Loretta Lynn Remembers Conway Twitty on Anniversary of His Death: ‘He Was the Real Deal’

Conway Twitty died on June 5, 1993, at age 59, and the late singer’s good friend Loretta Lynn paid tribute to him on the anniversary of his death this year with a touching post on Instagram. On Friday, Lynn shared a slideshow of photos of the two together, starting with a snap of the pair with their arms around each other, one of Lynn’s hands cupping Twitty’s cheek. She also included photos of the duo in the recording booth together and posing for photo shoots.

“I can’t believe it’s been 27 years today since we lost Conway,” the 88-year-old captioned the post. “He was one of the best men I have ever known. He loved his family and loved music! Conway was the real deal — over 40 Billboard #1 singles!” During his career, Twitty released 58 studio albums and 99 singles, and Lynn also remarked on one of the late star’s other passions in her message. “You might not have known he was a heck of a baseball player too — he was offered a spot playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, but was drafted by the army first!” she wrote.

Twitty received the offer from the Phillies after high school but was drafted before he could sign the contract, though his love of baseball never left him. He was one of the investors in the Nashville Sounds, Nashville’s minor league baseball team, and hosted celebrity softball games for charity.

Lynn continued, “He was like a brother to me and I couldn’t have asked for a better singing partner.” Lynn and Twitty were one of the most famous musical pairs in country music history and recorded 10 studio albums together. They also charted 12 duet singles in the top ten of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart, including five number one hits like “After the Fire Is Gone” and “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man.” Lynn added that her late husband, Oliver “Doo” Lynn, “just loved Conway.” She concluded her tribute post: “I’m so thankful we had him as a friend. 59 was way too young to go. I miss him so much. Love you, Conway!”

Twitty died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm after he became ill while performing at the Jim Stafford Theatre in Branson, Missouri on June 4, 1993. He collapsed on his tour bus after the show and was rushed to a hospital and into surgery but ultimately passed away. His last studio album, Final Touches, was released two months after his death.