Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Conway Twitty
Conway Twitty tabs Conway Twitty discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Conway Twitty guitar tabs

CD reviews

The Best of Conway Twitty, Vol. 1: The Rockin' Years

Conway Twitty - The Best of Conway Twitty, Vol. 1: The Rockin' Years Audio CD

A fair review of the Conway Twitty "The Best of Conway Twitty, Vol. 1: The Rockin' Years" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Conway Twitty reviews here, or go back to the Conway Twitty tabs.

Band: Conway Twitty
Title: The Best of Conway Twitty, Vol. 1: The Rockin' Years
Rating:

Release Date: 1994-01-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I Need Your Lovin' 2: Maybe Baby 3: Shake It Up 4: Born to Sing the Blues 5: It's Only Make Believe 6: Halfway to Heaven 7: Lonely Blue Boy 8: Is a Blue Bird Blue? 9: Long Black Train 10: Got My Mojo Working 11: I Vibrate (From My Head to My Feet) 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

This Should Never Be Allowed To Go Out Of Stock
That honor 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. Conway Twitty is in the Country Music Hall of Fame [inducted 1999 - six years after his sudden death in 1993 while on tour]. The only mystery 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 And 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 contributions to the genre, then what's keeping Conway from becoming only the fifth star to grace both Halls? [joining Elvis, Johnny Cash, Brenda Lee, and The Everly Brothers - Jerry Lee Lewis should also have that honor, but that's another story].

From 1957 [I Need Your Lovin' - # 93 b/w Born To Sing The Blues for the Mercury label and both included here], to 1962 [Portrait of A Fool - # 98 b/w Tower Of Tears on MGM - neither included], he had 14 hit singles on the Hot 100 [more than Vincent and Cochran combined], including the smash # 1 It's Only Make Believe, his first for MGM in 1958 b/w I'll Try [not included].

Two more made Top 10 - Danny Boy # 10 in 1959 b/w Halfway to Heaven, and Lonely Blue Boy # 6 in early 1960 b/w Star Spangled Heaven (only the latter omitted here) while five others were Top 40: The Story Of My Love [# 28 in 1959 b/w Make Me Know You're Mine - neither included]; Mona Lisa [# 29 in 1959 b/w Heavenly - flipside not included]; What Am I Living For? [# 26 in 1960 b/w The Hurt In My Heart - flipside not included]; Is A Blue Bird Blue? [# 35 in 1960 b/w She's Mine [# 95 but not included]; and C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), which reached # 21 early in 1961 b/w Don't You Dare Let Me Down [not included].

The sound reproduction on 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. Volume 2 - assuming there was one - doesn't seem to be listed anywhere, and if it does exist I would guess that the missing sides identified above would be there. Regardless, this volume should be re-stocked as soon as possible. Highly recommended. .

This Should Never Be Allowed To Go Out Of Print
That honour is a real no-brainer considering that, between 1966 and 1993, he had 97 hit singles, 85 of them Top 40 and 40 of those reaching # 1. Conway Twitty is in the Country Music Hall of Fame [inducted 1999 - six years after his sudden death in 1993 while on tour]. The only mystery 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 And 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 contributions to the genre, then what's keeping Conway from becoming only the fifth star 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 Top 100 b/w Born To Sing The Blues for the Mercury label and both included here), to 1962's Portrait of A Fool (a # 98 Billboard Hot 100 b/w Tower Of Tears on MGM - neither included), he had 14 hit singles on the Hot 100 [more than Vincent and Cochran combined], including the smash # 1 It's Only Make Believe, his first for MGM in 1958 b/w I'll Try [not included]. That huge hit also scored on the R&B charts at # 12.

Danny Boy made it to # 10 Hot 100/# 18 R&B in 1959 b/w Halfway to Heaven, and Lonely Blue Boy to # 6 Hot 100/# 27 R&B in early 1960 b/w Star Spangled Heaven (only the latter omitted here), while five others were Top 40: The Story Of My Love (# 28 Hot 100 in 1959 b/w Make Me Know You're Mine - neither included); Mona Lisa [# 29 Hot 100 in 1959 b/w Heavenly - not included); What Am I Living For? (# 26 Hot 100 in 1960 b/w The Hurt In My Heart - last not included); Is A Blue Bird Blue? (# 35 Hot 100 in 1960 b/w She's Mine [# 95 Hot 100 but not included]; and C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), which reached # 21 Hot 100 early in 1961 b/w Don't You Dare Let Me Down [not included].

The sound reproduction on 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. Volume 2 - assuming there was one - doesn't seem to be listed anywhere, and if it does exist I would guess that the missing sides identified above would be there. Regardless, this volume should alwats be available. Highly recommended. .

The real Conway
Musically and lyrically, "Platinum High School" is a true period piece for original rock 'n roll. Conway Twitty recorded a lot of good, even great, songs in the 1960s and after, but his 50s recordings as conveyed on this CD were gems. Who but Conway could have rocked "Danny Boy" the way he did without making it sound ludicrous. Both my 17-year-old and 11-year-old boys love the music on it, which says something about its timelessness.

You can see a complete list of all Conway Twitty discography, or go back to the Conway Twitty tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.