Harold Lloyd Jenkins was born on September 1, 1933, better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American country music singer and songwriter. He also had success in other genres like rock and roll, R&B, and pop. From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Twitty was known for his frequent use of romantic and sentimental themes in his songs. 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 achieved stardom with hit songs like “Hello Darlin'”, “You’ve Never Been This Far Before”, and “Linda on My Mind”. Twitty topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart 40 times in his career, and topped the Billboard Pop charts once with “It’s Only Make Believe”. He had 55 #1 hits, a record that stood for 20 years until it was broken by George Strait.
Stage name
In 1957, Harold Lloyd Jenkins decided that his real name was not memorable enough and sought a better show business name. In The Billboard Book of #1 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.
- Birth name: Harold Lloyd Jenkins
- Born: September 1, 1933, Friars Point, Mississippi, U.S.
- Origin: Helena, Arkansas, U.S.
- Died: June 5, 1993, Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
- Genres: Country, rock and roll, rockabilly, country-rock, blues
- Spouse: Dolores Virginia Henry (m. 1987–1993), Temple Medley (m. 1955–1985), Ellen Matthews (m. 1953–1954)
- Children: Joni Lee, Michael Twitty, Joni Twitty, Kathy Twitty
- Parents: Velma Jenkins, Floyd D. Jenkins
- Occupations: Singer-songwriter
- Instruments: Vocals, guitar
- Years active: 1955–1993
- Labels: MCA, Elektra, MGM, Decca, Sun Records, Warner Bros. Records
Conway Twitty Wife/Conway Twitty Children
Twitty was married 4 times, to 3 different women. first, he married Ellen Matthews, which lasted from 1953 to 1954. They had married because Ellen was pregnant with their son, Michael. His 2nd and longest, marriage was to Temple “Mickey” Medley. They were married in 1956 and had 3 children: Kathy, Joni Lee, and Jimmy Twitty. The couple was divorced in early 1970, but they remarried by the end of 1970 again. By 1984 they were divorced, after 28 years of marriage. (Mickey Twitty died in 2021). In 1987, Twitty married, Delores “Dee” Henry, she was his 36-year-old office secretary, who became his widow in June 1993
Awards
Academy of Country Music
1971 Top Vocal Duo, with Loretta Lynn
1974 Top Vocal Duo, with Loretta Lynn
1975 Album of the Year, Feelins’, with Loretta Lynn
1975 Top Male Vocalist
1975 Top Vocal Duo, with Loretta Lynn
1976 Top Vocal Duo, with Loretta Lynn
2008 Pioneer Award
Country Music Association
1972 Vocal Duo of the Year, with Loretta Lynn
1973 Vocal Duo of the Year, with Loretta Lynn
1974 Vocal Duo of the Year, with Loretta Lynn
1975 Vocal Duo of the Year, with Loretta Lynn
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Inducted in 1999
Grammy Awards
1971 Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, “After the Fire Is Gone”, with Loretta Lynn
1999 Hall of Fame Award, “Hello Darlin'”
