In the late summer of 1973, some country radio stations had already refused to play Conway Twitty’s newest single. It did not matter. On September 8, “You’ve Never Been This Far Before” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart and stayed there for three straight weeks. Only one other country record that year, Charlie Rich’s “The Most Beautiful Girl,” matched that unbroken run at the top.
The bigger surprise came on the other chart. The song climbed to No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, the only one of Conway Twitty’s country hits ever to reach the pop Top 40.
A Song He Wrote Himself
Conway Twitty wrote “You’ve Never Been This Far Before” on his own. He recorded it on April 4, 1973, at Bradley’s Barn in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, with Owen Bradley producing, the same producer who had guided him into country music in the 1960s.
MCA released the single on July 2, 1973, as the title track of a new album. The timing mattered. Twitty’s longtime label, Decca, had just been folded into MCA, and AllMusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine has noted that the label change happened to line up with a more suggestive turn in his material. This song was the clearest sign of it.
Why Some Stations Said No
Country music had never been shy about heartbreak, cheating, or loneliness. What it usually did not do was describe the moment itself. Most love songs of the era hinted at what came next and stopped at the door. This one stayed in the room.
That was enough for some program directors and disc jockeys, who judged the song too suggestive for their listeners and kept it off the air. The accounts describe individual stations and DJs making that choice, and none of them name the stations.
What “This Far” Really Meant
The title caused as much talk as the verses. Many listeners took it to mean a much older man with a young woman on her first night, a reading that made the singer sound predatory. Twitty was 39 when the record came out.
Country Universe argued in 2008 that those listeners missed one key line. In it, the singer says he does not know, and does not care, what made her tell another man she no longer loves him. American Songwriter has since made a similar point: “this far” can be read as how far she has stepped outside an existing relationship, not as her first time with anyone.
The song leaves room for both readings, and fans still argue about which one is right.
Three Weeks at the Top
The controversy did nothing to slow the record. Conway Twitty turned 40 on September 1, 1973. One week later, the song was No. 1. It spent 16 weeks on the country chart in all and became his tenth solo No. 1. The album of the same name also went to No. 1 on the country albums chart and was later certified gold.
By the end of 1973, no artist had spent more weeks at No. 1 on the country singles chart than Conway Twitty.
The Answer From the Other Side
The song had one more life. Canadian singer Carroll Baker recorded it from the woman’s point of view, changing the title to “I’ve Never Been This Far Before.” Her version went to No. 1 on Canada’s RPM country chart in May 1975, and by Wide Open Country’s account it stirred up far less fuss than the original.
Same melody, same story, told by the other person in the room. Two years after some American stations refused to play it, the song was a No. 1 hit again.