Introduction:
On this day (September 1) in 1933, Harold Lloyd Jenkins was born in Friars Point, Mississippi. Twenty-four years later, after recording at Sun Studios and performing alongside Elvis Presley, Jenkins changed his name to Conway Twitty.
Early in his career, he saw some success in rock and roll. However, by the middle of the 1960s, he grew tired of the genre and its fans. He walked out in the middle of a New Jersey concert in 1965 and never looked back. Three years later, he was on his way to country superstardom.
Twitty didn’t do well on the charts early in his country career. Then, he released “Image of Me” as the sole single from Here’s Conway Twitty and His Lonely Blue Boys in 1968. The song peaked at No. 5 on the country chart, giving him his first country top 10 hit. His next five singles would all peak within the top five. Three of them–“Next in Line,” ”I Love You More Today,” and “To See My Angel Cry” topped the chart.
In 1970, Twitty released a song he had been sitting on since his days as a rocker. After struggling to get the opening lines just right, he shared “Hello Darlin’” and it went to No. 1 for four weeks. It became his signature song and was usually the song with which he would open his concerts.
The next year, Twitty formed one of the most successful duos in country music history with Loretta Lynn. They released five consecutive No. 1 singles and seven top 10 hits. The duo also topped the Billboard Top Country Albums chart four times.
Conway Twitty Was Uncomfortable With His Superstar Status
Conway Twitty was one of the biggest stars in country music throughout the 1970s and 80s. However, he was never comfortable with the fame he earned through his singing and songwriting. He addressed that discomfort during a 1990 interview with Crook and Chase.
During the interview, Twitty shared why he could be more like the rock band KISS. “They had an ideal setup, as far as I’m concerned. They went out there with all their paint on, and they did their show, and everybody loved what they did. Then, they walked off stage, took their paint off, and could walk down any street anywhere they wanted to go. Nobody knew who they were,” he explained. “That would be absolute heaven for me.”