It's Only Make Believe
| "It's Only Make Believe" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Conway Twitty | ||||
| from the album Sings | ||||
| B-side | "I'll Try" | |||
| Released | July 14, 1958 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded |
May 7, 1958 Bradley Film & Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | |||
| Genre | Country, rockabilly, pop | |||
| Length | 2:10 | |||
| Label | MGM | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jack Nance, Conway Twitty | |||
| Producer(s) | Jim Vienneau | |||
| Conway Twitty singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"It's Only Make Believe" is a song written by Jack Nance and American country music artist Conway Twitty, and produced by MGM Records' Jim Vienneau, released by Twitty as a single in July 1958. The single topped both U.S.[1] and the UK Singles Chart,[2] and was Twitty's only #1 single on the pop charts of either country. On a segment of Pop Goes The Country, Twitty states the single was a hit in 22 different countries and sold over 8 million copies.[3] It is believed that Twitty wrote his part of the song while sitting on a fire escape outside his hotel room, to escape the summer heat, in Hamilton, Ontario. Twitty had gone to Canada on the advice of another American singer, Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins, because Hawkins had told Twitty that Canada was the 'promised land' for music.
Twitty recorded many subsequent versions of "It's Only Make Believe", including a 1970 duet with Loretta Lynn on their very first collaborative album, We Only Make Believe. Twitty joins in on the last verse in a 1988 uptempo cover by Ronnie McDowell, which was a #8 hit on the country music charts. Additionally, Twitty contributed to an alternative cover by McDowell.
Content
The song's lyrics describe the thoughts and feelings of a man who is devoted to a woman in every way, but it is a one-way relationship. She does not love him and only stays with him for appearances, a fact of which he is painfully aware. He hopes and prays that, at some point in the future, she will return his love, but laments that, at present, "it's only make believe."
Chart performance
Conway Twitty version
| Chart (1958–1959) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
Cover versions
- The Hollies covered it in 1963.
- Billy Fury had a UK #10 hit with his version in 1964, which also went to #1 in Singapore.
- Jerry Williams the Swedish rock n' roll icon, made a cover in 1970.
- Roy Hamilton recorded a version at Chips Moman's American studios in Memphis in 1969.
- Glen Campbell's 1970 recording for The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album became a top ten hit in both the United States and United Kingdom.
- Lynn Anderson recorded a version for her 1970 album Rose Garden.
- Robert Gordon included this song on his album Rock Billy Boogie in 1979[4]
- Ronnie McDowell had a #8 single on the Billboard country chart in 1988 after recording the song as a duet with Twitty.
- The pop band Child released the song as a single in 1978, reaching the top ten in the UK Charts.
- Australian rock band Cold Chisel recorded a thundering version of the song in 1983 on their Barking Spiders Live album.
- American pop-rock band Cock Robin recorded the song during their third album First Love Last Rites (1989) recording sessions, but the track was only released in the 1990 US version of the album, and more generally as a bonus track in their Best of Cock Robin compilation album in 1991.
- Canadian country music singer Carroll Baker covered the song on her 1991 compilation Her Finest Collection. It was released as the album's first single and peaked at number 28 on the RPM Country Tracks chart.[5]
- The horror punk band Misfits have a cover version on their 2003 covers album Project 1950, retitled "Only Make Believe".
- Queen guitarist Brian May has also covered it, his band consisting of Cozy Powell, Jamie Moses, Spike Edney & Neil Murray. May's cover was on the b-side of his 1998 single "Why Don't We Try Again".
- Clay Aiken recorded the song for his 2010 album Tried and True.
- In 2012, Fiona Apple performed the song as the closing number of all the shows in her The Idler Wheel Tour.
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins covered the song on his 1972 album "A Portrait of a Man and his Woman"[6] and it has appeared on several subsequent compilation albums.
- Ivo Linna and Rock Hotel recorded Estonian version titled "Liiv tuule käes" (words Ats Joorits) in 1986.
Chart performance
Glen Campbell version
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian KMR[7] | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 5 |
| Euro Hit 50 | 10 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 3 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 10 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 2 |
Year-end chart
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 99 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 76 |
| U.S. Cashbox Top 100 | 66 |
See also
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 647.
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 92–3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Conway Twitty on Pop Goes The Country". YouTube. 2007-08-10. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
- ↑ "Robert Gordon (2) - It's Only Make Believe". Discogs.
- ↑ "RPM Country Tracks". RPM. February 23, 1991. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
- ↑ "A Portrait Of A Man And His Woman - Screamin' Jay Hawkins — Listen and discover music at". Last.fm. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
- ↑ "Go-Set Australian charts - 26 December 1970". Poparchives.com.au. 1970-12-26. Retrieved 2013-02-14.
- ↑ "Glen Campbell Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ↑ "Glen Campbell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.