Why “It’s Only Make Believe” by Conway Twitty Still Echoes Today
When Conway Twitty recorded It’s Only Make Believe in May 1958 at Bradley Studios in Nashville, he could hardly have predicted the journey ahead. At the time, he was still Harold Lloyd Jenkins, a rock-and-roll hopeful playing clubs, dreaming of something bigger. His drummer, Jack Nance, had scribbled a few lines during a break at the Flamingo Lounge in Hamilton, Ontario—and Twitty added the rest.
A song born between sets
The story goes that between shows a lyric emerged: a plea, a question, a yearning that sounded almost like confession. They went into the studio and Twitty, encouraged by producer Jim Vienneau, kept a growl in his voice to give it that raw edge. Released July 14, 1958 as the B-side of “I’ll Try”, it might have remained unnoticed—if not for a DJ in Columbus, Ohio who flipped the record and played the “wrong” side. Suddenly the world heard “It’s Only Make Believe”.
The sudden ascent
In November 1958 the song climbed to No.1 on the Billboard chart, and later the UK chart too, even becoming a Christmas number-one in the UK. It resonated beyond rockabilly and country: people everywhere connected with its sense of possibility and heartbreak. The figures are staggering for their time—selling more than eight million copies and charting in over 20 countries.
Why it still matters
What makes this song endure isn’t just the melody—it’s the story behind it. A young artist on the cusp, a song born almost in passing, the flip of a record that changed a life. Twitty later changed his musical direction toward country, but this song remained his one big pop crossover hit. We listen today and hear not just nostalgia but the raw hope that something small—one chord, one lyric—can spark something huge.
The song and its meaning
The lyric “It’s only make believe” suggests a dream, something imagined—but because he sings it with conviction it becomes real. Perhaps that’s the hook: the tension between what we wish and what we hold. Twitty’s voice takes that tension and makes it universal. We’ve all loved, lost, dreamed, doubted. This song gives that feeling shape.
More than six decades later, the record still plays. Perhaps part of us connects with the moment when an under-dog flips the script. Perhaps we remember the jump from the farm to the stage. Or perhaps it’s simply the power of a voice, a tune, and a little magic in the studio. Either way, “It’s Only Make Believe” stands as a reminder: sometimes even what we call ‘make-believe’ ends up being very real.