Conway Twitty - 55 Number Ones

55 Number Ones

Twitty was the only singer to have 55 No. 1 hits in his career until George Strait eventually eclipsed the long-held record. Conway's 55th and final No. 1 was "Crazy in Love" in 1990 on the Cashbox chart. His final No. 1 on the country charts was "Desperado Love" in 1986. His first No. 1 was "It's Only Make Believe" in 1958 on the Hot 100 pop chart. He is best known for his 1970 No. 1 single "Hello Darlin'". At one time there were multiple weekly music charts in circulation during much of Conway's career. Those publications were Billboard, Record World, Cashbox, Gavin, Radio, and Records. Billboard is the lone surviving publication of the group. Radio and Records, emerging in 1973, was bought out by Billboard in 2006 (ending a 33-year run as an independent music survey) but the R&R brand was phased out in 2009 altogether. Conway reached No. 1 on Radio and Records many times; quite a few of his No. 1 hits in the latter years of his career reached the top of this publication while peaking in the top five in Billboard. The Gavin Report, founded in 1958, ended publication in 2002. Cashbox was in publication from 1942 through 1996. As is the case with Radio and Records, Conway reached No. 1 on Cashbox with most of his recordings. His 55th and final No. 1 hit, "Crazy in Love", reached No. 1 on Cashbox and No. 3 on Billboard in the fall of 1990. Record World started out under the name Music Vendor in 1946. The publication's name change took place in 1964. Conway often reached No. 1 on the Record World country charts with singles that reached the No. 2 or No. 3 position on Billboard's chart. Billboard, on the other hand, began its publication in 1894 but it was completely different from what it appears today. It wouldn't be until the 1930s that music sales, and later, jukebox play, became a focal point of the publication. In the late 1950s, Billboard unveiled their Hot 100 chart which has more commonly become known as the pop singles chart. Their country chart began in 1944 and is still in publication. Twitty reached No. 1 a total of 40 times on the Billboard country chart from 1968 through 1986. His 1958 single "It's Only Make Believe" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, giving him an overall total of 41 Billboard No. 1 hits. The 41 Billboard No. 1 hits are often what historians and critics point to whenever citing his No. 1 total even though, technically, he reached the top fourteen additional times with other singles on the other weekly music charts.