1974 promotional photoBackground informationBirth nameHarold Lloyd JenkinsBorn( 1933-09-01)September 1, 1933, U.S.Origin, U.S.DiedJune 5, 1993 (1993-06-05) (aged 59), U.S.Genres,Occupation(s)Instruments,Years active1955–1993Labels,Associated acts, The Twitty Bird Band,Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his Conway Twitty, was an American singer. He also had success in the, and genres.
Driving a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet was stressful but sublime. It's not every day you get a $500,000 classic Benz stuck in some mud.
From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of awards for duets with. He was inducted into the and the.
Contents.Life and career Early life Twitty was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins on September 1, 1933, in, in, in northwestern. The Jenkins family were of descent.
He was named by his great-uncle, after his favorite actor,. The Jenkins family moved to, when Jenkins was 10 years old. In Helena, Jenkins formed his first singing group, the Ramblers.Jenkins had his own local every Saturday morning. He also played, his second passion. He received an offer to play with the after high school, but he was drafted into the. He served in the Far East and organized a group called the Cimmerons to entertain his fellow soldiers.Wayne Hause, a neighbor, suggested that Jenkins could make it in the music industry. Soon after hearing 's song ', Jenkins began writing rock and roll material.
He went to the in, and worked with, the owner and founder, to get the 'right' sound.Stage name Allegedly, in 1957, Jenkins decided that his real name was not memorable enough and sought a better show business name. In The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Fred Bronson states that the singer was looking at a road map when he spotted, and, and chose the name Conway Twitty. Pop and rock-and-roll success In 1958, using his new stage name, Twitty's fortunes improved while he was with, and an radio station had an inspiration, refraining from playing 'I'll Try' (an MGM single that went nowhere in terms of sales, radio play, and play), instead playing the B-side, ', a song written between sets by Twitty and drummer Jack Nance when they were in, playing at the Flamingo Lounge. The record took nearly one year to reach and stay at the on the 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 by the. That same year, country singer Tabby West of ABC-TV's 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, using 'Conway Twitty' as a.
Twitty would go on to enjoy rock-and-roll success with songs including ' (Pop number 10) and ' (Pop number 6). 'Lonely Blue Boy', originally titled 'Danny', was recorded by Presley for the film 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. Country music career 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, ', 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, ', 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, '. It was a success, and many more followed, including ' (1971), ' (1973), ' (1974), ' (1975), 'I Still Believe in Waltzes', ', and many others. Together, Conway and Loretta (as they were known in their act), won four consecutive awards for vocal duo (1972–75) and a host of other duo and duet awards from other organizations throughout the 1970s.In 1973, Twitty released ', 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.
I like Conway on classic—which means guilt- or pain-ridden—cheating songs. I don't like him so much when he starts comparing his wife invidiously to some idealized,. And on ordinary country songs he's a slightly better than ordinary country singer.— (1981)In 1978, Twitty issued the single 'The Grandest Lady of Them All' honoring the. Twitty throwing out the first pitch at the first game on April 26, 1978Twitty also played, his second passion. He received an offer to play with the after high school, but he was drafted into the before he could sign the contract. Twitty joined the entrepreneur and other country musicians, such as and in 1977 as investors in the, a team of the, which began playing in 1978. Twitty threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the team's inaugural home opener at on April 26, 1978.
Twitty would also host celebrity softball games for charity, frequently playing against a team put together by.Twitty City Twitty lived for many years in, just north of, where he built a country music entertainment complex called at a cost of over $3.5 million. Twitty and Twitty City were once featured on the TV series, and was also seen in the Nashville episode of the series Entertainment USA, presented. Opened in 1982, it was a popular tourist stop throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s; it was shut down in 1994 following a year-long tribute show called Final Touches, when fans and peers in the music business dropped. The complex was auctioned off and bought by the.Personal life Twitty was married four times, to three different women. His first marriage, to Ellen Matthews, lasted from 1953 to 1954. They had married because Ellen was pregnant with his son, Michael. His second, and longest, marriage was to Temple 'Mickey' Medley.
They were married in 1956 and had three children: Kathy, Joni Lee, and Jimmy Twitty. The couple were divorced in early 1970, but they remarried quietly by the end of 1970.
By 1984, after 28 years of marriage on and off, the stress of Twitty's frequent absences took its toll on Mickey, and she and Conway divorced for good. In 1987, Twitty married his 36-year-old office secretary, Delores 'Dee' Henry. They were married until Twitty's death.Twitty made Oklahoma City his home during most of his recording career, from 1963-1972.
He also lived in. Twitty performed at the Diamond Ballroom after its opening in 1964. Conway Twitty opened one of his Twitty Burger restaurants at 7200 S. Western Avenue, in.In 1981, Twitty was exiting his tour bus when he slipped on the steps and fell, hitting his head against the steps., who was Twitty's steel guitar player, found him on the ground. Many people, including family members, said that Twitty underwent a change in personality after the accident. According to his daughter Joni, Twitty was not in a right state of mind for several months, saying in an interview that he had picked up a TV remote and began talking into it, thinking it was a phone.Twitty served on the Board of Directors of CMT (Country Music Television) from 1984 to 1988, after Music Village Group (Nyhl Henson, Gilbert Biggers, Hall Hardaway Jr. And Benny and Dean Jaggers) acquired CMTV from Glen Daniels.
