding subtle R&B, pop, and rock & roll influences. Though he had some pop success, Twitty remained country to the core -- occasionally, his song titles were simply too corny -- which was why he retained his popularity until his death in 1993.

The son of a riverboat captain, Twitty (born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, September 1, 1933; died June 5, 1993) was born in Mississippi and raised in Helena, AR, where he learned to love not only country, but also blues and gospel. When he was ten years old, he joined his first group, the Phillips Country Ramblers, who occasionally performed on local radio. Despite his interest in music, he originally planned to become a professional baseball player. Jenkins was talented enough to be offered a contract by the Philadelphia Phillies, but he was unable to join the team, since he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. While he was serving in the Far East, he sang with a country band called the Cimarrons. Returning to America in 1956, Jenkins still had an open offer to join the Phillies, yet he decided to pursue a musical career after he heard Elvis Presley.

With dreams of recording for Sun Records, Jenkins headed to Memphis, where Sam Phillips did indeed sign him to a recording contract, but none of the tracks he cut were ever released; Jenkins' biggest contribution to the label was writing "Rock House," a minor hit for Roy Orbison. Leaving Sun in late 1956, he set out on a rockabilly package tour, during which he invented the stage name of Conway Twitty by combining the names of an Arkansas and Texas city, respectively. At the beginning of 1957, he signed to Mercury Records, where he released a handful of singles that didn't make much of an impact, though "I Need Your Lovin'" scraped the very bottom of the pop charts. In 1958, he moved to MGM Records, where he finally achieved success with "It's Only Make Believe," a song he had written with Jack Nance. Recorded with vocal support by Presley's back group, the Jordanaires, "It's Only Make Believe" became a major hit, spending two weeks at number one and going gold. Over the course of 1959 and 1960, Twitty released a number of singles, the most popular of which were the Top Ten "Danny Boy" and "Lonely Blue Boy," and appeared in the B movies Sex Kittens Go to College, Platinum High School, and College Confidential.

Twitty's rock & roll fame arrived suddenly and it went away just as quickly. By the beginning of 1961, his singles had stopped entering the Top 40. Nevertheless, he continued to tour, but soon MGM dropped him from their roster. Signing with ABC-Paramount, he began to add more country songs to his repertoire, yet he was still primarily recording pop material. Once Ray Price took Twitty's "Walk Me to the Door" to the country Top Ten, Conway decided he wanted to become a country singer, but he didn't actively pursue that avenue until 1965, when he walked out in the middle of a concert at a New Jersey nightclub. By the end of 1965, Twitty had begun a collaboration with record producer Owen Bradley, one of the cornerstones of the Nashville sound, and had signed to Decca Records. In the spring of the following year, he released his first country single, "Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart," which peaked at number 18. For the next two years, he had a steady stream of four minor hits, finally breaking into the Top Ten with "The Image of Me" in the spring of 1968, followed a few months later by his first number one hit, "Next in Line." For the next four years, he had a string of 12 Top Five singles for Decca, eight of which -- including "I Love You More Today," "To See My Angel Cry," "Hello Darlin'," "Fifteen Years Ago," and "How Much More She Can Stand" -- were number one hits.

In late 1970, he began a professional relationship with Loretta Lynn, releasing their first duet, "After the Fire Is Gone," early in 1971. The record became the first of five straight number one country hits, which also included "Lead Me On," "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man," "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone," and "Feelins'." Over the course of the decade, Twitty and Lynn continued to work together, releasing one album a year and racking up a total of 14 Top Ten hits; they also won four Duo of the Year awards from the Country Music Association, three Vocal Group of the Year honors from the Academy of Country Music, and one Grammy for Best Vocal Performance by a Group ("After the Fire Is Gone").

