ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Conway Twitty 

Career Highlights

(Sep. 1, 1933 – Jun. 5, 1993)

No. 4 Country Music Artist (1944 - 1993) 

Barn Dance Affiliate: Louisiana Hayride 

Grand Ole Opry Member 

Band Names

• Twitty Birds
• Phillips County Ramblers

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV 

• Austin City Limits, 4
• College Confidential, 1
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw,  4
• Nashville Now, 4
• Pop Goes the Country, 4
• The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
• The Johnny cash Show, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4
• Sexpot Goes to College, 1  

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV

Billboard Chart Data 

• No. 1 Singles: 40
• Top-10 Singles: 75
• Crossover Singles: 1
• Charted Singles: 97
• Chart Years Active (1966-1993) 

Awards

Country Music Association

• Vocal Duo of the Year (1972, 1973, 1974 & 1975) with Loretta Lynn
• Country Music Hall of Fame (1999)

Academy of Country Music

• 1971 Top Vocal Duo with Loretta Lynn
• 1974 Top Vocal Duo with Loretta Lynn
• 1975 Album of the Year with Loretta Lynn- Feelin's
• 1975 Top Male Vocalist
• 1975 Top Vocal Duo with Loretta Lynn
• 1976 Top Vocal Duo with Loretta Lynn 

Career Labels:

• Sun Records (1957)
• MGM Records (1958-1964)
• Decca Records (1965-1972)
• Decca/MCA Records (1973-1982)
• Elektra Records (1982-1983)
• Warner Brothers Records (1983-1986)
• MCA Records (1987-1993)

Billboard No. 1 Singles

• Next In Line -1968
• I Love You More Today -1969
• To See An Angel Cry
• Hello Darlin' -1970*#
• Fifteen Years Ago
• How Much More Can She Stand -1971
• Lost Her Love On Our Last Date -1972
• I Can't Stop Loving You
• She Needs Someone To Hold Her...
• You've Never Been This Far Before -1973
• There's A Honky Tonk Angel... -1974
• I See The Want To In Your Eyes
• Linda On My Mind -1975
• Touch The Hand
• This Time I've Hurt Her More Than...
• After All The Good Is Gone -1976
• The Games That Daddies Play
• (I Can't Believe) She Gives It All To Me
• Play, Guitar Play -1977
• I've Already Loved You in My Mind
• Don't Take It Away -1979
• I May Never Get to Heaven
• Happy Birthday Darlin'
• I'd Love To Lay You Down -1980
• Rest Your Love On Me -1981 
• Tight Fittin' Jeans
• Red Neckin' Love Makin' Night
• The Clown -1982
• Slow Hand
• The Rose
• Somebody's Needing Somebody 1984
• I Don't Know A Thing About Love
• Ain't She Somethin' Else
• Don't Call Hom a Cowboy 1985
• Desperado Love -1986

 *Biggest Chart Single 

No. 1 & Top-10 Duets With Loretta Lynn

• After The Fire Is Gone* -1971
• Lead Me On*
• Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man*1973
• As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone*1974
• Feelins'*1975
• The Letter -1976
• I Can't Love You Enough -1977
• From Seven Till Ten -1978
• You Know Just What I'd Do -1979
• It's True Love -1980
• Lovin' What Your Lovin' Does To Me -1981
• I Still Believe In Waltzes

*No. 1 Single

#-Biggest Chart Single 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hello Darlin' - The Conway Twitty Story

Conway Twitty was born Harold Jenkins in the small town of Friars Point, Mississippi. His father, a riverboat pilot, taught him his first guitar chords when Twitty was just 4 years old.  Often on Saturday night the family gathered around the radio for the Grand Ole Opry. The Jenkins family moved to Helena, Arkansas, when Twitty was 10 and there he put together his first band, the Phillips County Ramblers.

Two years later, he had his own local radio show every Saturday morning. While in Arkansas, Twitty engaged his second passion, baseball. Conway received an offer to play with the Philadelphia Phillies after high school but joined the Army instead. 

After his discharge from the Army, Twitty resumed his music aspirations and began writing original rock 'n' roll material. As a matter of course, he headed for the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and worked with the likes of Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and many others.

Accounts of how Jenkins acquired his stage name vary. However, the most common understanding is that Conway changed his stage name in 1957, taking his new name from Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas.

Twitty scored his first hit with a teen ballad, It's Only Make Believe, on MGM Records in 1958, making him a teen idol of the day. Seven years later, Twitty began his country career with Decca Records in 1965 and by the early '70s, he had scored four straight No. 1 hits including Hello Darlin' and Fifteen Years Ago (1970), How Much More Can She Stand (1971) and (Lost Her Love) On Our Last Date (1972).

In 1971, Twitty released his first hit duet with Loretta Lynn, After the Fire Is Gone, followed by Lead Me On in 1971, Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man in 1973 and As Soon As I Hang Up the Phone in 1974.

Together, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn won four consecutive Country Music Association (CMA) awards for Vocal Duo of the Year (1972, 1973, 1974 & 1975).

Twitty's solo career continued to thrive alongside his duets with Loretta Lynn.

In 1973, Decca Records 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 No. 1 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-10 chart singles for Decca Records, 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 TwittyCity. The size of his international popularity was confirmed when he re-recorded Hello Darlin' in Russian for a joint American/Soviet space mission.

In 1982, Twitty moved to Warner Brothers (then Elektra) and reached No. 1 with remakes of the Pointer Sisters' Slow Hand and Bette Midler's The Rose.

In 1987, he returned to MCA, where he co-produced his albums with his wife, Dee Henry. The hits, such as Julia and That's My Job kept Twitty in the spotlight until his final top-10 chart single, I Couldn't See You Leavin' (No. 3, 1991). 

Astonishlingly, Twitty never won a solo CMA award. Yet, by the end of his tenure at MCA Records in 1981, he had accumulated 32 No. 1 hits. Another 15 had reached the top 5. By the end of his chart career, Twitty had accumulated a record breaking 40 No. 1 chart singles. This is a milestone that only Alabama and George Strait have surpassed. It isn't likely that his record will be broken again.

Twitty became ill while performing in Branson, Missouri and he died from an abdominal aneurysm. Shortly before he died, he had recorded a new album, suitably called Final Touches. Conway Twitty was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999

Listen to one of Twitty's final No. 1 singles, Don't Call Him a Cowboy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, compiled and written by Richard Bell. Roots of Country Music, Oct. 10 2011.