Conway Twitty

One of the early rock'n'rollers, Conway Twitty was a rare artist who managed to survive in a different era, going on to become a widely respected and highly prolific country music hero. Inspired by hearing Elvis Presley singing Mystery Train he began writing his own songs and made a pilgrimage to meet famed producer Sam Phillips at his Sun Studios in Memphis in search of stardom. Around 1957 he changed his name from Harold Jenkins to Conway Twitty (reputedly from names he saw on a road map of Texas) and his first success came with It's Only Make Believe - originally the B side to I'll Try. It was the first of nine Top 40 hits, including Danny Boy and Lonely Blue Boy, while his style was so closely based on his hero Elvis Presley that for a long time many believed he was Presley recording under a different name. Twitty also appeared in the movies College Confidential, Sex Kittens Go To College and Platinum High School but as the beat boom marginalised rock'n'roll, he moved into country music. Initially sceptical, country audiences were finally won over in 1968 with the hits The Image Of Me and Next In Line. His biggest hit, though, was Hello Darlin', which spent four weeks at the top of the country chart in 1970 and the following year he had another major hit duetting with Loretta Lynn on After The Fire Is Gone. Subsequent hits included Lead Me On, As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone and You've Never Been This Far Before. In 1985 he achieved his 50th Number 1 in the country charts with Don't Call Him A Cowboy (he had 55 in all) and was still working - recording a new album Final Touches - shortly before his death in 1993, aged 59.