This is my first post of 2015 and it will be quite a short one. I would like to celebrate the birthdays of two music icons who were born twelve years apart and who both had many hits on the RCA label. So happy birthday to David Bowie who is 68 today and Elvis Presley would have been 80 years old today. Feel free to enjoy a few tunes from these amazingly talented people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNjIa0F15bo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9gc7AWzMoY
That has to be a syrup, right?
December 9th is where we are, almost into double figures! Todays little chocolate delight (well ok chocolate substitute then) behind the cardboard on my UK Christmas Number Ones Advent Calendar is the song that was number one in the UK on the day I was born and was also the UK Christmas number one at Christmas 1958. For those of you that are curious I was born on Thursday January 1st 1959 and as I said this very song was the UK number one. It is Conway Twitty‘s “It’s Only Make Believe”. Considering what might have been number one when I was born I have never been too disappointed with this. What was number one the day you were born?
This is me with my Grandfather mere weeks after Conway Twitty held the UK number one spot!
Conway was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins in 1933, he died aged just 59 in 1993. He was turned on to rock n roll after hearing Elvis Presley’s “Mystery Train“. He made his way to Sun Studios in Memphis and actually recorded with head honcho Sam Phillips. Twitty resided near Nashville and built his own country music entertainment complex, as many country stars seem to do, his was called in a mildly amusing kind of way, Twitty City.
Conway on stage with Loretta Lynn. Any man who can openly wear a suit like that can only deserve our admiration and respect!
Chubby Checker teaches Conway Twitty and Dick Clark how to do the Twist
As with many big hits the song started out as a B Side to “I’ll Try” but radio stations just flipped the disc and played “It’s Only Make Believe” instead, which just goes to prove what poor judgement record companies often have! The song has been covered by many acts including Billy Fury, Glen Campbell, Gary Glitter and the Misfits. Twitty also rerecorded it as a duet with Loretta Lynn in 1970. You can check out the original and some of those covers below.
Incredibly you can actually purchase a Conway Twitty tribute pistol. It includes 5 portraits of him etched into the 24 carat gold!
With Just A Hint Of Mayhem 