Conway Twitty - Best Of Conway Twitty

Conway Twitty, one of the most successful country music hit makers of all time, started his recording career as a rock and roller. Born in Mississippi in 1933, he was raised on country music and by the time he was 13, he formed a country band and landed his own program on a local radio station. After high school he served in the Army where he formed a country band to entertain his fellow GIs. It was during this period that he heard the emerging sounds of rock and roll and was determined to make music his career. He realized the surest way to do this was as a rock and roll singer, since country music was in a momentary decline as rock and roll surged.After Conway's Army discharge he headed for Memphis where Sun Records, the label that first recorded Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, was located. Conway made some demos for Sun but wasn't offered a recording contract. Undeterred, he kept busy working clubs with his new band. In May 1958 he was signed by M-G-M Records and at his first session he recorded It's Only Make Believe, the song that turned his career around as the record raced to the number one spot on the pop charts. More hits followed, but by the early '60s the hits were slowing and Conway had decided to make a major change in his music. Even during his rock and roll years Conway had always included country songs on his albums and now, having served his apprenticeship in rock and roll, he wanted to return to country music, the music he loved best. In 1965 Conway signed with Decca Records (later renamed MCA Records) and during the next two years he scored several mid-sized country hits before The Image of Me reached #5 on the country charts. That was the beginning of an incredible 13 year run for Decca/MCA Records. During that period he had 55 top 10 hits, that included 32 that hit number one. Conway's success continued after he signed with Elektra Records (owned by Warner Bros.) early in 1982 and during his five years with the label he scored 14 more top ten hits including 8 that reached number one. One of the reasons for Conway's remarkable success throughout the years was his unfailing ability to find great songs. Some he wrote, some he got from Nashville's best writers and some he found in pop music including his versions of Bette Midler's The Rose and The Pointer Sisters' Slow Hand. The life of a country music singer involves a busy traveling schedule and in June 1993 Conway was once again on tour when he suffered an aneurysm that took his life three months before his 60th birthday. During Conway's lifetime he charted over 100 hits (combining country and rock and roll) including over 80 top 10 records and an amazing 41 number one hits, more number one records than anyone except George Strait. From his earliest days Conway Twitty loved country music and for three decades country music fans loved him back.