Crazy In Love With Conway

A couple years ago someone in a Conway Facebook group posted a picture of a concert poster that was going up for sale at auction. As I've been known to do on more than one occasion when it comes to Conway, I went into full detective mode. In the photo I could just barely make out the name of the auction house, and a Google search told me it was in Pennsylvania. It was a silent auction held the first Saturday of each month, with bidders writing down their bid on a tag placed at each item. I called and was told that proxy bids could be placed by anyone who couldn't be present the day of the auction, but items had to be picked up in person. They don't ship anything. In the HUGE state of Pennsylvania, what are the chances I would know someone who lives nearby? I could only think of one person I know in the state *period*, a fellow Conway collector in fact, and as luck would have it he told me he drives past this particular town frequently on the weekends. I placed my bid by pho...

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to purchase some items from the collection of a fan that recently passed away. It seems like this is happening more and more often as his "first generation" fans are leaving us. It's sad but I'm also so happy to see loved ones selling these collectibles as opposed to just throwing them away. It's a way for those of us too young to have witnessed much of his career firsthand to live vicariously though another fan's treasures.  This particular seller had some big ticket items that aren't really what I'm focused on right now and many smaller items that I already have, but this is what I ended up adding to my collection... Clock Twitty City Postcard   Sewing Kit   Fan Club Party Pass Summer 1993 Jim Stafford Theatre Brochure - Just last month I wrote about how the site of Conway's last concert is soon to be demolished. This particular pamphlet would've been printed shortly after the fire at Gilley's tha...

Last month I picked up a free local newspaper at the grocery store, and my eyes were drawn to a story about a lady who lives 15 minutes away from me that makes soft felt dolls of TV and movie characters . As I read the article I couldn't help but wonder if she might be able to make a Conway doll, and when I saw that Tyler Mahan Coe (of country music podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones fame) asked her to make a doll of him, I knew country music stars just might be on her radar too. I visited the shop's Facebook page to see more of her creations, and lo and behold, she had already made a Conway doll over the summer! I messaged her that very night to ask if she could make another, placed my order, and 3 weeks later a Conway plushy was in my hands.  I knew he would be adorable, but he was even more adorable than I imagined. I think I said "OMG!" out loud 50 times after opening the package. He's incredibly well made, and I especially love the CT necklace stitched right i...

Over the July 4th weekend I experienced a Conway collector's dream come true, and I still have to pinch myself to believe it really happened. It all started on Saturday afternoon when I saw a post on Facebook from someone in Hendersonville, TN, selling one of the elusive replica "CT" necklaces that was sold at Twitty City. The price was rather high so I messaged the seller to ask if they were accepting offers. The lady politely declined, explaining the necklace was part of an estate sale in the coming week, but if anything was left over following the sale they might consider an offer. She also said they had many more souvenir items.  I started browsing through her timeline and found a post all about the estate sale she was overseeing, and sure enough, there was a big table full of Conway collectibles! Everything already had price tags attached so I messaged her again and asked if it would be possible to have more pictures sent to me so I could pick some things out, and sh...

Over the years Conway has been featured numerous times in the British rock & roll magazine  Now Dig This . He's been the subject of cover stories, in depth articles, album and box set reviews. They even reprinted the transcript of his six-hour radio special  Heartthrob: Then and Now  from 1981, which was a highlight for me until I was able to track down a copy of the entire show. (Six hours of Conway interviews = Heaven.) It's always exciting (and rare) when something "new" on Conway becomes available, so I was very pleased to learn that a "vintage interview" with him would be featured in this month's issue (#460, July 2021). It's actually a reprint of an interview that was originally published in the August/September 1970 issue of  Rockville International  magazine, and was conducted over the course of two meetings with Conway in Amsterdam and Sweden during his April 1970 European tour.  What's odd is that a mere 5 years removed from his r...

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...

Last summer I bought a Conway necklace online that had been found at an estate sale. I thought maybe someone had made it and I loved how vintage it looked. A couple months later I was looking through a 1977 issue of Country Style magazine and found an ad for the exact same "Love Lockets" necklace!  Mystery solved, and now it has even more meaning for me because it was made the year I was born (so I guess I'm saying I'm vintage!) I plan to showcase lots of cool Conway collectibles on this blog, and I would love to see your collections too! Or, if you have anything Conway-related you're ready to part with, email me at conwaycrazy@outlook.com. I'm always on the hunt!