There have been a number of powerful duos in country music history, and one that really impressed during the 1970’s was the pairing of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty.
Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man was the third album that Lynn and Twitty collaborated on, and was quite successful. The album itself was the first that they did together that charted, reaching the number one spot on the US Billboard Hot Country LPs chart.
The only single to be released ahead of the project was the song of the same title, “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man,” which was written by Becki Bluefield and Jim Owen. When you listen to the powerful vocals of Twitty and Lynn, it’s easy to see why it quickly made its way to the number one spot on the US Billboard Country songs chart.
“Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” was the third song that the duo charted at number one with. The voices of Conway and Loretta compliment one another perfectly on the track, with Twitty keeping things grounded and Loretta rocketing in with her patented powerful vocals.
One review said that the track had an “up-tempo Cajan sound,” which doesn’t necessarily make sense to me. How can something sound Cajun?
The only thing I know that sounds Cajun is former LSU football coach Ed Orgeron (geaux Tigers).
You might listen to the song and think differently (maybe you are a Cajun country expert), but I’m sure we can all agree that the dueling chorus is exceptional, with Twitty and Lynn singing:
“Louisiana woman, Mississippi man
We get together every time we can
The Mississippi River can’t keep us apart
There’s too much love in this Mississippi heart
Too much love in this Louisiana heart”
As you might be able to tell, the song tells a story of two lovers who are separated geographically by the Mississippi River, and though that doesn’t sound all that “special,” some of the verses really cut deep. My personal favorite line from the song happens to come at the end of the first verse, with Conway belting:
“With a Louisiana woman waitin’ on the other side
The Mississippi River don’t look so wide”
That right there is what love is all about: making distances across rivers seems shorter.
Take a moment to listen to the legendary Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn song below:
