CONWAY TWITTY "Rockin' Years" The Best Of Conway Twitty (1957-1962)

The Best of Conway Twitty, THE ROCKIN' YEARS, contains many of the recordings he made from the late 50's to the early 60's, when he was trying to follow in the footsteps of Elvis. Naturally, there's a lot of rockabilly on this collection -- which he did very well -- as well as some ballads that hint at his future country career. In between are some of his very best moments, including "It's Only Make Believe," "Mona Lisa," "Is A Bluebird Blue," and "Lonely Blue Boy." by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllmusicConway Twitty is in the Country Music Hall of Fame (inducted in 1999 - six years after his sudden death in 1993 while on tour). That honour is a real no-brainer considering that, between 1966 and 1993, he had 97 Country hit singles, 85 of them Top 40 and 40 of those reaching # 1. The only real mystery - warranting inclusion in William Shatner's Weird Or What? - is, why did it take them six years to pay that tribute? But long before that, Harold Lloyd Jenkins (who allegedly assumed the stage name Conway Twitty by combining the names of the towns Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas) was a bona fide Rock & Roller in the classic Rockabilly style. And if Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran are in the R&R Hall of Fame on the basis of their meagre contributions to the genre in terms of hits, then what's keeping Conway from becoming only the fifth to grace both Halls? joining Elvis, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, and The Everly Brothers (Jerry Lee Lewis should also have that honour, but that's another story). From 1957's I Need Your Lovin' - # 93 Billboard Pop Top 100 b/w Born To Sing The Blues on Mercury 71086 (and both included here), to 1962's Portrait of A Fool - # 98 b/w Tower Of Tears on MGM 13050 (neither included), he had 14 Pop hit singles, more than Vincent and Cochran combined, including the smash 1958 # 1 Top 100 and # 12 R&B It's Only Make Believe on MGM 12677 b/w I'll Try (not included). In late 1959, Danny Boy made it to # 10 Top 100/# 18 R&B b/w Halfway to Heaven on MGM 12826, and Lonely Blue Boy # 6 Top 100 and # 27 R&B in early 1960 on MGM 12857 b/w Star Spangled Heaven (omitted here). Five others were Top 40: The Story Of My Love, a # 28 in early 1959 b/w Make Me Know You're Mine on MGM 12748 (neither included); Mona Lisa, a # 29 in August 1959 on MGM 12804 b/w Heavenly (not included); What Am I Living For? - a # 26 in April 1960 on MGM 12886 b/w The Hurt In My Heart (omitted); Is A Blue Bird Blue? - a # 35 in July 1960 on MGM 12911 b/w She's Mine, a # 95 itself but not included; and C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), which reached # 21 early in 1961 on MGM 12969 b/w Don't You Dare Let Me Down (not included). He never made the Country charts until 1966! The AAD sound reproduction in this 1991 release by PolyGram Records is flawless, and with the insert are four pages of liner notes written by Colin Escott, author of Good Rockin' Tonight - The Sun Records Story. (The Rockin' Oldies)

trax:
01 I Need Your Lovin' 02 Maybe Baby 03 Shake It Up 04 Born To Sing The Blues 05 It's Only Make Believe 06 Halfway To Heaven 07 Lonely Blue Boy 08 Is A Blue Bird Blue 09 Long Black Train 10 Got My Mojo Workin' 11 I Vibrate 12 Platinum High School 13 Danny Boy 14 Mona Lisa 15 C'est Si Bon 16 Comfy 'N Cozy 17 What A Dream 18 What Am I Living For 19 It's Too Late 20 Looking Back
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