It's Only Make Believe

The song was written mainly by Jack Nance, a member of Twitty's band, during an intermission in a show they were playing at the Flamingo Lounge in Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada, with Conway Twitty providing the finishing touches to the song.[4] They recorded a demo of the song, and sent it together with "I'll Try" to Twitty's manager, Don Seat.[4] MGM Records became interested in the songs and arranged for these and other songs to be recorded in Nashville on May 7, 1958. The song was recorded by Twitty with the Jordanaires on backing vocals.[5] Musicians who played on the song included Floyd Cramer on piano, Grady Martin on guitar, and Floyd "Lightnin'" Chance on double bass.[4] The song was produced by Jim Vienneau, who suggested that Twitty should keep the growl in his voice when recording. "It's Only Make Believe" was released by MGM Records on side B of "I'll Try" on July 14, 1958.[4]

The A-side "I'll Try" failed to catch on with the public in the States, and Twitty, believing that the record had failed, went home to work on the farm. However, a DJ in Columbus, Ohio took an interest in the B-side "It's Only Make Believe" and it became a hit in the city.[4] It spread nationally and the song hit the Billboard chart in September, 1958, eventually reaching No. 1, on November 10[6] and 24.[7] The single topped both U.S.[8] and the UK Singles Chart,[9] and became the only No. 1 pop single of his career. Twitty stated years later, on a segment of 'Pop Goes The Country', that it was a hit in 22 countries, and had sold over 8 million copies.[10] He did not become a country music star until he crossed over in 1966.

Though Twitty recorded subsequent versions of "It's Only Make Believe", his original 1958 hit never entered the Country & Western charts. He recorded a 1970 duet with Loretta Lynn, on their 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 No. 8 hit on the country music charts. Additionally, Twitty contributed to an alternative cover by McDowell.

Conway Twitty version

Glen Campbell recorded "It's Only Make Believe" for his album The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album, one of four albums he recorded in 1970. The song was arranged and produced by Al De Lory.[18] The song was released as a single by Capitol Records backed with "Pave Your Way Into Tomorrow".[17] It became a top ten hit in both the United States and United Kingdom.

• In 1964, Billy Fury had a top 10 hit with his version in the UK and Ireland,[30][23] which also went to No. 1 in Singapore.[31]
• Brendan O'Brien and The Dixies recorded the song and it reached No. 4 on the Irish chart in 1964.[32]
• Ronnie McDowell had a No. 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.[33]
• The rockabilly revival singer Robert Gordon covered the song,[34] which reached No. 99 on the Country chart in 1979.[35]
• 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.[36]

• List of number-one singles from the 1950s (UK)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1958 (U.S.)
• List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones