Twitty recognized a hit when he heard it
This week in 1971: Ford Motor Co. recalled all Pintos due to an engine defect; The U.S. Senate cut off all funding for the supersonic SST; two U.S. platoons refused orders to advance in Vietnam; and a singer from Friar’s Point, Miss., had his 15th hit record.
A lot of hit songs have traveled many miles and been turned down many times before making it to the recording studios and onto the music charts.
Conway Twitty’s 1971 No 1 “How Much More Can She Stand” was certainly one of those tunes.
The song was written by Harry Compton, one of the Compton Brothers, who scored 13 charted singles in the 60’s and 70’s.
The Compton Brothers were performing a concert in Wisconsin and just before the show, Harry Compton was able to get Conway into their dressing room. Compton told Conway that the song had been turned down by just about everybody else in Nashville but he thought the song was a hit. He then sang the song to Conway, who agreed that the song was a hit and he was surprised that nobody had recorded it. Conway said that the song would be his next single.
Conway’s Decca Record single “How Much More Can She Stand” entered the country music charts March 20, 1971 and was in the No 1 spot the week of May 8th.
It was Conway’s 15th charted song and his 6th No 1. The record was produced by Owen Bradley and was on the charts for 17 weeks.
Conway placed 98 songs on the country music charts between 1966 and 2004, including duets with Loretta Lynn, Joni Lee and Anita Cochran.
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