Today I'd like to share with you something near and dear to my heart... Conway Twitty.

Sure, I could go on and on about the wonders of that deep, yet gentle tremble in his voice, the stylish way in which his gold chains always managed to form a perfect v-shape around his ample chest hair or even the tremendous might of his legendary pompadour... but instead, let's get to the man himself.

To do that I decided to go with the old adage that a picture is worth 1000 words. So, allow me to present to you the top five images of Conway Twitty (that I could find on Google Image Search in about twenty minutes)..

Number 5

In this picture we are given a peek into that rare moment when Conway's hair was stuck in a much maligned transitional period. The rockabilly days now past him, Conway felt it necessary to move into a more mature look by casting off his rebellious (and impressive) pompadour. The above hairstyle only hung around for a year or so, eventually evolving into the carefully groomed perm that younger listeners (myself included) tend to associate with Mr. Twitty.

However, it's important to remember this period in time when a man with hair as legendary as his voice made a symbolic leap from honky-tonk king to sexy grandpa. Truly, a magic moment in fashion history... except for maybe the shirt.

Number 4

Here we see a screen capture from Conway's first performance of "You've Never Been This Far Before" on the now distant memory that was Hee Haw.

Of the countless reasons to love this picture, allow me to focus on just two. First, it's difficult not to notice the bold fashion statement that is his pink polyester suit. To walk out on national television in such a garment, tastefully accented with the pastel mock-turtleneck, took not only courage but the inner desire to make a statement. With this ensemble Conway is declaring his overwhelming masculinity by draping himself in soft, inviting hues of pink. I ask you, would David Allan Coe have had the courage or maxi to pull this off? Certainly not, and not only has DAC killed a man, but he allegedly has a tattoo of a spider on his penis.

Secondly, let's note that in this image we can enjoy not one, not two, but THREE Conways! Thanks to some clever art direction on the Hee Haw set we get to see the polyester troubadour from contrasting angles, giving us the full Twitty experience as he takes us on a breathy, lusty ride into the boudoir of a stranger. Conway didn't need a spider tattoo on his penis to impress your woman, just thirty minutes and a bottle of Thunderbird.

Number 3

Conway was a generous, civic minded individual. The above image illustrates that perfectly. Here we see that Mr. Twitty chose to generously sponsor (and perhaps even coach or play for) what appears to be a softball team (or some other sort of athletic organization). If you're Conway Twitty, what else could you POSSIBLY name your team other than the "Twitty Birds?"

The yellow and red is a nice touch, not to mention the high-fashion knee socks. He even chose to sit next to "Kelly" instead of the skybox that he could most certainly afford. That's Conway for you, a man of the people, sitting in the crowd and having a hot dog on a warm summer night and enjoying our national past time. It's unfortunate that the hat is obscuring his well quaffed shock of black hair, thus making it difficult to judge the age of the photo. However, upon closer inspection it seems that it's more in line with his pomp-to-perm transitional hair (see #5).

Also note that Conway's jersey number is 1. Damn right, Twit-Man, you're always number one in our hearts.

Number 2

What could possibly be more Conway Twitty than our number two photo? Here we see the ladies man at his most dapper and jaunty best. It's easy to understand the power he wielded over the opposite sex with a mere glance at this image, his insatiable love for the ladies only outdone by his formidable wardrobe.

We can tell by the above that the Mississippi Man's incomparable sexual prowess had the power to leave mountains of quivering female bodies in his wake. Almost a sexual atomic bomb, one push of the big red button (on his sharply snug vest) could not only send an orgasmic shockwave through a room, it could leave the area uninhabitable for generations to come.

Number 1

Could there be any doubt that this particular image would rank at the top of our countdown?

Here we're given another rare glimpse, this time into the more playful side of Conway. He's older now, chronicled by his ever-growing yet perfectly groomed perm. With this picture Mr. Twitty is telling us, "I may be in my golden years, but I can still put on a pair of obscenely short shorts and a Lacoste shirt and get down with the best of 'em." I can just see Conway on the tennis courts right now, lobbing balls over the net, scoring with every backhand, and of course winning every game "40-Love."

As you go through your day, be reminded of the journey that took a young dreamer from Friars Branch, Mississippi to this very blog entry more than thirteen years after he was taken from us. Go home tonight and put on your tight-fittin' jeans, hit the bars with too much love in your Mississippi heart and give a lady a rose. Don't just do it for yourself, do it for Conway.