Roy Orbison

Singer-Songwriter

• Born: April 23, 1936
• Birthplace: Vernon, Texas
• Died: December 6, 1988
• Place of death: Hendersonville, Tennessee

American rock/pop singer, guitarist, and songwriter

A musical star of international proportions, Orbison demonstrated an amazing range, both in his powerful, distinctive singing voice spanning four octaves, and in the versatility of his compositional styles, encompassing country, rockabilly, blues, and rock and roll.

Member of The Traveling Wilburys

The Life

Born on April 23, 1936, in Vernon, Texas, Roy Kelton Orbison (OR-bih-suhn) was the second of three sons of manual laborer Orbie Lee Orbison and Nadine, a nurse. As a child, Orbison was diagnosed with astigmatism and other vision problems that necessitated the prescription of thick-lens glasses. On his sixth birthday, Roy received a guitar as a present and—with assistance from his father—quickly learned to play and sing.

In 1942 the Orbisons moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where Orbie Lee worked at a munitions plant. In 1945 Orbison won a singing contest and at age nine had his own locally broadcast radio singing show. In 1946 the Orbison family moved to Wink, Texas. There, at age thirteen, Roy formed the band the Wink Westerners, which by 1951 had begun performing country and popular standards on local radio stations. As a teen, he held a number of part-time jobs, including a stint as an oil-field worker.

After graduating from high school in 1954, Orbison briefly attended North Texas State College, meanwhile continuing to perform with his band on radio and at live events. The following year, Orbison attended Odessa Junior College, majoring in history and English, but soon dropped out. His band, rechristened the Teen Kings to reflect a new focus on rock and roll, began recording and in 1956 signed with Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. Their “Ooby Dooby” enjoyed a modest success before the band broke up later that year.

In 1957 Orbison married Claudette Frady, who would give birth to three sons. The next year he scored a major triumph when the Everly Brothers recorded Orbison’s paean to his wife, “Claudette.” The recognition, fueled by covers of his songs by Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ricky Nelson, launched a succession of original Top 40 hits featuring Orbison’s ethereal vocals, beginning with “Only the Lonely” and culminating with “Oh, Pretty Woman.” A sensation particularly in Europe, Orbison toured England to great acclaim with the Beatles in 1963 (when he adopted his trademark dark glasses and dark clothing). He later toured Australia, receiving similar enthusiasm, with the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones.

At the height of his popularity, Orbison endured successive personal tragedies that greatly affected his creative output, drove him to addiction to painkillers and amphetamines, and caused him to fade into obscurity in the United States for more than a decade. In 1966 his wife Claudette was killed in a traffic accident. In 1968 a fire at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, claimed the lives of two of his young sons (Roy, Jr., and Anthony). In 1969 Orbison married a German woman, Barbara Anne Marie Wilhonnen Jacobs, who would give birth to two children. Orbison continued to write and perform and, though remaining popular abroad, had no major American hits. In 1978 he had triple-bypass surgery to correct damage wrought by years of cigarette smoking, improper nutrition, and stress.

An Orbison revival began in the early 1980’s when a number of popular singers did covers of the composer’s best-known tunes. Several of his songs were featured in movies, boosting him into national consciousness again. By the late 1980’s the domestic resurrection of Orbison’s career was in full swing: He won Grammy Awards and other honors, starred in a live television special, and embarked on a tour with a new group called the Traveling Wilburys. More popular than ever, he suffered a fatal heart attack on December 6, 1988, while visiting his mother in Tennessee.

The Music

Just another country-western performer when he and his first band, the Wink Westerners, debuted in the late 1940’s, Orbison nonetheless distinguished himself with a clear, penetrating bel canto tenor voice capable of sustaining clean falsetto notes and an emotional tremolo.

By the early 1950’s Orbison had transitioned to rockabilly, in the manner of Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, and shortly thereafter became a pioneer of the new music that swept the nation during the decade: rock and roll. Orbison and his band (redubbed the Teen Kings) initially came to the notice of the listening public with their 1956 recording of the rock-flavored “Ooby Dooby,” which hit number fifty-nine on national charts.

