Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1959)

Helena, Arkansas, then moved a few miles up river to Mariana, Arkansas, where he met his wife, a beautician. Mariana is still home for Conway, “Mike” and their four-year-old son, a going-on-two daughter and a brand-new baby girl. Conway’s twenty-five now, and still keeps the strong religious feeling that once made him think earnestly of becoming a preacher. He takes his work and himself seriously. “You’ve gotta be yourself at all times,” he says. HAVE YOU HEARD . . . T Te sat hunched over at the edge of -*■ the bed, absent-mindedly tossing a ball up and down in his baseball-mitted hand. In a corner of the room stood his guitar. The radio was on but he hardly heard it. Conway Twitty, who was still known as Harold Jenkins then, was fresh out of the Army. “Which will it be,” he wondered, “baseball or singmg i Suddenly, the radio shattered his thoughts with the persistent, driving beat that was Elvis Presley singing, “Heartbreak Hotel.” “Hmm,” he thought, “I can do that.” And he did. Conway forgot about digging his spiked shoes in at home plate and walloping away the home runs that had made the Philadelphia Phillies offer him a contract. Instead, he picked up the guitar his father, a pilot on a Mississippi ferry boat, had taught him to play when he was a young boy. He planted his two feet in front of microphones across the United States and Canada and sang away in that big voice of his. As Harold Jenkins, he got to first base, all right, but he didn't come near to a singing home-run till his manager Don Seat renamed him Conway Twitty — Twitty because his manager liked it, and Conway after a town in Arkansas and because it went well with Twitty. Then, last February, during an intermission in Hamilton, Ontario, he wrote “It’s Only Make Believe.” He wrote it in seven minutes. “Sometimes you can sit around T ommv Reynolds produces “Bandstand, U.S. A.,” over Mutual Radio, Sat., 8:05 to 10 P.M. EST. L et*s review “Things Are Swinging’ ” (Capitol 1049) — Peggy Lee, with orchestra conducted by Jack Marshall. This LP includes a dozen solid standards, given the Peggy Lee treatment, no gimmicks. Peggy projects all the way as things get swinging in a relaxed and interesting session. “Frankie Laine’s Greatest Hits’ (Columbia CL 1231 ) — If you're a Frankie Laine fan, this LP makes it possible for you to have Frankie’s big hit singles all on one well-produced package. A clever idea. “Bobby Hackett at The Embers” (Capitol T1077 I — Bobby Hackett’s trumpet soloing, backed by a politely swinging rhythm section, makes this a good relaxed LP. As usual. Bobby’s playing is warm, imaginative, neat and tasteful. All the ingredients for easy and enjoyable listening are here. for davs and nothing happens,” he said. “And sometimes a song just spills out of you. like you had dreamed it.’ Oddly enough, in these days of overnight record hits — or flops — Conway’s M-G-M record took six months to really get started. When it did. it landed in the number-one spot on the hit parade and soft-spoken Conway Twitty could crinkle his hazel eyes in a big smile and know that he’d chosen right. Born in Friar’s Point. Mississippi, Conway grew up across the river in 1. “BIMBOMBEY” — Jimmie Rodgers ( Roulette ) 2. “PROBLEMS” — Everly Brothers (Cadence ) 3. “WORLD OUTSIDE” — Four Coins ( Epic ) 4. “I WANT TO BE HAPPY CHA CHA” — Enoch Light (Grand Award ) 5. “LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND.” and “MANDOLINS IN THE MOONLIGHT”— Perry Como (RCA) 6. “PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A.”— Nu Tornados (Carlton) 7. “SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES' — The Platters (Mercury) 8. “MY HAPPINESS” — Connie Francis ( M-G-M ) 9. “SEPARATE TABLES” — Vic Damone (Columbia) 10. “I GOT STUNG”— Presley (RCA . continued Conway thanks Elvis for his career 8