Roy Orbison

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23 1936 – December 6 1988), nicknamed "The Big O", was an influential American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll music. His recording career spanned more than four decades, at its peak in the early 1960's. Orbison is internationally recognized for his ballads of lost love, rhythmically advanced melodies, characteristic dark sunglasses, and occasional distinctive usage of falsetto. In 1987 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and posthumously in 1989 into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Biography

Early life and career

Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, second son to Nadine and Orbie Lee. After moving to Fort Worth around 1943 to find work in the munitions and aircraft factories which had expanded due to the second World War, the family moved to the West Texas oil town of Wink in late 1946.

Music was an important part of his family life and in 1949 when he was just thirteen years of age Roy organized his first band, "The Wink Westerners". During this time Roy developed his vocal skills, guitar playing, and songwriting ability. Soon, the band began to appear weekly on KERB radio in Kermit, Texas.

In 1954 Orbison graduated from Wink High School and went on to attend North Texas State College in Denton, Texas for a year before enrolling at Odessa Junior College in 1955. By this time, the Wink Westerners were enjoying some success on local television, being given 30 minute weekly shows on KMID and then KOSA. One guest on their show was Johnny Cash, who advised them to seek a contract with his record producer, Sam Phillips, of Sun Records. Phillips, who at the time was also producing music for Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley, would eventually add the Wink Westerners to his roster, changing their name to "The Teen Kings". Orbison then left college in March of 1956, determined to pursue a career in music.

Phillips felt that Roy had more potential as a solo artist than he and his friends did as a group. His first commercial success was achieved in June 1956 with "Ooby Dooby", which was written by his former bandmates. Soon after, his song "Claudette" was recorded by the Everly Brothers as the B-side to their Number 1 hit "All I Have To Do Is Dream". At this point, Orbison entered a rough patch, working first at Acuff-Rose Music in Nashville as a songwriter and then for a brief period at RCA. Although working in the field he loved, Oribison's dream extended far beyond writing songs for other musicians.

Breakthrough

Roy's big break came in 1957 when he met songwriter Joe Melson in Odessa, Texas. After hearing a song Joe had written entitled "Raindrops", Roy suggested that the two of them become writing partners. Together, they created a sound unheard of in rock and roll at the time: the dramatic rock ballad. In 1959, Roy moved to Fred Foster's Monument Records where they were given full support by Foster to develop their vision.

Roy's first record, "Uptown", was moderately successful, but it was with the release of "Only The Lonely" and its immediate rise to the top of the charts (#2 in the US, #1 in the UK) that he went on to become an international rock and roll star. His follow-up single, "Running Scared" became a US #1 and from there Roy would enjoy five years on top with other such hits as, "Crying" (1961), "Dream Baby" (1962), "In Dreams" (1963), and "Oh, Pretty Woman (1964)."

In 1963 he headlined a European tour with The Beatles, who had not quite yet emerged to their superstar status at the time. Roy would become lifelong friends with the band, especially John Lennon and George Harrison. Orbison would later record with Harrison in the Traveling Wilburys. During their tour of Europe, Orbison encouraged the Beatles to come to the United States. When they decided to tour America, they asked Orbison to manage their tour, but his schedule forced him to decline what was to become the start of Beatlemania.

Unlike many artists, Orbison maintained his success as the British Invasion swept America in 1964. His single "Oh, Pretty Woman" broke the Beatles' stranglehold on the Top 10, soaring to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. The record sold more copies in its first ten days of release than any 45rpm up to that time, and would go on to sell seven million copies in all.

In 1964, Roy toured with The Beach Boys, and then in 1965 with The Rolling Stones in Australia. After his tour with the Stones, Orbison signed a contract with MGM Records, and starred in the MGM-produced western-musical motion picture The Fastest Guitar Alive in which he performed several songs from an album of the same name.

Decline in Popularity

With MGM, Orbison would have only moderate success, with a string of Top 100 hits in the U.S., none of which made it into the Top Ten. And after 1967, due to changes in popular musical taste, Roy would have difficulty breaking even the American Top 100, though he continued to record music steadily through the 1970's.

He also had problems in his personal life during this time, first with the death of his wife Claudette (Frady) in a motorcycle accident on June 6, 1966. Then, in September of 1968, the family home at Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee burned to the ground while Orbison was touring in England. Two of his three sons, Roy Jr. (b. 1958) and Anthony (b. 1962), died in the fire. His youngest son Wesley, three at the time, was saved by Orbison's parents.

He met his second wife Barbara in August 1968 in Leeds, England. They were married in Nashville on May 25, 1969.

