A Superstar Speaks: Conway Twitty in his Own Words

Harold Lloyd Jenkins was destined for stardom. Born in 1933, the Arkansas teenager was a standout baseball prospect. As a high school senior, he hit .450 and was offered a contract by the Philadelphia Phillies. But like many of his generation, military obligations derailed Jenkins’ original plan. After returning to the United States in 1956, he decided to pursue to other love from his youth, music. One year later, Harlod Jenkins adopted the stage name Conway Twitty. Stardom would soon follow.

It is sad that an entire generation of the populace will know of Conway Twitty strictly via random cameos in Family Guy. Thanks Seth MacFarlane. The truth is that Twitty is one of the most successful recording artists of the twentieth century. His career sales have exceeded 50 million records, a figure even more impressive considering Conway’s unexpected death in 1993 at the age of 59. But his chart success is simply overwhelming. Twitty compiled fifty-five #1 singles during his career. More than the combined output of The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Taylor Swift.  

He was eventually given the nickname “The High Priest of Country Music,” but Conway entered the music scene as a genuine rock n roller. And the genre treated him well. His first #1 hit came in 1958, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year. Co-written by Conway, “It’s Only Make Believe” made Twitty’s distinctive moniker a household name.

In 1965, Conway made the choice that would cement his legacy. Although he was a proven rock star, Twitty decided to switch genres. At the age of 32, Conway went Country, and he never looked back. After converting to the sound of his youth, Twitty amassed an amazing forty #1 hits atop the Country charts. A record that stood until George Strait broke it in 2006. Conway’s incredible talent speaks for itself; however, he was not fond of speaking about himself. But that is not to say he never did. This is Conway Twitty in his own words.  

“The cotton patch”

Born in Friars Point, Mississippi during the depression, Twitty’s earliest musical influences came in unexpected places. “I’d run across the cotton patch behind our house to a little Negro church. I would sit on the ditch bank and listen to them sing for two or three hours. I’d be singing right along”.  

“It changed my plans”

I had a chance to sign with the Phillies at one time. In fact, they almost drafted me, but the Army beat them to it. The Army drafted me, so I went to Japan for a couple of years. And when I got back the first thing I heard, when I got back to San Francisco I think it was, was Elvis Presley. It changed my plans a lot.

“Elvis”

Like countless others, hearing Elvis for the first time gave Conway’s life a course correction. “I’d never considered music as a profession up to that point. But it was something I thought I could do. Elvis sang the Gospel, Country, and Blues thing, that’s what I grew up on. So I thought, ‘well, I think I can do that’. So I threw down the baseball bat and picked up the guitar, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

“Melodies and words”

People who have heard Twitty sing are aware of his amazing vocal ability. But what many don’t know is that he was also an accomplished songwriter. “I think a songwriter is sensitive to the people around him, and some of the songs come from there. Some come out of my own life. The best ones come real fast. I get off by myself where it’s quiet, and it’s almost like being in some room full of melodies and words. If nothing interrupts me, the songs just’ come.”

Hello Darlin’

Conway wrote or co-wrote 19 of his fifty-five career #1 singles. This includes “Hello Darlin’.” Released in 1970, “Hello Darlin’” is not only Twitty’s signature tune, it is a Country music staple. When asked, Conway was hard pressed to pick a favorite among his songs, stating, “It’s like picking one of your favorite kids.” However, he was quick to add, “I’d have to say ‘Hello Darlin’ is one of em.”

“Three-minute soap opera”

“I always loved country music. That was my first love, I just didn’t think I was good enough to do it. A great country song is like a little three-minute soap opera. I have known from way back when I first got started in this business that it’s 99% song and 1% singer.”