Twitty's solo career continued to thrive alongside his duets with Lynn. In 1973, Decca became absorbed by MCA Records, and all of his new records were released on MCA. The changeover in labels happened to coincide with an increased suggestiveness in much of his material, including the major hit single "You've Never Been This Far Before," which spent three weeks at number one during the summer of 1973, despite being banned by several radio stations. Not all of his songs were as explicitly sexual, yet they all had an adult theme and their layered, string-laden production was designed for more mature audience, who bought Twitty records in droves. Until 1983, he had a remarkably consistent string of Top Ten singles for Decca, most of which hit number one. Among his best-known hits from this era were "I See the Want To in Your Eyes," "Linda in My Mind," "Touch the Hand," "After All the Good Is Gone," "I've Already Loved You in My Mind," "Happy Birthday Darlin'," "Tight Fittin' Jeans," and "Red Neckin' Love Makin' Night." As he continued to rule the charts, Twitty expanded into other business ventures, including banking, property, a booking agency, and ultimately, a theme park called Twitty City. The size of his international popularity was confirmed when he re-recorded "Hello Darlin'" in Russian for a joint American/Soviet space mission.

In late 1981, he briefly moved to Elektra, where he released several hit singles, many of which were pop covers like the Pointer Sisters' "Slow Hand" and Bette Midler's "The Rose." Twitty signed with Warner Bros. in 1983, where he had a string of hits over the next three years. Again, he covered several pop songs -- the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight," the Commodores' "Three Times a Lady" -- but he kept recording country songs, including the number ones "Somebody's Needin' Somebody," "I Don't Know a Thing About Love (The Moon Songs)," "Don't Call Him a Cowboy," and "Desperado Love," a 1986 chart-topper which proved to be his last number one.

Twitty returned to MCA in 1987, releasing the back-to-back number two hits "Julia" and "I Want to Know You Before We Make Love." Though he continued to have Top Ten hits through the end of the decade, his success began to slip slightly in the early '90s, once new country forced older performers off the top of the charts. Nevertheless, he remained quite popular, selling both records and concert tickets, until his sudden death from an abdominal aneurysm in the summer of 1993. Immediately following his death, he was praised and mourned from all quarters of the public, not just country music fans, and his record of over 40 number one hits remains unlikely to be surpassed.

Wikipedia:

Conway Twitty (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, was an American country music artist. He also had success in early rock and roll, R&B and pop music. He held the record for the most number one singles of any act with 40 #1 Billboard country hits until George Strait broke the record in 2006. From 1971-76, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. He was never a member of the Grand Ole Opry, but was inducted into both the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls of Fame.

Biography

Early life

Conway Twitty was born Harold Jenkins on September 1, 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi. He was named by his great uncle, after his favorite silent movie actor, Harold Lloyd. The Jenkins family moved to Helena, Arkansas when Harold was ten years old. In Helena Harold formed his first singing group, the Phillips County Ramblers.

Two years later, Harold had his own local radio show every Saturday morning. He also played baseball, his second passion. He received an offer to play with the Philadelphia Phillies after high school (Smiths Station High), but he was drafted into the US Army. He served in the Far East and organized a group called The Cimmerons to entertain fellow GIs.

Wayne Hause, a neighbor, suggested that Harold could make it in the music industry. Soon after hearing Elvis Presley's song "Mystery Train", Harold began writing rock and roll material. He went to the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and worked with Sam Phillips, the owner and founder, to get the "right" sound.

Stage name

Accounts of how Harold Jenkins acquired his stage name of Conway Twitty vary. Allegedly, in 1957, Jenkins decided that his real name wasn't marketable and sought a better show business name. In "The Billboard Book of Number One Hits" Fred Bronson states that the singer was looking at a road map when he spotted Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas and chose the name Conway Twitty.

Another account says that Jenkins met a Richmond, Virginia man named W. Conway Twitty Jr. through Jenkins' manager in a New York City restaurant. The manager served in the US Army with the real Conway Twitty. Later, the manager suggested to Jenkins that he take the name as his stage name because it had a ring to it. In the mid-1960s, W. Conway Twitty subsequently recorded the song "What's in a Name but Trouble", lamenting the loss of his name to Harold Jenkins.

