Born Harold Lloyd Jenkins in 1933 in Friars Point, Mississippi, Conway Twitty remains part of country music history’s upper echelon today. He found great success both as a solo artist and alongside fellow country legend Loretta Lynn. Sadly, the “Hello Darlin’” singer was just 59 years old when he died from an abdominal aortic aneurysm on June 5, 1993. However, his legacy still reverberates across Nashville today. And you only need to watch this epic performance of “Slow Hand” to understand why.
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See Conway Twitty Wow Crowd at Music City News Country Awards
Conway Twitty wracked up an astounding 55 chart-topping hits during his nearly four-decade career. And while “Slow Hand” wasn’t originally his, the Country Music Hall of Fame member certainly made it his own.
[RELATED: Top 10 Conway Twitty Songs]
Originally recorded by legendary girl group The Pointer Sisters, Twitty took “Slow Hand” to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart when he recorded his own version in 1982. The cover song was both his final multi-week No. 1 song and his last gold record.
In 1983, Twitty took the stage in a sharp all-red getup at the 17th annual Music City News Country Awards. (That ceremony became the TNN Music City News Country Awards in 1990 before moving to CMT in 2002. Three years later, we had the first-ever CMT Music Awards.)
Between Twitty’s throaty vocals and soulful, passionate delivery, the crowd was on their feet in no time. Darling, don’t say a word I’ve already heard / What your body is saying to mine / You’re tired of fast moves / You got a slow groove on your mind.
Thanks to modern technology, Conway Twitty fans can still delight in this impeccable performance more than 40 years later. “BEST MALE COUNTRY SINGER EVER!. Had so many good songs,” one YouTube user wrote.
Two Modern Country Stars Will Recreate This Conway-Loretta Classic
In 1973, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn released the instantly iconic hit “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.” More than 50 years, reigning Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson has plans to team up with Cody Johnson to recreate it.
I’ve always wanted to do a song with Lainey Wilson,” Johnson told Country Countdown USA last month. “I heard Loretta Lynn’s ‘Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man,’ I called Lainey and said we should record that song together, and she agreed. But we haven’t done it yet.”
Featured image by Dezo Hoffman/Shutterstock
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