Conway Twitty began as a rock & roll vocalist in the 1950s before rising to become country music’s dominant figure across the 1970s and 1980s, amassing a record-setting total of 40 number one singles during those two decades. His deep, resonant, down-home delivery placed him among the most polished balladeers active in Nashville throughout the country-pop period, yet he also proved one of the most daring. More than any peer, he helped establish country as an “adult” genre by weaving sexually suggestive material into his polished productions without resorting to misogynist content; instead, his songs generally came across as sensitive and sensual, which contributed greatly to his widespread appeal. After reaching the summit of the country charts in the late 1960s, he remained there for an extended run, issuing a steady flow of Top Ten singles that both shaped and broadened country-pop conventions through understated infusions of R&B, pop, and rock & roll. Although he enjoyed occasional pop crossover success, Twitty stayed rooted in country traditions—sometimes signaled by unusually corny song titles—which helped sustain his popularity right up to his death in 1993.
Born Harold Lloyd Jenkins on September 1, 1933, in Mississippi and raised in Helena, Arkansas, the future star was the son of a riverboat captain. There he developed an early affection for country alongside blues and gospel. At age ten he joined the Phillips Country Ramblers, a group that occasionally appeared on local radio. Though music interested him, Jenkins initially aimed for a professional baseball career and received a contract offer from the Philadelphia Phillies, only to have his plans interrupted by Army service during the Korean War. While stationed in the Far East he performed with the country band the Cimarrons. Upon returning to the United States in 1956, he still held an open invitation from the Phillies, but a decision to chase music followed his exposure to Elvis Presley.
Hoping to record for Sun Records, Jenkins traveled to Memphis, where Sam Phillips did sign him; however, none of the resulting tracks saw release. Jenkins’ most notable contribution to the label came through writing “Rock House,” a modest hit for Roy Orbison. After departing Sun late in 1956, he joined a rockabilly tour and adopted the stage name Conway Twitty by merging the names of cities in Arkansas and Texas. Early in 1957 he signed with Mercury Records and issued several singles that gained little traction, though “I Need Your Lovin’” reached the lowest rungs of the pop charts. Moving to MGM Records in 1958, he finally scored with “It’s Only Make Believe,” a composition written with Jack Nance. Backed vocally by Presley’s Jordanaires, the track rose to number one for two weeks and earned gold certification. During 1959 and 1960 Twitty placed additional singles on the charts, most notably the Top Ten entries “Danny Boy” and “Lonely Blue Boy,” while also appearing in the B-movies Sex Kittens Go to College, Platinum High School, and College Confidential.
Twitty’s rock & roll prominence proved fleeting. By early 1961 his singles had ceased entering the Top 40. He kept touring, yet MGM soon ended the association. On ABC-Paramount he gradually incorporated more country material while still focusing primarily on pop. After Ray Price carried Twitty’s “Walk Me to the Door” into the country Top Ten, Conway resolved to become a country artist, though he did not act on that intention until 1965, when he walked offstage midway through a New Jersey nightclub performance. By year’s end he had begun working with Nashville-sound architect Owen Bradley and signed to Decca Records. In spring 1966 he issued his first country single, “Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart,” which reached number 18. Two more years of modest hits preceded his breakthrough Top Ten single “The Image of Me” in spring 1968, followed months later by his initial number one, “Next in Line.” Over the ensuing four years Decca released a run of 12 Top Five singles, eight of them—“I Love You More Today,” “To See My Angel Cry,” “Hello Darlin’,” “Fifteen Years Ago,” and “How Much More She Can Stand” among them—claiming the top spot.
Late in 1970 Twitty launched a partnership with Loretta Lynn that yielded their first duet, “After the Fire Is Gone,” early the next year. The recording inaugurated a streak of five consecutive number one country hits that also included “Lead Me On,” “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man,” “As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone,” and “Feelins’.” Throughout the decade the pair continued collaborating, issuing one album annually and collecting 14 Top Ten hits altogether; they also received four Country Music Association Duo of the Year awards, three Academy of Country Music Vocal Group of the Year honors, and a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance by a Group for “After the Fire Is Gone.”
Twitty’s solo work flourished alongside the duets. When Decca was absorbed by MCA Records in 1973, his new releases appeared on the latter imprint. The label transition coincided with heightened suggestiveness in his material, exemplified by the three-week number one “You’ve Never Been This Far Before” during summer 1973, even though several stations banned it. Not every song was overtly sexual, yet all carried adult themes and featured layered, string-laden productions aimed at mature listeners who purchased Twitty records in volume. Through 1983 he maintained an unbroken sequence of Top Ten singles on MCA, most reaching number one. Standout hits from this stretch included “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 chart success continued, Twitty diversified into banking, real estate, a booking agency, and ultimately the theme park Twitty City. His global reach was underscored when he re-recorded “Hello Darlin’” in Russian for a joint American-Soviet space mission.
Briefly joining Elektra late in 1981, he scored several hits, among them pop covers such as the Pointer Sisters’ “Slow Hand” and Bette Midler’s “The Rose.” Signing with Warner Bros. in 1983, he enjoyed further hits over the next three years, again mixing pop interpretations—including the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight” and the Commodores’ “Three Times a Lady”—with country originals such as 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,” his final chart-topper in 1986.
Returning to MCA in 1987, Twitty notched consecutive number two hits with “Julia” and “I Want to Know You Before We Make Love.” Although Top Ten entries continued into the close of the decade, momentum eased in the early 1990s as newer country acts displaced veteran artists from the upper chart reaches. He nonetheless retained strong popularity, moving both records and concert tickets until his sudden death from an abdominal aneurysm in summer 1993. In the immediate aftermath, tributes arrived from across the entertainment world, not solely from country audiences, and his tally of more than 40 number one hits—equaled only by George Strait in 2009—stands as a lasting benchmark.
