Country legend's son performs in Canby

Carrying on his father's musical legacy, Michael Twitty appeared at the Canby Theatre on Sunday afternoon. “I was pleased with the attendance we had,” said Mike Tesch, Canby Theatre manager.

Twitty, the son of Country Music Hall of Fame singer Conway Twitty, has recently been performing as casinos and theatres in Minnesota and South Dakota. One of Twitty's publicists contacted Tesch to see if the Canby Theatre would be interested in having Twitty entertain there while he was in the area.

Twitty performed several of his father's 55 No. 1 single hits on stage; which include one that made No. 1 on the pop chart and the other 54 reaching No. 1 on the country chart.

Those songs included “Hello Darlin” and “You've Never Been This Far Before”. Conway Twitty, who was born Harold Lloyd Jenkins, died from an abdominal aneurysm during a surgical procedure in 1993 at age 59.

He changed his name in 1953 after reading a road map and spotting Conway, Arkansas and Twitty, Texas.

Conway was inducted posthumously into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999. Michael was born in 1966 and was just 27 years old when his father died.

Michael and his son Tre, Conway’s grandson, have often performed together on stage in carrying on Conway's legacy, although Tre did not make the trip to Canby. Michael has made numerous television appearances, video releases and recordings.

His performances have taken him to other countries such as Canada and Japan, as well as performing all over the United States.

Michael performed for about 90 minutes in Canby in the 210-seat theatre. Besides some of his father's songs, Michael also sang old time rock and roll and country classics.