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. Musically and lyrically, "Platinum High School" is a true period piece for original rock 'n roll. 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.
This cd has twenty of Conway Twitty's recordings from his rockabilly days. It is full of good songs, has good liner notes, and good sound quality. I had many of his records on 45's and I had his MGM LP. It is fun to hear them again. The only song I would have left out is "Platinum High School", but it represents his attempts at movie stardom and probably belongs in the collection. I got the cd for a great price and would have paid more for it. In fact, it was so good, I bought the "Tell Me One More Time" album. There are some duplicates, but there was enough on the "Tell Me" album to make it worthwhile as well. Recommend for any fifties rock and roll fan and any rockabilly fan.
Conway Twitty is in the Country Music Hall of Fame (inducted in 1999 - six years after his sudden death in 1993 while on tour). That honour 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. The only real mystery - warranting inclusion in William Shatner's Weird Or What? - 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 & 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 meagre contributions to the genre in terms of hits, then what's keeping Conway from becoming only the fifth 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 Pop Top 100 b/w Born To Sing The Blues on Mercury 71086 (and both included here), to 1962's Portrait of A Fool - # 98 b/w Tower Of Tears on MGM 13050 (neither included), he had 14 Pop hit singles, more than Vincent and Cochran combined, including the smash 1958 # 1 Top 100 and # 12 R&B It's Only Make Believe on MGM 12677 b/w I'll Try (not included). In late 1959, Danny Boy made it to # 10 Top 100/# 18 R&B b/w Halfway to Heaven on MGM 12826, and Lonely Blue Boy # 6 Top 100 and # 27 R&B in early 1960 on MGM 12857 b/w Star Spangled Heaven (omitted here). Five others were Top 40: The Story Of My Love, a # 28 in early 1959 b/w Make Me Know You're Mine on MGM 12748 (neither included); Mona Lisa, a # 29 in August 1959 on MGM 12804 b/w Heavenly (not included); What Am I Living For? - a # 26 in April 1960 on MGM 12886 b/w The Hurt In My Heart (omitted); Is A Blue Bird Blue? - a # 35 in July 1960 on MGM 12911 b/w She's Mine, a # 95 itself but not included; and C'est Si Bon (It's So Good), which reached # 21 early in 1961 on MGM 12969 b/w Don't You Dare Let Me Down (not included). He never made the Country charts until 1966!
The AAD sound reproduction in 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. As for Volume 2 - assuming there was one - it doesn't seem to be listed anywhere, but if it does exist I would guess that the missing sides identified above could (should) be there. Highly recommended.
