Harold Lloyd Jenkins September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993, better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. From 1971 to 1976, Twitty received a string of Country Music Association awards for duets with Loretta Lynn. He was inducted into both the Country Music and Rockabilly Halls 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, a record that stood for two decades until it was surpassed by George Strait. He also topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "It's Only Make Believe”, a song he wrote, along with 11 of his Billboard Hot Country Songs chart-topping hits.
Soon after hearing Elvis Presley's song "Mystery Train", Jenkins began writing rock and roll material. Presley was a strong influence, and Jenkins tried to sound like him. He formed a band called The Rockhousers and wrote a song called "Rockhouse". He went to the Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, a few times to record with Sam Phillips, the owner and founder. None of Jenkins's Sun recordings was released at the time, but Roy Orbison did record his composition "Rockhouse" (given to Orbison by Phillips without Jenkins's approval), which was issued on SUN 251 (flipside "You're My Baby") in 1956.
