In 1970, Twitty recorded and released his biggest country hit, " Hello Darlin'", which spent four weeks at the top of the country chart and is one of Twitty's most recognized songs. Few of his singles beginning in 1968 ranked below the top five. 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", in November 1968. 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. Twitty always wanted to record country music, and, beginning in 1965, he did just that. As his recording career continued, Twitty's music shifted from rockabilly to rock and roll, and Twitty also recorded some R&B and blues singles. They subsequently became the Twitty Birds. This song led to him naming his band the Lonely Blue Boys. "Lonely Blue Boy", originally titled "Danny", was recorded by Presley for the film King Creole but was not used in the soundtrack. Twitty would go on to enjoy rock-and-roll success with songs including " Danny Boy" (Pop number 10) and " Lonely Blue Boy" (Pop number 6). 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. That same year, country singer Tabby West of ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee heard Twitty and booked him to appear on the show. It sold over four million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The record took nearly one year to reach and stay at the top spot on the 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. In 1958, using his new stage name, Twitty's fortunes improved while he was with MGM Records, and 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. Also, in 1957, under his new name, he recorded briefly for Mercury Records, releasing two unsuccessful singles. Twitty himself confirmed this while appearing on the David Letterman Show on March 30, 1989. In The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Fred Bronson states that the singer was looking at a road map when he spotted Conway, Arkansas, and Twitty, Texas, and chose the name Conway Twitty. In 1957, Jenkins decided that his real name was not memorable enough and sought a better show business name. None of Jenkins's Sun recordings were released at the time, but Roy Orbison did record his composition "Rockhouse", which was issued on SUN 251 (flipside "You're My Baby") in 1956. He went to the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and worked with Sam Phillips, the owner and founder, to get the "right" sound. Soon after hearing Elvis Presley's song " Mystery Train", Jenkins began writing rock-and-roll material. Wayne Hause, a neighbor, suggested that Jenkins could make it in the music industry. Army and served in the Far East, during which time he organized a group called the Cimmerons to entertain his fellow soldiers. Jenkins had his own local radio show every Saturday morning and liked to play baseball. In Helena, Jenkins formed his first singing group, the Phillips County Ramblers. The Jenkins family moved to Helena, Arkansas, when Jenkins was 10 years old. He was named by his great-uncle, after his favorite silent movie actor Harold Lloyd. The Jenkins family were of Welsh descent. Twitty was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins on September 1, 1933, in Friars Point, Mississippi. He wrote eleven of his Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-topping hits. Twitty topped Billboard 's Hot Country Songs chart 40 times in his career, a record that stood for two decades until it was surpassed by George Strait, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart once with "It's Only Make Believe". Twitty achieved stardom with hit songs like " Hello Darlin'", " You've Never Been This Far Before" and " Linda on My Mind". Due to his following being compared to a religious revival, comedian Jerry Clower nicknamed Twitty "The High Priest of Country Music", the eventual title of his 33rd studio album. Twitty was known for his frequent use of romantic and sentimental themes in his songs. He was inducted into both the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls of Fame. From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. Harold Lloyd Jenkins (Septem– June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter.
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