By Brad Dison
Harold Lloyd Jenkins was born on September 1, 1933, in Friar’s Point, Mississippi. His great uncle suggested the boy be named after his favorite silent film actor, Harold Lloyd. Harold’s family moved to Helena, Arkansas during World War II. Everyone realized early on that Harold had talent. He was just 10 years old when he first sang on the radio. Two years later, he formed his first band, the Phillips County Rambles, and they had their own show on radio station KFFA. As a teenager, in addition to his singing, Harold preached at local revivals. He was a star baseball player in high school. After he graduated, the Philadelphia Phillies offered him a contract, but Harold was drafted into the Army. While in the Army, he formed a band called the Cimmarons to entertain other soldiers. Following his stint in the military, the Phillies renewed their offer, but Harold decided to focus on a musical career.
Although he had been performing long before Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, Harold was influenced by Elvis. Harold tried to emulate Elvis’s sound. Harold formed a band called The Rockhousers, and wrote a song with the same title. His talent was such that he was able to record at Sun Studios in Memphis, Elvis’s recording studio, but none of The Rockhousers’ records were considered good enough to be released at the time.
In early 1958, the Rockhousers were touring across Ontario, Canada trying to build up a following. During an intermission at a show at the Flamingo Lounge in Hamilton, Canada, drummer Jack Nance scribbled out some lyrics. He showed the lyrics to Harold who helped Jack Nance complete the song. Shortly thereafter, Harold and his band recorded a demo of this song and a few others. They sent the demos to their manager, Don Seat. Don sent the demos to MGM Records, and they set up a recording session for Harold. The other members of The Rockhousers were not included. On May 7, 1958, Harold went to the studio where some of the best musicians of the era waited. The Jordanaires, Elvis’s backup singers, provided backing vocals. Floyd Cramer was on piano. Grady Martin played guitar, and Floyd “Lightnin” Chance played the double bass. During the session, two songs were chosen for release. In those days, a single came out on a 45 rpm record. The “A” side of the record was the expected hit and the “B” side was usually considered less commercial. The “A” side of Harold’s first single was a song called “I’ll Try.” The “B” side was a version of the song drummer Jack Nance and Harold had written.
Harold’s single was released on July 14, 1958, but “I’ll Try” fell flat with the listening public. The record should have drifted into obscurity along with Harold’s career. Then, a DJ in Columbus, Ohio decided to play the B-side on the air. Listeners called the radio station with questions and to request that it be played again and again. Listeners wanted to know who was singing the song. Many people concluded that it was Elvis singing the song under an alias. Remember, the backing voices on the songs were provided by the Jordanaires, Elvis’s backup singers. This was an intentional marketing ploy by MGM. They released no picture or biography of Harold to the press, as they normally would have done with a newcomer. Harold said later, “I actually did try my best to sing like Elvis.” My voice and style sounded like Elvis, and the only thing that identified me was that little throaty growl. I remember when I recorded [the song], producer Jim Vienneau came into the studio and asked me what that little thing was that I had done with my voice. That was what really saved the day, yet I never meant to growl at all. I was afraid they might not like it and I wondered if it should come out. ‘No way!’ replied Vienneau. ‘Keep it in there!’ I agreed because it was the first time somebody had complimented me on that particular thing . . . In the end, it was the identifying feature that separated me distinctly from Elvis.”
The song was the only number 1 “pop single” of Harold’s career, but Harold was certainly not a one hit wonder. He eventually had 55 number 1 hit singles. To put that into perspective, The Beatles had 20 number 1 singles, Elvis had 18, and Michael Jackson had 13. The only performer in history to have more number 1 hits was George Strait with 60. Harold Loyd Jenkins is a name you may not recognize or remember, which is exactly why Harold’s manager convinced him to adopt a more memorable stage name with star quality. “It’s Only Make Believe” was the first hit from Harold Loyd Jenkins who chose his stage name by pointing at two random points on a map, Conway, Arkansas, and Twitty, Texas. Conway Twitty!
Sources:
1. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 1, 1985, p.118.
2. The Atlanta Journal, June 6, 1993, p.4.
3. Palladium-Item (Richmond, Virginia), June 6, 1993, p.2.
4. Spong, John, “All George Strait’s No. 1’S.” Texas Monthly, May 21, 2014, https://www.texasmonthly.com/
5. “The Life of Conway Twitty,” ConwayTwitty.com, https://conwaytwitty.com/
