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THEY HELD HIS FUNERAL AT THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN HENDERSONVILLE. MORE THAN 2,000 PEOPLE CAME TO FILL THE PEWS — AND OUTSIDE, TWITTY CITY STILL HAD THE LIGHTS ON. During his lifetime, Conway Twitty had more No. 1 records than any artist in the history of country music. Forty Billboard chart-toppers. Five decades. A voice so low and warm that comedian Jerry Clower said his concerts ran like tent revivals — and called him the High Priest of Country Music. On June 9, the sanctuary filled with fellow artists, family, and fans who had followed that voice for thirty years. Nobody expected a gospel hymn to open the service. But when Sweet, Sweet Spirit rose through the church speakers, the room went completely still. Not grief. Something closer to peace. Loretta Lynn — who had been at his side in the hospital the night he died — said afterward: “He was one of the best men I have ever known. What I wouldn’t give to sing with him one more time.” Outside, Twitty City changed its sign to Goodbye Darlin’. No press release. No public statement. Just the last hello turned into a farewell. Three weeks before he died, he had finished recording his 58th album. He named it Final Touches — not as a farewell. Just a name. He had no idea. It came out in August, two months after the funeral, and went straight into the hands of people still looking for one last reason to hear his voice. In 1999, Nashville finally put his name in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He had already earned it thirty years earlier. Country music just took a while to say so out loud.