On June 4, 2001, it has been 8 years since Conway Twitty's untimely death. I have decided to make this week's Carrie's Corner a tribute to him.

As I started this article about Conway I am very much reminded of the 1980s George Jones tune "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes." For those of you who are not familiar with the song, it's a tribute to the great ones of early rock and roll and country music. Conway, as of 8 year's ago, on June 4th left this old world and there will never be anyone who will even come close to making the impact he did on country music.

In the whole world of American popular music only Conway Twitty has had 55 number one records. The Beatles didn't do it. Elvis didn't do it. Frank Sinatra didn't do it.

During the first fifteen years of R&R's (Radio and Records) country chart histories, this legendary vocalist reigned unchallenged as Top Artist based upon points tallied for the most #1's, most Top 5 and most Top 10 hits during that time frame. (And they missed at least five of his best years when he was having hits like "Hello Darlin'," "Linda On My Mind," and "You've Never Been This Far Before."

Facts About Conway Twitty:

• His real name is Harold Lloyd Jenkins.
• Conways first band formed when he was 12 was called the Phillips County Ramblers, and they had their own radio show.
• His first love was not music. It was the great American game of baseball. He would have played for the Philadelphia Phillies, but was drafted into the Army instead.
• Conway was inspired to sing by hearing a recording of Elvis Presley's "Mystery Train." He loved baseball but after hearing that song knew he wanted to try to sing as a career.
• Harlan Howard was partially responsable for getting Conway into country music. Conway had been writing country tunes for years and was getting tired of Rock and Roll when his friend brought him to meet Owen Bradley who signed him to Decca Records.
• The first number one hit for Conway came in 1958 with the now classic ballad, "It's Only Make Believe" (which is one of my favorite Conway tunes)
• During the first fifteen years of R&R's (Radio and Records) country chart histories, this legendary vocalist reigned unchallenged as Top Artist based upon points tallied for the most #1's, most Top 5 and most Top 10 hits during that time frame
• The character Conrad Birdie in the movie "Bye Bye Birdie" was loosely based on him.

Albums of:

• Red Neckin' Love Makin' Night
• Super Hits
• Final Touches
• Even Now
• Crazy In Love

Sound clips courtesy of Barnes & Noble