(Inheriting a copyright infringement suit from Viacom, owner of MTV, settled for an undisclosed sum.)The Music Village Group, built Music Village USA adjacent to Twitty City including a state of the art 1776 seat theatre where CMT unlinked its 24 hour programming and produced live concerts. When Music Village and Twitty was sold in 1989 and CMT in 1990, Conway turned his attention to the burgeoning Branson market playing to sell out crowds. He had teamed up again with Nyhl Henson and his team including former quarterback turned architect who designed Branson's first Log Theatre, to anchor the 1400 Branson Hills development and new musical home of Conway Twitty.
He inked the deal the day before his death in June 1993.Death On June 4, 1993, Twitty became ill while performing at the Jim Stafford Theatre in. He collapsed on his tour bus after the show and was rushed to a hospital. He was rushed into surgery but died of an, in the early hours of the following morning at Cox South Hospital in, at the age of 59. His last studio album, Final Touches, was released two months later. Four months after Twitty's death, included a cover version of ' on his album.Twitty was buried at Sumner Memorial Gardens in, in a red vault, under his birth name 'Harold L. There are spaces reserved next to him for his wife and his son Michael.Posthumous releases Since his death, Twitty's son Michael and grandson Tre have been carrying on his musical legacy.
His most recent appearance on the country charts was a duet with, '(I Want to Hear) A Cheating Song' (2004), which was made possible by splicing Twitty's vocal from old recordings and even 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 and, and or and, Cochran added her vocal to backing tracks that had already been produced along with Twitty's reconstructed vocal. Currently, Bear Family Records offers a 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. Material losses On June 25, 2019, listed Conway Twitty among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the. Legal issues Taxes Twitty's success in country music was a key factor in his winning a 1983 case, Harold L. Jenkins (a/k/a Conway Twitty) v.
Commissioner in. The allowed Twitty to from his taxes, as an 'ordinary and necessary' business expense, payments that he had made in order 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. Estate 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, 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, 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 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. Discography. Main articles: and Awards., with., with Loretta Lynn., Feelins', with Loretta Lynn., with Loretta Lynn., with Loretta Lynn., with Loretta Lynn., with Loretta Lynn., with Loretta Lynn., with Loretta Lynn. Posthumous inductee., 'After the Fire Is Gone', with Loretta Lynn., '. Posthumous inducteeCovers Twitty recorded cover versions of numerous songs, notably ', a major pop hit for; ', a Top-40 country hit for the; ', a major pop hit for; and ', a major pop hit for. Twitty's songs have also been covered numerous times, including four notable covers, 's rendition of 'Hello Darlin', 's ', ' and 's versions of ' and Elvis Presley's version of '. In addition, Kenny Chesney's version of ' 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 ' top-five hit, 'I Wish You Could Have Turned My Head (And Left My Heart Alone)', originally from Twitty's album Crosswinds (1979); ' 'You'll Be Back (Every Night in My Dreams)', from Twitty's album Rest Your Love On Me (1980); 's ' (which Wariner wrote), from Twitty's album (1981); 's 'It Turns Me Inside Out', from Twitty's album Southern Comfort (1982); 's ', from Twitty's album Dream Maker (1982); 's 'What's a Memory Like You (Doin' in a Love Like This?)', from Twitty's album Chasin' Rainbows (1985); and 's ' and 's ', from Twitty's album (1985). In popular culture.
The fictional character 'Conrad Birdie' in the musical and movie is said to be a composite of Twitty and Elvis Presley. Breverton, Terry (2009). Wales: A Historical Companion. Amberley. ^ 'Conway Twitty Magnolia Stater' (October 20, 1958).
58. ^ Larkin, Colin (May 27, 2011). Omnibus Press. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
'The Hamilton Memory Project' (Press release). Hamilton Spectator Newspaper, Souvenir Edition. June 10, 2006. P. MP44. Murrells, Joseph (1978). London: Barrie and Jenkins.
P. (1981). Retrieved March 17, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com. Woody, Larry (1996), Schmittou: A Grand Slam in Baseball, Business, and Life, Nashville: Eggmann, pp. 64–65,. April 4, 2007.
Archived from on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015. 'Resources'. American Libraries. Bear Family Records. Rosen, Jody (June 25, 2019).
The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
Retrieved August 17, 2015. March 1, 2008. Archived from on July 12, 2012.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015. Archived from on June 30, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
Rocha, Alex (March 18, 2009). Archived from on January 1, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
West, Steve (March 31, 2009). Retrieved December 9, 2012.Bibliography., and Michael Kosser (1986). The Conway Twitty Story: An Authorized Biography. Doubleday, 1986.
^. (in Japanese). Hearts card game. From the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
Cross, Wilbur, and Michael Kosser (1987). The Conway Twitty Story: An Authorized Biography. Paperback ed. Toronto: Paperjacks.
Oermann, Robert K. 'Conway Twitty'. In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lpdiscography.com.External links.