Songs that had limited success in North America, such as "Penny Arcade" and "Working for the Man," would go to Number 1 on the Australian charts, and "Too Soon to Know" was Number 3 in England. His popularity extended to Germany, and he recorded his hit song "Mama" in German. His records were in great demand on the "black market" behind the Iron Curtain. In France, he was viewed as the master of the ballad of lost love in the vein of that country's most popular singer Édith Piaf. A cover version of Orbison's "Blue Bayou" sung in French by Mireille Mathieu went to the top of France's record charts. Fans in the Netherlands founded his largest world-wide fan club. He continued to perform in Ireland, despite the constant terrorist activities in Northern Ireland. A rendition of the popular ballad "Danny Boy" on the 1972 Memphis album is considered one of the best recordings ever made of this much-recorded song.

His contract with MGM ended in 1973 and he signed with Mercury Records. He re-signed with Monument in 1976, but his career languished until the late 1980s.

Resurgence in the 1980s

In 1980 Orbison teamed with Emmylou Harris to win the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for their song "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again." In 1985 Orbison recorded Wild Hearts for the Nic Roeg film Insignificance, released on the ZTT Records label, produced by David Briggs and Will Jennings. The inclusion of "In Dreams" in the 1986 David Lynch film Blue Velvet also aided Orbison's return to popularity. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, with the induction speech made by Bruce Springsteen (who had famously referenced Orbison and "Only the Lonely" in his 1975 song "Thunder Road"). His pioneering contribution was also recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Having signed a recording contract for the first time in 10 years, with Virgin Records, he re-recorded his 1961 hit song, "Crying," as a duet with k.d. lang in 1987 for the soundtrack of the motion picture, "Hiding Out". The song would earn the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night, a black and white Cinemax television special recorded at the Coconut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in 1988, brought Orbison to the attention of a younger generation. Orbison was accompanied by a who's-who supporting cast organized by musical director T-Bone Burnett. All were fans and all were volunteers who lobbied to participate. On piano was Glen Hardin, who played for Buddy Holly as well as Elvis Presley for several years. Lead guitarist James Burton had also played with Presley. Male background vocals, with some also playing the guitar, came from Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, and Steven Soles. k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, and Bonnie Raitt provided female background vocals.

Shortly after this critically acclaimed performance, whilst working with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra on tracks for a new album, Orbison joined Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty to form the Traveling Wilburys, achieving substantial commercial and critical success. He subsequently recorded a new solo album, Mystery Girl, produced by Orbison, Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers), and Jeff Lynne. It included one track by U2's Bono (who also wears trademark dark glasses and co-wrote the track She's A Mystery to Me with the Edge specifically for Orbison). At an awards ceremony in Antwerp a few days before his death, Roy Orbison gave his only public rendition of the hit "You Got It" to the applause of a huge crowd.

Death

Orbison smoked most of his life, and had triple heart bypass surgery on January 18, 1978. On December 6, 1988, at the age of 52, he suffered a fatal heart attack while visiting his mother in the Nashville, Tennessee suburb of Hendersonville. At the direction of his wife Barbara, Orbison was interred at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California on December 15, 1988. His two sons and their mother Claudette, who predeceased him, had been laid to rest at his request in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee.

His new album, Mystery Girl, and the single from it, "You Got It" were posthumous hits, and are generally regarded as Orbison's best work since the 1960s. He was the posthumous winner of the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and in 1992 the popular "I Drove All Night" and "Heartbreak Radio" appeared on the posthumous album, King of Hearts, produced by Jeff Lynne.

Legacy

Orbison is best remembered for his ballads of lost love, and in the music community he is revered for his song writing ability. Record producer and Orbison fan Don Was, commenting on Orbison's writing skills, said: "He defied the rules of modern composition." Writer of many lyrics for Elton John, Bernie Taupin and others referred to Orbison 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 (three octaves), and his songs were melodically and rhythmically advanced and lyrically sophisticated, often incorporating the bolero form. Three songs written and recorded by Orbison, "Only The Lonely," "Oh, Pretty Woman," and "Crying," are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone named those three songs plus "In Dreams" on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." In 1989 he was inducted posthumously into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame.

From the stage in Las Vegas in 1976, Elvis Presley called Orbison "the greatest singer in the world" , and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees referred to him 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 with him and co-writing "Wild Hearts." Bob Dylan, later a band mate of Orbison's in the Traveling Wilburys, wrote "Orbison … transcended all the genres. … With Roy, you didn't know if you were listening to mariachi or opera. He kept you on your toes. … [He sang] his compositions in three or four octaves that made you want to drive your car over a cliff. He sang like a professional criminal. … His voice could jar a corpse, always leave you muttering to yourself something like, 'Man, I don't believe it.' His songs had songs within songs. Orbison was deadly serious–no pollywog and no fledgling juvenile. There wasn't anything else on the radio like him."

