Then, 43 years after the song first reached No. 1, Lynn recorded it with another singer: Jeff Bates. The new version was not the result of a long-planned studio collaboration. It grew out of a tribute concert, a backstage conversation, and a promise that took almost a year to fulfill.
For Bates, the recording was especially meaningful. He had grown up listening to Twitty, spent years being compared to him, and never had the chance to meet him. Singing with Lynn gave him a personal way to honor the artist whose music had shaped his life.
Bates grew up in Mississippi listening to country records his mother ordered through the mail. Among them was an album featuring Twitty and Lynn. Bates later recalled that within about a week of receiving it, he had learned every song.
As Bates pursued a singing career, listeners often compared his rich, expressive voice to Twitty’s. The resemblance seemed striking: both men were from Mississippi, and both were known for warm, resonant vocals.
At first, Bates resisted the comparisons. He wanted listeners to hear him as an artist in his own right, not as an imitation of someone else. Over time, though, he began to see the connection differently. Rather than reject Twitty’s influence, he could acknowledge it and pay tribute to the music that had meant so much to him growing up.
That opportunity came on July 6, 2013, at a “Remembering Conway” concert hosted by Lynn at her ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. Bates was among the invited performers.
He expected to sing just a couple of songs. But the audience responded warmly, and he stayed onstage longer than planned. Before the evening was over, Bates was singing alongside Lynn.
Their song was “After the Fire Is Gone,” written by L.E. White. Lynn and Twitty originally recorded it in 1970; the single was released in 1971. It became their first No. 1 country duet, spending two weeks at the top of the chart. In 1972, the recording also earned them a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
For country fans, “After the Fire Is Gone” was more than a hit. It marked the beginning of a celebrated partnership that would eventually yield numerous chart successes and eleven studio albums.
After the 2013 concert, Bates spoke with Lynn backstage. He told her about his planned tribute album, and she agreed to record “After the Fire Is Gone” with him.
The collaboration was not the original plan for Bates’s project. He had considered using Twitty’s recorded voice on “That’s My Job,” but that idea could not be completed. A fresh recording with Lynn offered a different kind of tribute one that connected Bates directly to a key part of Twitty’s musical legacy.
But the promised vocal did not happen right away.
Over the following year, Lynn faced several personal hardships, including the death of her eldest daughter, an injury, and a fire at her home. The recording was delayed while she dealt with those events. Bates continued working toward finishing the album and waited for the chance to record with her.
Nearly a year after their first performance together, Lynn entered the studio and recorded her part. At the 2014 “Remembering Conway” concert, Bates joked with the audience about how long the album had taken. Then he turned to Lynn and said, “Miss Loretta, you were worth the wait.”
Bates later praised her performance, saying the vocal was so strong that it did not need technological correction. The resulting track carried the feel of a tribute, but it was also a new performance in its own right: Lynn revisiting a signature duet with a singer who had grown up listening to her and Twitty.
Bates released Me and Conway in November 2014. The 12-track album included six Conway Twitty classics and six other songs. Its new version of “After the Fire Is Gone,” featuring Lynn, was the record’s most direct link to the original partnership.
Lynn publicly praised Bates’s singing and expressed confidence that Twitty would have appreciated the tribute. For Bates, the album was not an attempt to replace Twitty or recreate the past. It was a personal acknowledgment of the music that had influenced him.
The original recording remains a landmark in the Lynn-Twitty story. The later version does not change its place in country music history; it adds a new chapter. A boy who once memorized their records grew into a singer who, decades later, recorded one of their best-known duets with Lynn herself.
Bates never got to meet Twitty. But through one unexpected concert appearance, a promise from Lynn, and a year of waiting, he found a heartfelt way to honor the artist he had admired all his life.