“Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man”
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
Written by Becki Bluefield and Jim Owen
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
August 18, 1973
Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn had their biggest hits with gut wrenching ballads, but their albums were chock full of playful songs that didn’t usually make it to the radio.
“Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” is a delightful exception to the rule, harnessing the sheer joy that the two artists found in working with each other. This is one of my favorite Lynn vocal performances in particular, especially the way she elongates “man” in the chorus with enough ferocity to be heard five hollers over.
Twitty never sounded more backwoods country than when he was singing with Lynn, so we also get a side of him vocally that’s distinctive from his solo work, with nary a trace of his rock and soul roots present as he goes full hillbilly.
Look, they sold this song so well that as a kid, I really thought Conway was swimming that river, dodging crocodiles to get to Lynn on the other side.
Pure joy from start to finish. God, I love this record.
“Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” gets an A.
Every No. 1 Single of the Seventies
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