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Showing posts from June, 2021

That's My Job, A Classic Father's Day Song

Conway's specialty was singing about matters of the heart, but a song about the father/son relationship was quite a departure for him, yet it's a subject he took on masterfully in 1987 with the release of  That's My Job , the third single from his  Borderline  album. Written by Gary Burr about his relationship with his own father,  That's My Job  is a classic country music story song starting with a young boy waking from a nightmare about his dad passing away and ending with the father's eventual death many years later. Through the song's many verses is the ongoing theme that the father is always there for his son because that's his job. That's My Job  has become one of Conway's signature songs but someone who wasn't an initial fan was his eldest son, Michael. In an interview with  Savvy Dad  Michael tells the story of Conway showing up at his door late one night (wearing his favorite Mickey Mouse pajamas) with a cassette of the song. Michael exp

Hello Darlin' Records from Around the World

It's been 51 years since Conway's iconic Hello Darlin' topped the charts and it remains one of country music's most well known and beloved masterpieces.  On June 6, 1970, Hello Darlin' hit #1 on Billboard and stayed there for the rest of the month. It went on to become the #1 song of the entire year, setting the stage for the legendary career he would go on to achieve. DID YOU KNOW... 1) Conway wrote Hello Darlin' 10 years prior, in 1960 while he was still recording rock music. Actually, he wrote it twice. The original lyrics were in a notebook filled with hundreds of songs he had written that was in a suitcase that had been stolen from him. He had to rewrite the song from memory. (I wonder if that notebook ever surfaced, and if it did, did anyone realize what they'd found?) 2) While finishing up his 9th country album in 1969 he needed to put down one last song and pulled out Hello Darlin' . He first recorded it by singing that classic first line, but

June 1993 Ephemera

This weekend we remember Conway on the 28th anniversary of his death. How can it possibly have been that long? I still remember that tragic day and what I was doing when I heard the news like it was yesterday. I know some people probably think it's crazy to feel such a strong emotional attachment to someone you never met, but short of the loss of close family and beloved pets, I've shed more tears for him than anyone else. Even after all these years this is a very difficult day for me. One of my favorite things to collect on Conway is ephemera. Paper items are so readily thrown away by most people, making them more of a challenge to find and all the more special when you do. Today's spotlight is on some of my most notable newspapers, clippings, and magazines from June 1993. Thanks to good friends and fellow collectors I've been able to get my hands on some of the newspapers that came out in Nashville the week of his death, which was also Fan Fair week. This is the front