Conway Twitty
Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), 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.
For other people named Harold Jenkins, see Harold Jenkins (disambiguation).
Conway Twitty
Harold Lloyd Jenkins[1]
"The High Priest of Country Music"
September 1, 1933
Friars Point, Mississippi, U.S.
Helena, Arkansas, U.S.
June 5, 1993 (aged 59)
Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
Singer-songwriter
Vocals, guitar
1955–1993
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's Hot Country Songs chart 40 times in his career, a record that stood for two decades until it was surpassed by George Strait, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart once with "It's Only Make Believe". He wrote eleven of his Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-topping hits.[3]
Early life[edit]
Twitty was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins on September 1, 1933, in Friars Point, Mississippi. The Jenkins family were of Welsh descent.[4] 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,[5] and they had their own show on the local radio station KFFA every Saturday morning.[6] He preached at church revivals when he was a teenager.[6]
Twitty 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.[6] He worked for a few months for International Harvester before accepting the Phillies offer.[6] 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.[7] The Phillies renewed their offer when he returned home, but Twitty had by now become more interested in pursuing a music career.[6]
Soon after hearing Elvis Presley's song "Mystery Train", Jenkins began writing rock & roll material. Elvis was a strong influence and Jenkins tried to sound like him. He formed a band called The Rockhousers and wrote a song called "Rockhouse".[8] He went to the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee a few times to record with Sam Phillips, the owner and founder.[8] Although he performed alongside Presley and other rock & roll pioneers throughout this period in a regional club scene situated within a 300-mile radius of Memphis, Tennessee, Twitty expressed a fundamental ambivalence toward Phillips' rhythm and blues-based house production style in an interview for Tony Palmer's All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music (1976), noting that the producer's musical instincts subordinated many elements of Twitty's bluegrass music-influenced style.
None of Jenkins's Sun recordings were released at the time, but Roy Orbison did record his composition "Rockhouse" (given to Orbison by Phillips without Jenkins' approval), which was issued on SUN 251 (flipside "You're My Baby") in 1956.[8]
Career[edit]
Stage name[edit]
A member of Cimmarons suggested Don Seat as a manager for Jenkins, and Seat indicated to Jenkins that he needed a name with star quality. Jenkins then adopted a stage name in 1957.[6] 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.[6][9] Twitty himself confirmed this while appearing on the David Letterman Show on March 30, 1989.[10] His manager Don Seat, however, said that his girlfriend came up with the name long before Jenkins used it.[8] 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, but he abandoned rock for country in 1965 and kept his stage name.[6]
In 1957, under his new name, he recorded briefly for Mercury Records, releasing two unsuccessful singles, "I Need Your Lovin'"/"Born to Sing the Blues" and "Shake It Up"/"Maybe Baby". "I Need Your Lovin'" reached only No. 93. Although he recorded three more songs with Mercury, his contract was soon terminated.[8]
Rock and roll career[edit]
In 1958, using his new stage name, Twitty's fortunes improved while he was with MGM Records, and an Ohio radio station had an inspiration, refraining from playing "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.[11] 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 1 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.[12] That same year, country singer Tabby West of ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee heard Twitty and booked him to appear on the show.[7]
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 would go on to enjoy rock-and-roll success with songs including "Danny Boy" (Pop number 10) and "Lonely Blue Boy" (Pop number 6). "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.[9] As his recording career continued, Twitty's music shifted from rockabilly to rock and roll, and Twitty also recorded some R&B and blues singles.[2]
By 1965, Twitty had become disillusioned with rock & roll, particularly with the behavior of the fans,[13] and walked out of a show in the middle of a performance in New Jersey.[6] He sued his manager to be released from his contract, and moved to perform country music in Oklahoma City.[13]
Country music career[edit]
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.
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" (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 (1972–1975) 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 1 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. (Somewhat ironically, Twitty was never inducted into the Opry during his lifetime; he remains one of the more prominent Nashville country artists never to have been an Opry member.) 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 ten, as some radio stations refused to play a song honoring the property of a competitor (broadcast by WSM-AM).
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; by the late 1970s, Twitty had shifted his musical arrangements into a country pop style he would maintain for the rest of his career.[14] 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 would have five more through 1990, giving him a total of 55 number-one hits. 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 1 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 it appeared MCA was 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.
Films[edit]
Twitty had a short career in films, appearing in a few B-movies in 1960 in which he acted and sang, starting with Platinum High School, followed by College Confidential and Sex Kittens Go to College.[15][16]
Posthumous releases[edit]
Since his death, Twitty's son Michael and grandson Tre have been carrying on his musical legacy. Conway's most recent appearance on the country charts was a duet with Anita Cochran, "(I Want to Hear) A Cheating Song" (2004), which was made possible by splicing Twitty's vocal from old recordings and interviews, recorded over the years. As a result, Twitty's isolated vocal track was transferred to a digital multitrack and digitally reassembled into the new performance. Like 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 backing tracks that had already been produced along with Twitty's reconstructed vocals.
Currently, Bear Family Records offers the single-disc collection Conway Rocks, featuring 30 songs, and The Rock 'n' Roll Years, a comprehensive eight-disc box set showcasing his complete early recordings as a rock artist.[33]
Legal issues[edit]
Taxes[edit]
Twitty's success in country music was a key factor in his winning the 1983 case Harold L. Jenkins (a/k/a Conway Twitty) v. Commissioner in United States Tax Court. The Internal Revenue Service allowed Twitty to deduct from his taxes, as an "ordinary and necessary" business expense, payments that he had made to repay investors in a defunct fast-food chain called Twitty Burger; the chain disestablished 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.[34] The Tax Court ruled in Twitty's favor and allowed him to deduct these repayments.
Estate[edit]
Twitty married four times (twice to Mickey). His widow in 1993, Delores "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 fourth 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.[35]
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[edit]
Twitty recorded cover versions of numerous songs, notably "Slow Hand", a major pop hit for the Pointer Sisters; "Rest Your Love on Me", a top-40 country hit for the Bee Gees; "The Rose", a major pop hit for Bette Midler; and "Heartache Tonight", a major pop hit for the Eagles. Twitty's songs have also been covered numerous times, including four notable covers, George Jones's rendition of "Hello Darlin", Blake Shelton's "Goodbye Time", The Misfits' and Glen Campbell's[36] 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, Kenny Chesney'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' top-five hit, "I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone)", originally from Twitty's album Crosswinds (1979); the Statler Brothers' "You'll Be Back (Every Night in My Dreams)", from Twitty's album Rest Your Love On Me (1980); Steve Wariner's "I'm Already Taken" (which Wariner wrote), from Twitty's album Mr. T (1981); Lee Greenwood's "It Turns Me Inside Out", from Twitty's album Southern Comfort (1982); John Conlee's "In My Eyes", from Twitty's album Dream Maker (1982); John Schneider's "What's a Memory Like You (Doin' in a Love Like This?)", from Twitty's album Chasin' Rainbows (1985); and Daryle Singletary's "The Note" and Ricky Van Shelton's "Somebody Lied", from Twitty's album Don't Call Him a Cowboy (1985).