Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 7, 1993 TAG: 9306080324
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From the New York Daily News and The New York Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Twitty collapsed on his bus Friday following a performance in Branson, Mo. His family was with him when he died.
Twitty had a No. 1 pop hit in 1958 with "It's Only Make Believe," which featured a sultry, Elvislike growl. This record and his teen-idol looks made him the model for Conrad Birdie in the Broadway musical "Bye Bye Birdie."
But by 1965, his pop career was fading, so Twitty switched back to the country music on which he was raised in Helena, Ark.
He later recalled that his manager told him he was crazy, since rock singers could make thousands of dollars a night and a country artist was lucky to clear $200.
Eventually, though, Twitty had more than 50 No. 1 songs on the country charts. He specialized in ballads of lost love, with "Tight Fittin' Jeans," "Hello Darlin' " and "After All the Good is Gone" among his biggest hits.
In the early 1970s, Twitty - who wore his hair slicked back '50s style - had a string of successful duets with Loretta Lynn, including "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" and "After the Fire is Gone," for which they won a Grammy in 1971. After crossing over to country, he released an average of one album every eight months.
He toured frequently, making the Roanoke Valley a frequent stop. Twitty last performed in the Roanoke area in April at the Salem Civic Center with Vern Gosdin and Joe Diffie. In an April 1992 show he played for a sellout crowd of more than 6,000 in Salem when he teamed with another country legend, George Jones, and up-and-coming star Vince Gill.
Trying to explain his success, Twitty once said, "I pick a song women will like. I like a song that says things a man wants to say and doesn't know how to say it."
That would explain "I'd Love to Lay You Down," a chart-topping hit for him in 1980 and one in a string of songs - also including "Tight Fittin' Jeans" and "You've Never Been This Far Before" - whose message was far more explicit than almost anything in rock 'n' roll.
He also recorded his quota of humorous songs - including "You're the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly," one of his many duet hits with Loretta Lynn.
Born Harold Lloyd Jenkins - he was named after actor Harold Lloyd - Twitty started picking guitar at 5 while riding the Mississippi on his father's riverboat.
Although he had a country band and a radio show in his hometown of Helena, Ark., by the time he was 10 years old, Twitty did not, at first, seriously consider a career as a performer. "I never thought of myself as competing with the country singers I heard on the Grand Ole Opry broadcasts from Nashville," he said. "I thought I hadn't lived long enough to sing country music for real."
As a teen-ager he leaned less toward music than the ministry or baseball - sports were a passion throughout his life, and Twitty was a part owner of a minor-league baseball team, the Nashville Sounds.
For a time in his youth, Twitty dreamed of playing center field in the major leagues. He played high school and semi-professional baseball well enough to draw an offer from the Philadelphia Phillies, but a draft notice in 1954 intervened.
Despite his early success at rock 'n' roll, Twitty's first love was country music.
"A lot of country artists try to cross over to the pop charts," Twitty once said, "but I've already been on the other side of the fence, and I like the side I'm on."
\ Conway Twitty's No. 1 records\ \ All are from the Billboard country music charts except for "It's Only Make Believe," which was a No. 1 pop hit:
"It's Only Make Believe," 1958.
"Next In Line," 1968.
"I Love You More Today," 1969.
"To See My Angel Cry," 1969.
"Hello Darlin'," 1970.
"Fifteen Years Ago," 1970.
"How Much More Can She Stand," 1971.
"(Lost Her Love) On Our Last Date." 1972.
"I Can't Stop Loving You," 1972.
"She Needs Someone To Hold Her (When She Cries)," 1972.
"You've Never Been This Far Before," 1973.
"There's A Honky Tonk Angel (Who'll Take Me Back In)," 1974.
"I See The Want To In Your Eyes," 1974.
"Linda On My Mind," 1975.
"Touch The Hand," 1975.
"This Time I've Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me," 1975.
"After All The Good Is Gone," 1976.
"The Games That Daddies Play," 1976.
"I Can't Believe She Gives It All To Me," 1976.
"Play, Guitar Play," 1977.
"I've Already Loved You In My Mind," 1977.
"Don't Take It Away," 1979.
"I May Never Get To Heaven, 1979.
"Happy Birthday Darlin'," 1979.
"I'd Love To Lay You Down," 1980.
"Rest Your Love On Me," 1981.
"Tight Fittin' Jeans," 1981.
"Red Neckin' Love Makin' Night," 1981.
"The Clown," 1982.
"Slow Hand," 1982.
"The Rose," 1982.
"Somebody Needin' Somebody," 1984.
"I Don't Know A Thing About Love (The Moon Song)," 1984.
"Ain't She Somethin' Else," 1984.
"Don't Call Him A Cowboy," 1985.
"Desperado Love," 1986.\ Duets With Lorreta Lynn
"After The Fire Is Gone," 1971.
"Lead Me On," 1971.
"Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man," 1973.
"As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone," 1974.
"Feelins,"' 1975.
by CNB