The seminal punk band The Ramones adapted some of his ballad style, as well as dress style.

In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #37 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2006, Roy was remembered with a new book that fans from around the world came together and wrote with main author Chris O'Neil, the book titled "Straight From Our Hearts" was a very successful hit among fans on both sides of the Atlantic and even Barbara Orbison has asked for a copy to keep at the Orbison office located in Nashville. The book was a series of stories from fans how Roy impacted their lives and many many tributes were also contained in the book. On December 7th the announcement that a second volume of the book would be published with help of fans again and is set to be released for Roy's 20th anniversary of his passing in 2008. Along with the book, The Essential Roy Orbison cd collection was released to huge fan praise, the cd contained many many rare songs including "Life Fades Away", the song until 2006 was only available on the long out of print soundtrack to "Less Than Zero". The collection charted into the top ten in seven countries and has opened the door to upcoming releases of unreleased material that so many fans have been longing for.

They say that there is also as much bootlegged stuff as there is public stuff for the fans to collect and enjoy. One such concert is the Country Club concert from 1981, which was at the time to be Roy's huge comeback concert for TV. The concert has yet to see the light of day in an official release, as does the many many concerts and rare recordings that fans have had among them for years.

Misconceptions

Two misconceptions about Orbison's appearance continue to surface: that he was an albino, and that he wore his trademark dark glasses because he was blind or nearly so. Neither is correct, though his poor vision required him to wear thick corrective lenses. From childhood he suffered from a combination of hyperopia, severe astigmatism, anisometropia, and strabismus.^{[citation needed]} Orbison's trademark sunglasses were a fashion statement arising from an incident early in his career. Orbison had left his regular glasses in an airplane. Due to go onstage in a few minutes and unable to see without corrective lenses, his only other pair of glasses were dark prescription sunglasses. "I had to see to get onstage", so he wore the glasses throughout his tour of England with the Beatles in 1963, and he continued the practice for the remainder of his professional career. "I'll just do this and look cool." However, Orbison once said in an interview that he wore his glasses on a plane because the sun was bright and forgot he was wearing them, especially while on stage. Shortly after he finished performing, he looked in the mirror and noticed he had not taken his glasses off, so he laughed about it and continued to wear them for the rest of his career.^{[citation needed]}

Trivia

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• Toured with both Elvis Presley and the The Beatles early in their careers.
• According to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame [1], at a press conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sam Orbison said that his brother Roy Orbison was always "saddened by the sordid treatment of Elvis Presley in the aftermath of his death in 1977."
• Was good friends with k.d. Lang. Lang lent her vocals in a remake of the 1961 classic, "Crying".
• The well-known Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus is supposedly based on Orbison, especially his thick glasses and multiple vision disorders.
• He was well known in the smaller world of radio controlled model aircraft as a champion modeler and flier.
• His song "In Dreams" was used extensively in the David Lynch film Blue Velvet, and Lynch would later feature a bravura Spanish unaccompanied solo version of "Crying" ("Llorando") by Rebekah del Rio in his film, Mulholland Drive.
• His early Sun side, "Domino", was used repeatedly in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train.
• Orbison was portrayed by Johnathan Rice in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line.
• The character Roy Koopa from Super Mario Bros. 3 was named after Roy Orbison.
• In the Adam Sandler film The Waterboy Coach Klein (Henry Winkler) has a tattoo of Orbison on his rear end.
• Van Halen covered "Oh, Pretty Woman" on their Diver Down album.
• Orbison performed "Oh, Pretty Woman" in the Season 3 Dukes of Hazzard episode "The Great Hazzard Hijack".
• "Ooby Dooby" is featured as the favorite song of Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact.
• Australian Idol Contestant Damien Leith sang his own version of "Crying" at the 2006 season's 'audience choice' night. He was apparently contacted by Orbison's family, who wanted a copy of Leith's version.

Discography

• Roy Orbison discography

See also

• Official Website
• Video and televised feature performances:
  • Roy Orbison - Live from Australia - 1972
  • Roy Orbison - Live at Austin City Limits - 1982
  • Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night - 1987
  • In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story - 1999

http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/orbison_roy/artist.jhtml CMT's tribute to Roy, also contains in the Video section, some extreme rare music video and concert footage which includes all the songs he did at the Diamond Awards ceremony on Nov. 19th 1988, just weeks before he passed., including "Walk On" and "Heartbreak Radio".

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Colin Escott, Roadkill on the Three-Chord Highway. Routledge, 2002. ISBN 0-415-93783-3 — has a chapter devoted to Orbison.
• Biography from the official website
• Biography from the Songwriters Hall of Fame
• Biography from the hotshotdigital.com