Pop and rock and roll success

Using his new stage name, Conway Twitty's fortunes improved in 1958, while he was with MGM Records. An Ohio radio station did not play "I'll Try", an MGM single that went nowhere in terms of sales, radio play, and jukebox play; instead playing the B-side, "It's Only Make Believe", a song written between sets by Twitty and drummer Jack Nance when they were in Hamilton, Ontario playing at the Flamingo Lounge. The record took nearly one year to reach and stay at the top spot on the Billboard pop music charts in the US, as well as #1 in 21 other countries. It became the first of nine top 40 hits for Twitty. That same year, country singer Tabby West of ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee heard Twitty and he was booked to appear on the show.

For a brief period, some believed he was Elvis Presley recording under a different name. This was largely the case with "It's Only Make Believe". Twitty would go on to enjoy rock and roll success with songs including "Danny Boy" (Pop #10) and "Lonely Blue Boy" (Pop #6). "Lonely Blue Boy", originally titled "Danny", was recorded by Presley for the film King Creole but was not used in the soundtrack.

In 1960, he appeared in three feature films: College Confidential, Sex Kittens Go to College and Platinum High School.

Country music career

Twitty always wanted to record country music and, beginning in 1965, he did just that. His first few country albums were met with some country DJ's refusing to play them because he was known as a rock 'n' roll singer. However, he finally broke free with his first top five country hit, "The Image of Me", in July 1968, ensued by his first number one country song, "Next in Line", in November 1968. Few of his singles beginning in 1968 ranked below the top five.

In 1970, Twitty recorded and released his biggest hit ever, "Hello Darlin'" (which spent four weeks at the top of the country chart). In 1971 he released his first hit duet with Loretta Lynn, "After the Fire Is Gone". It was a success, and many more followed, including "Lead Me On" (1971), "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" (1973), "As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone" (1974), "Feelins'" (1975), "I Still Believe in Waltzes", "I Can't Love You Enough", and many others. Together, Conway and Loretta (as they were known in their act), won four consecutive Country Music Association awards for vocal duo (1972–75) and a host of other duo and duet awards from other organizations throughout the 1970s.

In 1973, Twitty released "You've Never Been This Far Before", which was not only #1 in country for three weeks that September but also reached #22 on the pop charts. Some disc jockeys refused to play the song because of its suggestive lyrics.

In 1978 he issued the single "The Grandest Lady of Them All" honoring the Grand Ole Opry, but for the first time since 1967, a single of his failed to reach top ten status as some radio stations refused to play a song honoring the property of a competitor (broadcast by WSM-AM). Nevertheless, the single reached the top 20 but it peaked well below expectations, and this set in motion the changes that were to take place in his career, including a new hairstyle, changing from the slicked-back pompadour style to the curlier style he would keep the rest of his life.

In 1985, going by all weekly music trade charts, the song "Don't Call Him a Cowboy" became the 50th single of his career to achieve a #1 ranking. He would have five more through 1990, giving him a total of 55 #1 hits. George Strait eclipsed the feat of 50 #1 hits in 2002 with his single "She'll Leave You With a Smile" and then reached #1 for the 56th time in 2007 when the single "Wrapped" hit the top on the Media Base 24/7 list.

Throughout much of his country music career his home was Decca Records, later renamed MCA. He signed with the label in late 1965 but left in 1981 when it appeared MCA was marketing and promoting newer acts, plus management at the label had changed and other factors brought on the decision. He joined Elektra/Asylum in 1982. That label merged with its parent company, Warner Bros. Records in 1983. He stayed on with Warner Bros. Records through early 1987 but then went back to MCA to finish out his career. In 1993, shortly before he died, he recorded a new album, Final Touches.

