Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, The Strongest Duet Team In Country Music!


The strongest duet in Country Music had its roots, deeply imbedded in Oklahoma - try Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City. For years, Conway Twitty, whose name came from Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas, was a successful musician, tied to Nashville. It took Nashville a lot of convincing before Twitty was to uproot himself and move to Nashville, where he was nick-named, "The High Priest Of Country Music." Twitty had the uncanny ability to spot a hit and be able to tell the right time to release it. It is in this same context that Twitty realized how important Loretta's duets were. They were so strong that once he described them as being so strong that they overshadowed both he and Loretta's single releases. Unlike Dolly and Porter, Conway and Loretta did a lot of "gadget songs," which worked for them. Thus, ... the harmonies are not that well define, and some of their biggest hits were songs without harmony.

So what is my favorite Conway and Loretta duet? The "Telephone Song," and, ... "Louisiana Man (Or Woman), ... Spiders And Snakes!"

Dolly and Porter! Oklahoma Roots?

When I started teaching, back in 68'69, my every Saturday schedule was to watch Dolly and Porter Wagner show. Actually, the show was "The Porter Wagner Show." He had his own studio, so unlike many of the early country shows, Porter did not record in Oklahoma City on WKY-TV.

The picture to the left is of THE MUST HAVE Porter and Dolly Album. It includes 26 hits, and sorry, it cannot be duplicated, financially, using Apple's Download site. You are better off buying the album from WalMart. Why do I like Dolly and Porter? Well, as far as I am concerned, Dolly and Porter were the (THE) defacto standard for duets. They would ply their skills at harmony as they were on the road and then get to the studios and produce their songs and records.

I am not good at harmonizing. I know people who can harmonize and are very professional at it, but they cannot sing lead. On the other hand, my own, oldest daughter, Holli, can do a great job at harmonizing, but she has been through college and has a degree in music - er, ... Piano Performance, probably a minor in Voice Performance. With a Dolly and Porter duet, I can actually focus on their harmonizing. None of this Mike Curb, "Wall of Sound" garbage; the harmonizing is out front and simple. The productions are then, blow-you-away.

So, how is Porter Wagner tied to Oklahoma. Well, ... folks like me sat around and waited for them to come on every Saturday. In fact, my watching The Porter Wagner Show, predates my guitar playing. Back in 69, I wasn't playing the guitar except on a pre-beginners level and my main instrument was the harmonica. But my guitar would blossom as I moved to OKC to get my elementary certification. Little did I know how my "guitaring" would become integral to my job in the elementary schools. But back to Porter and the roots thing.

According to, inside family stories, Porter was actually a member of our family in Tennessee, around Cookeville, but was ADOPTED out to a family in Arkansas. The rest is history. But, strict history, puts Porter as being born in Arkansas. Get his newest album and listen to his own verbal history. Until I find more information, I have to reject the notion that there is kinship there, but my mother shares that when they were growing up, everyone on my dad's side of the family gathered around the radio on Saturday night to hear, Porter Wagner. And while he sang, NO ONE talked or even whispered because Porter was the real deal.

Fact, the Porter Wagner Show was the number one Country Music Show, in the history of Country Music. In fact, at that time, The Porter Wagner Show was the number one syndicated show on television and can still be seen on RFTV on a daily or weekly basis. Find it as a free channel on your satellite programming. My only regret is that Porter and Dolly never produced a Gospel Album. In the above, you will hear only one Gospel Song, and that was "My Dad Was A Preacher Man."

So, ... when I am listening to Dolly and Porter, "Don't Bug Me, I'm Listening!"