Artist:Conway Twitty
Song:Slow Hand
Album:Gold
For most of his career, country music legend Conway Twitty recorded for Decca/MCA. He moved to Elektra in the early 80s. And he topped the country music charts with this cover of The Pointer Sisters hit Slow Hand. So why did Twitty leave MCA in the first place? I think they were looking to put him out to pasture. He had been with Decca/MCA since the 50s and of course he had great success. But there was a management change at MCA and they wanted to promote younger artists. They told Twitty he could stay but they weren't going to promote him anymore. So he left for Elektra. Elektra was not a country label but they did have a Nashville office. Eddie Rabbitt was on Elektra. The 1982 album Southern Comfort was Twitty's first album on Elektra. It was produced by Jimmy Bowen. I don't think he had ever worked with Twitty but he was certainly a Nashville veteran producer. Slow Hand was the second single and it topped the Country Singles chart. Of course most music fans know this song as a 1981 Pointer Sisters hit. So what is Conway Twitty doing covering a pop hit? And you'll notice the lyrics were changed so a man could sing it. It's not as unusual as you think. Country artists have been covering pop hits for years. They just give it a twang. And Twitty wasn't even the first country artist to record Slow Hand. That would be Del Reeves which is where Bowen heard the song. After two albums for Elektra, Warner Bros. closed Elektra's Nashville office and moved Twitty to Warner Bros. He returned to MCA in 1987 and recorded there until his 1993 death. This 2CD MCA comp has some of Twitty's Warner Bros. hits and it's available at a budget price. Here's Conway Twitty performing Slow Hand 1982.
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