Nearly fifty years before he was a Family Guy punchline, Conway Twitty lived in Hamilton, Ontario.

What would a country music hit machine be doing in Canada’s steel town, my home town, in 1958? Not making country music, for one.

At the time, Twitty (whose real name was Harold Jenkins) was a rockabilly musician and Canadians had a thirst for that style of music, which was still exotic north of the border.

The night before he was due to leave for Canada, he had one last gig at the Delta Supper Club in his hometown of West Helena, Arkansas. In between sets, an 18 year-old drummer asked to sit in with the band. Twitty, being the generous guy he was, allowed the kid to play a couple tunes. Then Twitty let him sing one.

That kid was Levon Helm and that was the first time he ever sang on stage behind a drum kit. And, after the show, Twitty told Helm he was leaving for Canada, explaining that it was the promised land for people wanting to make a buck playing Rock ‘N Roll.

Levon told Ronnie Hawkins, who brought Helm and his band, the Hawks, to Canada.

Over the next few years, Canadian boys Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson joined the Hawks.

Twitty, who had a regular gig at The Flamingo Lounge (long gone), lived in Hamilton, at 111 Herkimer Street, for only about a year. In that time, he wrote his first of 44 smash hits – It’s Only Make Believe - while on break at the Flamingo with his drummer Jack Nance. It changed his life. Eventually, the Hawks got rid of Hawkins and started backing up Bob Dylan. It changed their lives.

Then, they became The Band. They changed my life. But that story is for another day.