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Roy Orbison

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Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 - December 6, 1988) was an influential American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of Rock and Roll.

Born in Vernon, Texas, he was raised in Wink, Texas. Orbison, along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley, all recorded for Sam Phillips of Sun Records in Memphis in the early 50s.

From those early days, Roy Orbison would go on to become an international rock and roll star. The development of his operatic voice and ensuing great success, came about after he left Sun Records when he worked under the guidance of Fred Foster at Monument Records.

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Roy Orbison in concert: 1980

Throughout Orbison's stay at Monument Records in Nashville, Tennessee, his backup band was a group of all-star studio musicians led by Bob Moore, and it was the play of Orbison's amazing voice against the dynamic yet uncluttered sound of the band that gave Orbison's records such a unique, highly identifiable sound.

Orbison is remembered for his haunting ballads of lost love, sung in his powerful three-octave voice. Within the music community, he is revered for his song writing abilities, described by producer Don Law, writer Bernie Taupin (composer of all lyrics for Elton John) and others, as far ahead of the times, creating lyrics and music in a manner that broke with all traditions. Roy Orbison’s vocal range was impressive, his songs were melodically and rythmically advanced, lyrically sophisticated, and always majectically arranged.

Elvis Presley called Roy Orbison "the greatest singer in the world". Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees referred to Orbison as the "Voice of God". Multiple Academy Award winning songwriter Will Jennings ("My Heart Will Go On", from the Titanic soundtrack), called him a "poet, a songwriter, a vision" after working and together writing Roy's song Wild Hearts for the 1985 motion picture, Insignificance.

A powerful influence on his contemporaries such as Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, in 1963 Roy Orbison headlined a European tour with the Beatles and encouraged them to come to America.

In 1966 he signed with MGM Records and starred in MGM Studios' western-musical motion picture "THE FASTEST GUITAR ALIVE" in which he would perform several songs from an album of the same name.

Roy Orbison wrote and recorded numerous songs specifically for motion pictures and many of his hit songs became part of motion picture soundtracks, the most famous of which is the blockbuster film Pretty Woman. Named for his song, the music was integral to the movie that brought mega-stardom to actress Julia Roberts. As well, his hit song "In Dreams" was used extensively in the David Lynch film Blue Velvet. A number of other artists have recorded songs written by Orbison, including the Everly Brothers, Don Gibson, Linda Rondstat and Van Halen.

Roy Orbison first toured Australia with the Rolling Stones in 1963 and would build a devout following there. A few songs that had only reasonable sucess in North America , such as "Penny Arcade" would go to #1 in Autralia. Similarly, he was enormously popular in England, several times he was voted top male vocalist. His popularity extended to Germany and he recorded his hit song "Mama" in that language. In France he was viewed as the master of the ballad of lost love in the vein of that country's most popular singer Edith Piaf. Much loved in Belgium, at an awards ceremony in Antwerp, a few days before his passing, Roy Orbison gave his only public rendition of the hit "You Got It" to the thundering applause of a huge crowd. Adopted by intensely loyal fans in Ireland, where he continued to perform despite the constant terrorist activities, his powerful rendition of the ancient Irish folk ballad "Danny Boy" on the 1972 MEMPHIS album is considered one of the best recordings ever made of this much-recorded song.

Described as a cinematographic masterpiece, a 1987 black and white Cinemax television special titled Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night brought Orbison a whole new generation of fans. Put together by musical director, T-Bone Burnett, Orbison was accompanied by a who’s who supporting cast, all fans, and all volunteers who lobbied to participate. On piano, Glen Hardin, who had played piano for years for Elvis Presley, plus male background vocals with some on guitar, were: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Steven Soles, with k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, and Bonnie Raitt singing the female background vocals.

Shortly after this critically acclaimed performance, Orbison joined Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty in the Travelling Wilburys to substantial commercial and critical success. He subsequently recorded a new solo album, Mystery Girl, produced by U2's Bono (who copies Orbison's trademark dark glasses). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the induction speech made by his devout follower Bruce Springsteen.

Roy Orbison's life was filled with personal tragedies. His wife Claudette (Frady), died in a 1966 motorcycle accident. Two years later, the family home at Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee burned to the ground and his two young sons, Anthony and Roy Jr., lost their lives in the fire. These tragedies profoundly impacted his life but after a few years he would continue to play to loyal audiences all across the globe. Tragedy would strike again, when, in 1973, Orbison’s elder brother and his only sibling, Grady Lee Orbison, died in a motor vehicle accident while driving to visit Roy at his home.

At age 52, Roy Orbison died of a heart attack while visting at his mother's home in Nashville, Tennessee on December 6, 1988 before his last album Mystery Girl could be released. Both the album and the single from it, "You Got It", were hits, and are generally regarded as Orbison's best work since his success of the 1950s and 1960s. In 1992, the popular "I Drove All Night" and "Heartbreak Radio" appeared on the posthumous album, King Of Hearts, produced by Jeff Lynne.

He was also well known in the much smaller world of radio-controlled model airplanes as a champion modeler and flier.

Roy Orbison is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.

Chris Isaak, a successful performer of blues-rock from the 1980s and 1990s, was a fan who opened for Orbison on some of his tours. Isaak is noted for the uncanny resemblance of his singing voice to Orbison's.

Discography

A list of some of his most popular hit singles:

  • "Ooby Dooby" -- 1956
  • "Uptown" -- 1960
  • "Only The Lonely" -- 1960
  • "Blue Angel" -- 1960
  • "Running Scared" -- 1961
  • "Crying" -- 1961
  • "Candy Man" -- 1961
  • "Dream Baby" -- 1962
  • "Leah" --1962
  • "Working For The Man" -- 1962
  • "In Dreams" -- 1963
  • "Falling" -- 1963
  • "Blue Bayou" -- 1963
  • "Pretty Paper" -- 1963
  • "Mean Woman Blues" -- 1963
  • "It's Over" -- 1964
  • "Oh, Pretty Woman" -- 1964
  • "What’d I Say" -- 1964
  • "Ride Away" -- 1965
  • "Crawling Back" -- 1965
  • "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again" -- 1980 (Duet with Emmylou Harris)
  • "You Got It" -- 1989

Discography for Orbison connoisseurs: (Please add your own obscure personal favorite)

  • "Love Hurts" -- 1962
  • "Distant Drums" -- 1963
  • "Sleepy Hollow" -- 1965
  • "Lana" -- 1966
  • "Communication Breakdown" -- 1966
  • "Cry Softly, Lonely One" -- 1967
  • "Walk On" -- 1968
  • "Penny Arcade" -- 1969
  • "Harlem Woman" -- 1972
  • "Indian Summer" -- with Larry Gatlin
  • "Not Alone Anymore" -- 1988 (Travelling Wilburys)
  • "Real World" -- 1989 (the answer to "In Dreams" written with Will Jennings)
  • "A Love So Beautiful" -- 1989
  • "Careless Heart" -- 1989
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