Twitty City

Twitty lived for many years in Hendersonville, Tennessee, just north of Nashville, where he built a country music entertainment complex called Twitty City. The address was 1 Country Music Blvd. Its lavish displays of Christmas lights were a famous local sight. Conway Twitty and Twitty City were once featured on the TV series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Twitty City was also seen in the Nashville episode of the BBC series Entertainment USA, presented by Jonathan King. A popular tourist stop throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, it was shut down in 1994 following a year-long tribute show called Final Touches, when fans and peers in the music business dropped by. The complex was auctioned off and bought by the Trinity Broadcasting Network for its religious programs.

Death

Twitty became ill while performing in Branson, Missouri, and was in pain while he was on the tour bus. He died in Springfield, Missouri, at Cox South Hospital from an abdominal aortic aneurysm, two months before the release of what would be his final studio album, Final Touches, and four months before the release of George Jones's album High-Tech Redneck which featured a cover of "Hello Darlin'". He was 59 years old.

Posthumous releases

Since his death, Twitty's son Michael and grandson Tre have been carrying on his musical legacy. His most recent chart appearance on the country charts was a duet with Anita Cochran, "I Want to Hear a Cheating Song" (2004), which was made possible due to the availability of the original multi-track session tapes of his version of the song, recorded in the early 1980s. As a result, Twitty's isolated vocal track was electronically lifted off the session master, transferred to a digital multi-track and digitally re-assembled into the new performance.

Similar to the electronic duets of Patsy Cline and Jim Reeves, Hank Williams and Hank Williams, Jr. or Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole, Cochran added her vocal to the already-produced backing tracks along with Twitty's reconstructed vocal.

Legal issues

Taxes

Twitty's success in country music was a key factor in his winning a 1983 case, Harold L. Jenkins (a/k/a Howard Twitty) v. Commissioner in United States Tax Court. The Internal Revenue Service denied Twitty's attempt to deduct from his taxes, as an "ordinary and necessary" business expense, payments he had made in order to repay investors in a defunct fast-food chain called Twitty Burger. The chain went under in 1971. The general rule is that the payment of someone else's debts is not deductible. Twitty alleged that his primary motive was "protecting his personal business reputation." The court opinion contained testimony from Twitty about his bond with country music fans.

Estate

Twitty married three times. His widow, Dee Henry Jenkins, and his four grown children from the previous marriages, Michael, Joni, Kathy and Jimmy Jenkins, engaged in a public dispute over the estate. Twitty's will had not been updated to account for the third marriage, but Tennessee law reserves one third of any estate to the widow. After years of probate, the four children received the rights to Twitty's music, name and image. The rest of the estate went to public auction, where much of the property and memorabilia was sold after his widow rejected the appraised value.

In 2008, controversy again erupted in his family when the four remaining children sued Sony/ATV Music Publishing over an agreement that Twitty and his family signed in 1990. The suit alleged that the terms of the agreement were not fully understood by the children, although they were all adults at the time. It sought to recover copyrights and royalty revenue that the document assigned to the company.

