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Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty (September 1, 1933 - June 5, 1993), born Harold Lloyd
Jenkins) was one of the United States' most successful country music artists
of the 20th century. He had the most singles (55) reach Number 1 on various national music charts. Most commonly thought of as a country music singer, he also enjoyed success in early Rock and Roll, R&B, and Pop music (among others). BiographyConway Twitty was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins on September 1, 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi. Jenkins was named by his great uncle after his favorite silent movie actor, Harold Lloyd. The Jenkins family moved to Helena, Arkansas (now known as Helena-West Helena, Arkansas) when Jenkins was 10 years of age, and it was in Helena that Jenkins put together his first singing group, the Phillips County Ramblers.
Two years later, he had his own local radio show every Saturday morning. Jenkins also practiced his second passion, baseball. He received an offer to play with the Philadelphia Phillies after high school, but he was drafted into the Army, which effectively put an end to that dream. Inspired By Elvis
After his discharge from the Army, Jenkins again pursued a music career. After hearing Elvis Presley's song, "Mystery Train", he began writing rock 'n' roll material. As a matter of course, he headed for the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and worked with Sam Phillips, owner and founder of Sun Studios, to get the "right" sound. Source of Stage NameHarold Jenkins felt that his real name wasn't marketable, and he changed his show business name in 1957. (Harold Lloyd Jenkins would always remain his legal name, however). Looking at a road map, he spotted Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas. Thus, he went with the professional name of "Conway Twitty". First Successes"It's Only Make Believe" was recorded in 1958 and became the first of nine Top 40 hits for Twitty, selling eight million copies.[1] The song was written by Conway and drummer, Jack Nance.
Rock SuccessesTwitty's fortunes changed 1958, while he was with MGM Records. An Ohio radio station did not play "I'll Try", an MGM single that went basically nowhere in terms of sales, radio play, and jukebox play, instead playing the "B side" of the single. The B side was a song called "It's Only Make Believe". It was popular in Ohio, and was gradually becoming popular throughout the country, as well. For a brief period in Twitty's career, some believed that he was Elvis Presley recording under a different name. This was largely the case with "It's Only Make Believe." The record took nearly one year in all to reach and stay at the top spot of the charts. The song went on to sell over 8 million records and to No. 1 on the Billboard pop music charts in the U.S. as well as No. 1 in 21 different nations. Twitty would go on to enjoy rock-n-roll success with a hard rock song like, "Danny Boy" and "Lonely Blue Boy". "Lonely Blue Boy" was orginially titled "Danny" and was recorded by Presley for the film King Creole, which was never used in the film soundtrack. Career In Country Music
Conway Twitty always wanted to record country music and in 1965 he did just that. His first few country albums were met with country DJs refusing to play them because he was well known as a rock-n-roll singer. He finally broke free with his first number one country song, "Next In Line" in 1968. In 1970, Conway recorded and released "Hello Darlin". 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). In 1973, Twitty released "You've Never Been This Far Before", which was #1 for three weeks that September. Some disc jockeys refused to play the song because of its suggestive lyrics. In 1993, Twitty became ill while performing in Branson, Missouri, and was in pain while he was on the tour bus. He died of an abdominal aneurysm. Shortly before he died, he had recorded a new album, "Final Touches". Twitty's last chart appearance on the country charts was a duet with Anita Cochran, "I Want to Hear a Cheating Song" (2004). Twitty's voice was electronically created based on one of his hits from the 1980s. Appearances in Other Media
In October, 2004 "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" (sung by Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn) appeared on the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on fictional country music station K-ROSE. On March 11, 2007, in the episode "Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey", video clips of Conway Twitty's performances on Hee Haw featured in the animated-series Family Guy. CoversWhile Twitty has been known to cover songs – most notably "Slow Hand" which was a major pop hit for the Pointer Sisters – his own songs have not been covered that often. However, three notable covers include George Jones' rendition of "Hello Darlin", Blake Shelton's "Goodbye Time", and Elvis Presley's version of "There's A Honky Tonk Angel". AwardsTwitty never won a solo CMA award. By the end of his tenure at MCA in 1981, he had accumulated 32 No. 1 hits, while another 15 had reached the Top 5. He moved to Warner Bros. Records in 1982, where he had another 11 No. 1 hits. By 1987, Twitty was back at MCA where he continued to score top 10 hits until 1991. Conway Twitty was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and his pioneering contribution has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, as well. In 2003, Twitty was ranked #8 in CMT's 40 Greatest Men in Country Music. Private LifeMarriagesTwitty married three times. After his death, his widow, Dee Henry Jenkins, and his four grown children from the previous marriages, Michael, Joni, Kathy and Jimmy Jenkins engaged in a publicly visible dispute over the estate. His will had not been updated to account for the third marriage, but Tennessee law reserves one third of any estate to the widow. A public auction of much property and memorabilia was held due to the fact that the widow refused to accept the appraised value so therefore, she demanded that everything be sold so she could get a higher amount. Twitty CityTwitty lived for many years in Hendersonville, Tennessee, just north of Nashville, where he built a country music entertainment complex called Twitty City. Its lavish displays of Christmas lights were a famous local sight. It has since been sold to the Trinity Broadcasting Network and converted to a Christian music venue in 1994. DeathConway Twitty died June 5, 1993 in Springfield Missouri at Cox South Hospital from an abdominal aneurysm. Discography1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
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