For 43 years, Loretta Lynn had never recorded “After the Fire Is Gone” with another singer after the original Conway Twitty duet. Then, in 2013, a Mississippi country singer named Jeff Bates stepped onto the stage at Loretta Lynn’s Tennessee ranch.
Jeff Bates had never met Conway Twitty. But Conway Twitty’s music had been part of Jeff Bates’ life since childhood. What began as an invitation to perform a few songs would eventually lead to something Jeff Bates hadn’t even planned for: recording one of country music’s most celebrated duets with Loretta Lynn herself.
The Song That Started With Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty
The history of “After the Fire Is Gone” goes back to the beginning of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty’s recording partnership.
In a 2010 interview with NPR’s Terry Gross, Loretta Lynn recalled how the partnership began. Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty had been traveling overseas with other entertainers when the two started singing together in dressing rooms.
The combination worked well enough that Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty decided to demonstrate it for producer Owen Bradley after returning home. Owen Bradley liked what Owen Bradley heard and encouraged the pair to record together.
Written by L.E. White, “After the Fire Is Gone” became the first chart-topping single for Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty as a duo. The recording reached No. 1 on the country chart in 1971 and earned a Grammy Award in 1972.
Decades later, the song would become an unexpected connection between Loretta Lynn and another Mississippi singer.
A Young Fan Who Knew Conway Twitty’s Songs by Heart
Jeff Bates’ connection to Conway Twitty began long before Jeff Bates had a recording career.
In a November 2014 interview with The Boot, Jeff Bates remembered how Jeff Bates’ mother ordered vinyl records through the mail. One day, a package arrived containing an album by Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty.
The memory stayed with Jeff Bates. Within about a week, Jeff Bates knew the songs by heart.
As Jeff Bates grew older, Conway Twitty’s singing and approach to emotional storytelling became increasingly influential. Listeners frequently compared the two Mississippi singers, although Jeff Bates initially resisted the comparison.
For Jeff Bates, the admiration was about much more than vocal similarities. Conway Twitty’s songs about relationships, family, and everyday experiences had a personal meaning.
When Jeff Bates began planning the 2014 tribute album Me and Conway, the original idea included creating a duet for “That’s My Job” using Conway Twitty’s recorded voice. That plan couldn’t be completed.
Then came an invitation from Loretta Lynn.
The Night Everything Came Together
On July 6, 2013, Loretta Lynn hosted a “Remembering Conway” tribute concert at Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Jeff Bates was among the invited performers.
According to Jeff Bates’ later account, the appearance was supposed to involve only a couple of songs. Instead, Jeff Bates remained onstage longer as the audience responded enthusiastically.
Before the performance ended, Jeff Bates and Loretta Lynn sang “After the Fire Is Gone” together.
Afterward, Jeff Bates spoke with Loretta Lynn backstage. During that conversation, Loretta Lynn agreed to record the duet for Me and Conway.
The decision was significant. According to the album’s 2014 publicity announcement, Loretta Lynn had not recorded the song with another singer since the original Conway Twitty version.
Now Jeff Bates would be sharing the recording with the woman whose voice had helped make the song famous.
Nearly a Year of Waiting
Recording the duet took longer than expected.
Personal losses and other setbacks delayed Loretta Lynn’s studio contribution for nearly a year. Loretta Lynn finally recorded the vocal part shortly before the 2014 “Remembering Conway” concert.
Jeff Bates later praised the performance, explaining that Loretta Lynn’s vocal did not need technological manipulation to make it sound convincing. Loretta Lynn had delivered the performance the song required.
At the 2014 tribute concert, Jeff Bates joked with the audience about why the album had taken so long to finish. Then Jeff Bates turned toward Loretta Lynn and delivered a line that captured the long wait:
“Miss Loretta, you were worth the wait.”
A Tribute That Became Something More
When Me and Conway was released on November 11, 2014, the album combined six original songs with six Conway Twitty classics, including the newly recorded duet with Loretta Lynn.
Jeff Bates made clear that the project wasn’t an attempt to replace Conway Twitty or convince listeners that Jeff Bates possessed the same voice.
The album was a personal tribute to an artist whose music had shaped Jeff Bates’ life.
And for the singer who grew up memorizing Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty records, the opportunity carried a remarkable distinction: Jeff Bates never met Conway Twitty, but Jeff Bates eventually recorded one of Conway Twitty’s greatest duets with Loretta Lynn.
Forty-three years separated the original hit from the new recording. The connection between them began with a country song, a childhood record collection, and an unexpected invitation to sing.