55 Number Ones

Twitty was the only singer to have 55 #1 hits in his career until George Strait eventually eclipsed the long-held record. Conway's 55th and final #1 was "Crazy in Love" in 1990 on the Cashbox chart. His Final #1 on the country charts was "Desperado Love" in 1986. His first #1 was "It's Only Make Believe" in 1958 on the Hot 100 pop chart. He is best known for his 1970 #1 single "Hello Darlin'". At one time there were multiple weekly music charts in circulation during much of Conway's career. Those publications were Billboard, Record World, Cashbox, Gavin, Radio, and Records. Billboard is the lone surviving publication of the group. Radio and Records, emerging in 1973, was bought out by Billboard in 2006 (ending a 33 year run as an independent music survey) but the R&R brand was phased out in 2009 altogether. Conway reached #1 on Radio and Records many times; quite a few of his #1 hits in the latter years of his career reached the top of this publication while peaking in the top five in Billboard. The Gavin Report, founded in 1958, ended publication in 2002. Cashbox was in publication from 1942 through 1996. As is the case with Radio and Records, Conway reached #1 on Cashbox with most of his recordings. His 55th and final #1 hit, "Crazy in Love", reached #1 on Cashbox and #3 on Billboard in the fall of 1990. Record World started out under the name Music Vendor in 1946. The publication's name change took place in 1964. Conway often reached #1 on the Record World country charts with singles that reached the #2 or #3 position on Billboard's chart. Billboard, on the other hand, began it's publication in 1894 but it was completely different from what it appears today. It wouldn't be until the 1930's that music sales, and later, jukebox play, became a focal point of the publication. In the late 1950's, Billboard unveiled their Hot 100 chart which has more commonly become known as the Pop singles chart. Their country chart began in 1944 and is still in publication. Conway reached #1 a total of 40 times on the Billboard country chart from 1968 through 1986. His 1958 single, "It's Only Make Believe", reached #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 giving him an overall total of 41 Billboard #1 hits. The 41 Billboard #1 hits are often what historians and critics point to whenever citing his #1 total even though, technically, he reached the top fourteen additional times with other singles on the other weekly music charts.

Awards

Academy of Country Music

Country Music Association

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame

Grammy Awards

Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Covers

Twitty was known to cover songs—most notably "Slow Hand" which was a major pop hit for the Pointer Sisters, "The Rose" which was a major pop hit for Bette Midler, and "Heartache Tonight" which was a major pop hit for The Eagles; Twitty's songs have also been covered numerous times, including four notable covers, George Jones' rendition of "Hello Darlin", Blake Shelton's "Goodbye Time", The Misfits and Glen Campbell versions of "It's Only Make Believe" and Elvis Presley's version of "There's a Honky Tonk Angel (Who'll Take Me Back In)". In addition, Ken Checker's version of "I'd Love to Lay You Down" was sung and received some airplay, mostly in the concert realm.

Some artists have had hits with songs that Twitty recorded but never released as singles. Among these are: The Oak Ridge Boys's top five hit, "I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone)," originally from Conway's 1979 album Crosswinds, Steve Wariner's "I'm Already Taken" from Twitty's 1981 album Mr. T (which Wariner wrote), Lee Greenwood's "It Turns Me Inside Out" from Twitty's 1982 album Southern Comfort, John Conlee's "In My Eyes" from Twitty's 1982 album Dream Maker, John Schneider's "What's a Memory Like You (Doin' in a Love Like This?)" from Twitty's 1985 album Chasin' Rainbows, and Daryle Singletary's "The Note" and Ricky Van Shelton's "Somebody Lied" from Twitty's 1985 album Don't Call Him a Cowboy.

Popular culture

Live action footage of Twitty has featured several times as a running gag on the Fox animated TV series Family Guy. In the show, one of the characters, usually Peter Griffin, needing a distraction, turns to the camera and says "Ladies and gentlemen... Mr. Conway Twitty," followed by a portion of live-action footage from one of Twitty's television performances, in which he sings "Hello Darling". When this same joke was used in the episode "The Juice Is Loose," the entirety of Twitty performing "I See the Want To in Your Eyes" was shown. In the straight to DVD release It's a Trap!, at the end of a scene in which Luke Skywalker, played by Chris, informs Leia, played by Lois, that she is his sister; Leia addresses the audience and says "Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Darth Twitty" and cuts to Twitty performing with a Darth Vader helmet digitally superimposed on his head.

The antagonist of the 1993 LucasArts videogame Sam & Max Hit the Road is named Conroy Bumpus, and his name, appearance and background are meant to resemble that of Twitty.

The fictional character "Conrad Birdie" in the musical and movie Bye Bye Birdie is said to be a composite of Conway Twitty and Elvis Presley. The part was originally named Conway Twitty, until the writers learned that Conway Twitty was a real popstar who was willing to sue them.

In the 1959 LP Songs for Swinging Sellers, Peter Sellers included a character "Twit Conway", who was a rock singer.

Bibliography