Collaborations with Melson. A key event in Orbison’s career occurred in 1957, when he met singer-songwriter and fellow Texan Joe Melson, author of a popular tune called “Raindrops” that featured innovative melodic breaks and evocative lyrics. The two men hit it off and began a musical collaboration—they would ultimately write more than 120 works together—that resulted in some of Orbison’s most popular songs, particularly during the years 1959-1964, when the singer was signed with Monument Records. In that period the Orbison style was established through songs that were highly creative in terms of structure and orchestration. Orbison oversaw production of his recordings, experimenting with different instrumental combinations, rhythms and tempi—moving effortlessly across a spectrum of genres that ranged from easy listening to blues to fairly hard rock—in order to take full advantage of his unique and instantly recognizable voice.

Chart-Topping Ballads. Singles culled from such Monument Records albums as Lonely and Blue, Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits, Early Orbison, More of Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits, and Orbisongs produced more than a dozen chart-toppers. Included among these were Orbison’s first signature ballad, “Only the Lonely,” as well as “Blue Angel,” “I’m Hurtin’,” “Running Scared,” “Crying,” “Candy Man,” “Dream Baby,” “Working for the Man,” “Leah,” “In Dreams,” “Falling,” and “It’s Over.” Orbison’s final smash for Monument Records, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” was his biggest hit, selling more than seven million records and rising to the top spot on charts worldwide.

“Only the Lonely.”One of the first Orbison-Melson collaborations, “Only the Lonely,” introduced a brand-new musical genre: the melodramatic rock ballad. A seeming throwback to the doo-wop style of the early 1950’s (featuring rhythmic, meaningless syllables sung by backup vocalist Joe Melson), “Only the Lonely” begins with a gentle, rolling beat established through the traditional, simple accompaniment of guitar, bass, piano, and drums (provided by the backup band, the Candymen) beneath Orbison’s controlled voice. However, the song, unusual for its time, soon adds sweeping massed orchestral violins (as opposed to fiddles)—building tension that foreshadowed Phil Spector’s “wall of sound”—and the increasingly insistent music pauses to permit Orbison’s voice to soar operatically in aria-like passages showcasing his vocal range and bell-like clarity. “Only the Lonely” peaked at number two on American charts and hit number one in England.

“In Dreams.”The quintessential Orbison ballad, written by the artist in 1963 without collaboration, shows the singer-songwriter at the apex of his compositional and vocal powers. Combining nostalgic, almost childlike lyrics with a lilting melody carried by guitar, drums, bass, and violin accents, the song tells a poignant tale: The singer possesses his lover in his nightly visions but upon awakening remembers that she has left him. “In Dreams” demonstrates Orbison’s incredible singing range, from his baritone in the opening passage to his soaring, impossibly high falsetto in the final stanza.

“Oh, Pretty Woman.”Orbison’s biggest seller and arguably his best-known song, “Oh, Pretty Woman,” was cowritten with another Texan, Bill Dees. A departure from the typical slow ballad for which Orbison was recognized, the song opens with a driving drumbeat that is picked up by a single guitar playing a catchy eight-note motif. Reinforced by bass and a honky-tonk piano, and underscored by the singer’s wolfish growl but lacking his usual vocal pyrotechnics, “Oh, Pretty Woman” celebrates the universal male appreciation of feminine pulchritude. Unlike many of Orbison’s other works of lost love, the song also carries hope: The titular woman, after passing by, returns, bringing with her all the possibilities the singer wished for.

The Fastest Guitar Alive.Success brought large rewards, in the form of a lucrative contract with a major label, MGM Records. While financial stability was welcome, the singer was obligated to record and release songs on a regular basis and was unable to exercise the tight creative control he had enjoyed with the smaller Monument Records label. As a result, his reputation as a hit maker suffered. Though MGM Records put out more than fifteen Orbison albums between 1965 and 1973—including The Fastest Guitar Alive to capitalize on the singer’s sole film appearance in the 1968 movie of the same name—only his first single for the company, “Ride Away,” attracted notice on the Top 40 charts, and he was eventually released from his contract.

