Editing Conway Twitty (section)

==Career==
===Stage name===
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.<ref name=bronson /> 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.<ref name=bronson /><ref name="Larkin">{{Cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=May 27, 2011 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9780857125958 |edition=5th |page=3571 |chapter=Twitty, Conway |access-date=April 15, 2017 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC&pg=PA3571}}</ref> Twitty himself confirmed this while appearing on the [[Late Night with David Letterman|''David Letterman Show'']] on March 30, 1989.<ref>[https://mix941kmxj.com/is-it-true-conway-twitty-really-got-his-name-from-two-texas-towns/ Is It True Conway Twitty Really Got His Name From two Texas Towns? August 23, 2021. Mix94.1]</ref> His manager Don Seat, however, said that his girlfriend came up with the name long before Jenkins used it.<ref name=mcdowell>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aFdiCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 |title=Dig That Beat! Interviews with Musicians at the Root of Rock 'n' Roll|first1= Sheree|last1= Homer|first2= Jay |last2=McDowell |date= 2015|isbn=9780786474462 |publisher=McFarland|page=92&ndash;95}}</ref> 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.<ref name=bronson />

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.<ref name=mcdowell />

===Rock and roll career===
In 1958, Twitty's fortunes improved when 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.<ref name="MEMPROJ44">{{Cite press release |title=The Hamilton Memory Project |date=June 10, 2006 |publisher=Hamilton Spectator Newspaper, Souvenir Edition |page=MP44}}</ref> The record took several months to reach and stay at the [[List of Billboard number-one singles of 1958|top spot]] on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|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 [[music recording certification|gold disc]] by the [[RIAA]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{Cite book |last=Murrells |first=Joseph |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/108 |title=The Book of Golden Discs |publisher=Barrie and Jenkins |year=1978 |isbn=0-214-20512-6 |edition=2nd |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/108 108] |url-access=registration}}</ref> That same year, country singer Tabby West of ABC-TV's ''[[Ozark Jubilee]]'' heard Twitty and booked him to appear on the show.<ref name="Billboard p. 58"/>

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 (song)|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.<ref name="Larkin"/> As his recording career continued, Twitty's music shifted from rockabilly to [[rock and roll]], and Twitty also recorded some [[rhythm and blues|R&B]] and [[blues]] singles.<ref name=Koda/>

By 1965, Twitty had become disillusioned with rock & roll, particularly with the behavior of the fans,<ref name=ellison /> and walked out of a show in the middle of a performance in New Jersey.<ref name=bronson/> He sued his manager to be released from his contract, and moved to perform country music in [[Oklahoma City]].<ref name=ellison>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1qyHCmpT7EC&pg=PA248 |title=Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven|first= Curtis W. |last=Ellison |date= 1995|isbn=9781604739343 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi|page=248}}</ref>

===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, "[[Next in Line (Conway Twitty song)|Next in Line]]", in November 1968. Few of his singles beginning in 1968 ranked below the top five.
[[File:Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty.jpg|thumb|Twitty and frequent duet partner [[Loretta Lynn]] in a promotional image for their 1974 release ''[[Country Partners]].'']]
In 1970, Twitty recorded and released his biggest country hit, "[[Hello Darlin' (song)|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 (Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn song)|Lead Me On]]" (1971), "[[Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man (song)|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 (hairstyle)|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.<ref name=Kamau>{{cite web |url=https://www.classicrockhistory.com/top-10-conway-twitty-songs/ |title=Top 10 Conway Twitty Songs |last=Kamau |first=Eric |date=January 2022 |publisher=Classic Rock History |access-date=2022-11-18}}</ref> 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 (song)|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 six more through 1991, giving him a total of 56 number-one country hits in the USA. [[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 (Bruce Robison song)|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 Records|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===
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 (film)|College Confidential]]'' and ''[[Sex Kittens Go to College]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZjrAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA409 |title=Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary|first= Richard |last=Carlin |date= 2014|isbn=9781135361044 |publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=409}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RT4UAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA204 |title=All Roots Lead to Rock: Legends of Early Rock 'n' Roll : a Bear Family Reader |author= Bear Family Records |date= 1999 |publisher=Schirmer Books|page=204|isbn=9780028648668 }}</ref>

===Baseball===
[[File:Conway Twitty Nashville Sounds first pitch April 26, 1978.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Twitty throwing out the first pitch at the first [[Nashville Sounds]] game on April 26, 1978]]
Twitty also played baseball, his second passion. He received an offer to play with the Philadelphia Phillies after high school, but he was drafted into the [[U.S. Army]] before he could sign the contract. Twitty joined the entrepreneur [[Larry Schmittou]] and other country musicians, such as [[Cal Smith]] and [[Jerry Reed]] in 1977 as investors in the [[Nashville Sounds]], a [[Minor League Baseball]] team of the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] [[Southern League (1964–present)|Southern League]], which began playing in 1978.<ref>{{Citation |last=Woody |first=Larry |title=Schmittou: A Grand Slam in Baseball, Business, and Life |pages=64–65 |year=1996 |place=Nashville |publisher=Eggmann |isbn=1886371334}}</ref> Twitty threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the team's inaugural home opener at [[Herschel Greer Stadium]] on April 26, 1978.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2007 |title=Sounds in 1978 |url=http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DN&Date=20070404&Category=SPORTS04&ArtNo=704040811&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150415152217/http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DN&Date=20070404&Category=SPORTS04&ArtNo=704040811&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=5 |archive-date=April 15, 2015 |access-date=April 15, 2015 |location=Nashville |newspaper=[[The Tennessean]]}}</ref> Twitty would also host celebrity softball games for charity, frequently playing against a team put together by [[Barbara Mandrell]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nashville Then: 1979 Fan Fair |url=https://www.tennessean.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/music/cma-music-festival/2019/06/05/nashville-then-1979-fan-fair-cma-fest-conway-twitty-loretta-lynn/1338559001/ |access-date=2021-11-09 |website=www.tennessean.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Twitty City===
Twitty lived for many years in [[Hendersonville, Tennessee]], just north of Nashville, Tennessee, where he built a country music entertainment complex named [[Twitty City]] at a cost of over $3.5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite journal |year=1986 |title=Resources |journal=American Libraries |volume=17 |issue=7 |pages=563–564 |jstor=25630104}}</ref> Twitty and Twitty City were once featured on the TV series ''[[Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous]]'', and were also seen in the Nashville episode of the BBC series ''Entertainment USA'', presented by [[Jonathan King]]. Opened in 1982, Twitty City 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 by. The complex was auctioned off and bought by the Trinity Broadcasting Network in June 1994.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pinsky |first=Mark I |date=June 9, 1994 |title=Trinity Broadcasting Plans Entertainment Complex in Tennessee |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-09-ca-2370-story.html |access-date=November 9, 2021}}</ref>