Conway Twitty
Harold Lloyd Jenkins, better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. He was inducted into both the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls of Fame.
Twitty was known for his frequent use of romantic and sentimental themes in his songs. Due to his following being compared to a religious revival, comedian Jerry Clower nicknamed Twitty "The High Priest of Country Music", the eventual title of his 33rd studio album. Twitty achieved stardom with hit songs like "Hello Darlin'", "You've Never Been This Far Before", and "Linda on My Mind". Twitty topped 'Billboard' Hot Country Songs chart 40 times in his career, a record that stood for two decades until it was surpassed by George Strait. He also topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "It's Only Make Believe”, a song he wrote, along with 11 of his Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-topping hits.
Early life
Twitty was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins on September 1, 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi. The Jenkins family was of Welsh descent. He was named by his great-uncle, after his favorite silent movie actor Harold Lloyd. The Jenkins family moved to Helena, Arkansas, when Jenkins was 10 years old. In Helena, Jenkins performed on radio when he was 10, and he formed his first singing group, the Phillips County Ramblers when he was 12, and they had their own show on the local radio station KFFA every Saturday morning. He preached at church revivals when he was a teenager.Jenkins was a baseball player with a batting average of.450 when he graduated from high school, and he was offered a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He worked for a few months for International Harvester before accepting the Phillies offer. However, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the Far East, during which time he organized a group called the Cimmarons to entertain his fellow soldiers. The Phillies renewed their offer when he returned home, but Twitty had by then become more interested in pursuing a music career.
Career
Stage name
Jenkins adopted a stage name in 1957. In The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Fred Bronson states that the singer named himself after two towns on a map; Conway, Arkansas, and Twitty, Texas, and chose the name Conway Twitty. Twitty himself confirmed this while appearing on the David Letterman Show on March 30, 1989. His manager, Don Seat, however, said that his girlfriend came up with the name long before Jenkins used it. After Twitty had some success with rock and roll songs, he had considered using his original name Harold Jenkins for his country music releases while keeping the name Conway Twitty for his rock and roll songs; however, he abandoned rock music for country music in 1965 and kept his stage name.Rock and roll
Soon after hearing Elvis Presley's song "Mystery Train", Jenkins began writing rock and roll material. Presley was a strong influence, and Jenkins tried to sound like him. He formed a band called The Rockhousers and wrote a song called "Rockhouse". He went to the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, a few times to record with Sam Phillips, the owner and founder. None of Jenkins's Sun recordings was released at the time, but Roy Orbison did record his composition "Rockhouse", which was issued on SUN 251 in 1956.In 1957, under his new name of Twitty, he recorded briefly for Mercury Records. He released two unsuccessful singles, "I Need Your Lovin'"/"Born to Sing the Blues" and "Shake It Up"/"Maybe Baby". "I Need Your Lovin'" reached only number 93. Although he recorded three more songs with Mercury, his contract was soon terminated.
In 1958, Twitty's fortunes improved when an Ohio radio station had an inspiration, refraining from playing "I'll Try", 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 several months to reach and stay at the top spot on the Billboard pop music charts in the United States and number one in 21 other countries, becoming the first of nine top-40 hits for Twitty. It sold over four million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. That same year, country singer Tabby West of ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee heard Twitty and booked him to appear on the show.
When "It's Only Make Believe" was first released, because of vocal similarities, many listeners assumed that the song was actually recorded by Elvis Presley, using "Conway Twitty" as a pseudonym. Twitty went on to enjoy rock-and-roll success with songs including "Danny Boy" and "Lonely Blue Boy". "Lonely Blue Boy", originally titled "Danny", was recorded by Presley for the film King Creole, but was not used in the soundtrack. This song led to him naming his band the Lonely Blue Boys. They subsequently became the Twitty Birds. As his recording career continued, Twitty's music shifted from rockabilly to rock and roll, and Twitty also recorded some rhythm and blues and blues singles.
By 1965, Twitty had become disillusioned with rock and roll, particularly with the behavior of the fans, and walked out of a show in the middle of a performance in New Jersey. He sued his manager to be released from his contract, and moved to perform country music in Oklahoma City.
Country music
Twitty always wanted to record country music, and beginning in 1965, he did just that. Disc jockeys on some country-music radio stations refused to play his first few country albums, because he was known as a rock and roll singer. However, he had his first top-five country hit, "The Image of Me", in July 1968, followed 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.File:Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty.jpg|thumb|Twitty and frequent duet partner Loretta Lynn in a promotional image for their 1974 release Country Partners.
In 1970, Twitty recorded and released his biggest country hit, "Hello Darlin'", which spent four weeks at the top of the country chart and is one of Twitty's most recognized songs. 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", "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man", "As Soon As I Hang Up the Phone", "Feelins'", "I Still Believe in Waltzes", "I Can't Love You Enough", and many others. Together, Conway and Loretta won four consecutive Country Music Association awards for vocal duo 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 number one in country for three weeks that September and also reached number 22 on the pop charts. Some more conservative disc jockeys refused to play the song, believing that some of the lyrics were too sexually suggestive.
In 1978, Twitty issued the single "The Grandest Lady of Them All" honoring the Grand Ole Opry. The single reached the top 20, peaking at number 16, but it was well below expectations; it was the first time since 1967 that a single of his failed to reach the top 10, as some radio stations refused to play a song honoring the property of a competitor.
Twitty soon renewed his image with a new hairstyle, changing from the slicked-back pompadour style to the curlier style he would keep for the rest of his life. His next 23 consecutive singles all made it into the top 10, with 13 reaching number one, including "Don't Take It Away", "I May Never Get to Heaven", "Happy Birthday Darlin'", and remakes of major pop hits such as "The Rose", "Slow Hand", and "Tight Fittin' Jeans", a song written by Michael Huffman, released in June 1981 as the first single from the album Mr. T. The song was Twitty's 26th number one on the country chart. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of 10 weeks on the country chart. 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 number-one ranking. He had six more through 1991, giving him a total of 56 number-one country hits in the USA. George Strait matched the feat of 50 number-one hits in 2002 with his single "She'll Leave You with a Smile" and then reached number one for the 56th time in 2007, when the single "Wrapped" hit the top on the Media Base 24/7 list.
Throughout much of Twitty's country music career, his recording home was Decca Records, later renamed MCA. He signed with the label in late 1965, but left in 1981, when MCA appeared to be marketing and promoting newer acts; management at the label had changed, in addition to other factors that brought on the decision. He joined Elektra/Asylum in 1982. That label's country music unit merged with sister label Warner Bros. Records in 1983. He stayed with Warner Bros. through early 1987, but then went back to MCA to finish his career. In 1993, shortly before he died, he recorded a new album, Final Touches.