1980’s Comeback. The prolific Orbison continued to toil with minimal success throughout the 1970’s, releasing albums with Mercury Records (I’m Still in Love with You), Candlelite Records (The Living Legend of Roy Orbison, Asylum (the disco-flavored Laminar Flow), and Warner Bros. Records (the sound track to the movie Roadie).

His American comeback began with a Grammy Award-winning duet with Emmylou Harris on “That Lovin’ You Feelin’ Again.” The acclaim built, thanks to renditions of Orbison songs released by contemporary pop stars Linda Ronstadt (“Blue Bayou”), Van Halen (“Oh, Pretty Woman”), and Don McLean (“Crying”). Orbison’s audio-video duet with K. D. Lang on “Crying” produced yet another Grammy Award. The David Lynch movie Blue Velvet added to Orbison’s legend by featuring “In Dreams.” His musical career was capped by his performance with the Traveling Wilburys (with George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan)—from which several hits emerged—and with the release of his posthumous certified-platinum album, Mystery Girl, which contained two songs that charted well, “You Got It” and “She’s a Mystery to Me.”

Musical Legacy

Orbison’s musical legacy, born a half-century ago, continues to reverberate long after his death. Inventor of the dramatic rock ballad, he is best remembered and most emulated for his impassioned tunes about longing and loneliness, love and loss. Later performers have adopted aspects of his appearance, including the Ramones (who wore dark clothing), U2’s Bono (who wears sunglasses at night), and Chris Isaak, whose subject matter and vocal style resemble Orbison’s.

Recognition of Orbison’s contributions were bestowed, both while he lived and posthumously, in the form of multiple gold or platinum records, several Grammy Awards, and other honors, such as induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award. A DVD of a live 1988 television show, “Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night,” was a best seller. Orbison’s “Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” and “Oh, Pretty Woman” are enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2004 those three songs and “In Dreams” were named among the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Hits of All Time.

Orbison’s widow, Barbara, as manager of his estate, would promote her late husband’s legend after his death via the Orbison Records label. By periodically issuing previously unreleased material from his oeuvre, she has introduced a new generation of fans to Orbison’s unparalleled, one-of-a-kind talents.

Principal Recordings

albums:Lonely and Blue, 1961; Crying, 1962; In Dreams, 1963; Exciting Sounds, 1964; Oh Pretty Woman, 1964; Special Delivery, 1964; There Is Only One, 1965; The Orbison Way, 1966; Orbisongs, 1966; Cry Softly Lonely One, 1967; Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson, 1967; The Fastest Guitar Alive, 1968; Roy Orbison’s Many Moods, 1969; The Big O, 1970; Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way, 1971; Roy Orbison Sings, 1972; Memphis, 1973; I’m Still in Love with You, 1974; Milestones, 1974; Regeneration, 1976; Laminar Flow, 1979; Class of ’55 (Memphis Rock and Roll Homecoming), 1986 (with Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins); The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1, 1988; Mystery Girl, 1989.

Bibliography

Amburn, Ellis. Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story. Los Angeles: Knightsbridge, 1992. Well-researched account of the singer’s life, with significant contributions from Orbison’s friends, family, and fellow performers.

Clayson, Alan. Only the Lonely: The Life and Artistic Legacy of Roy Orbison. Sydney, N.S.W.: Macmillan, 1989. A straightforward biography of Orbison, with numerous photographs.

Escott, Colin. Roadkill on the Three-Chord Highway: Art and Trash in American Popular Music. London: Routledge, 2002. An expert on rockabilly examines the lives of early rock-and-roll pioneers, including Orbison.

Escott, Colin, and Martin Hawkins. Good Rockin’ Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock ’n’ Roll. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1992. A history, in words and photographs, of Sun Records, where Presley, Lewis, Orbison, and others pioneered the sound that evolved into rock and roll.

Lehman, Peter. Roy Orbison: Invention of an Alternative Masculinity. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple University Press, 2003. This is an exploration of the concept of masculinity, as shown in the style of Orbison who, in dark clothing and sunglasses and immobile while performing, renounced the traditional image of a rock star.

Morrison, Craig. Go Cat Go! Rockabilly Music and Its Makers. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1998. The Canadian scholar and bandleader tells about the major stars—Presley, Lewis, Orbison—and minor heroes of the musical genre that spawned rock.