25 NUMBER ONES

Although this disc contains 25 Number One country hits by the legendary singer Conway Twitty, it doesn't even come close to containing every one of his chart-toppers. Like many of his peers, Twitty started as a rockabilly artist, scoring one big hit in the 1958 rock & roll ballad "It's Only Make Believe." After that, his fortunes fell, as rock & roll gave way to pop at the turn of the decade. It was 10 years before Twitty, reinvented as a country singer, had another Number One hit, the classic whiskey-stained weeper "The Next in Line." From there on in, Twitty established himself as one of the biggest and classiest singers in mainstream country music, buoyed by the highly commercial production approach of Owen Bradley. A major aspect of Twitty's career was his collaboration with Loretta Lynn, and their partnership is reflected here on a number of '60s and '70s hits. Traces of Twitty's often-overlooked R&B side are heard as well, on "After All the Good Is Gone" and "I Can't Stop Loving You," suggesting that he could have been as successful a proponent of country soul as Charlie Rich. The fact that this collection barely skims the surface of Twitty's career merely underscores the breadth and depth of his recorded legacy.