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Roy Orbison
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Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were in the early 1960s and the late 1980s. Many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male performers projected strength. He performed with minimal motion and in black clothes, matching his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses.
Born in Texas, Orbison began singing in a country-and-western band as a teenager. He was signed by Sam Phillips of Sun Records in 1956 after being urged by Johnny Cash. Elvis was leaving Sun and Phillips was looking to replace him. His first Sun recording, "Ooby Dooby", was a direct musical sound-a-like of Elvis's early Sun recordings. He had some success at Sun, but enjoyed his greatest success with Monument Records. From 1960 to 1966, 22 of Orbison's singles reached the Billboard top 40. He wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own top-10 hits, including "Only the Lonely" (1960), "Running Scared" (1961), "Crying" (1961), "In Dreams" (1963), "Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964), "I Drove All Night" (1987), "She's a Mystery to Me" (1988), "You Got It" (1988), and "California Blue" (1988).
After the mid-1960s, Orbison suffered a number of personal tragedies, and his career faltered. He experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s, following the success of several cover versions of his songs. In 1988, he co-founded the Traveling Wilburys supergroup with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. Orbison died of a heart attack that December at age 52. One month later, his song "You Got It" (1989) was released as a solo single, becoming his first hit to reach the top 10 in both the US and UK in nearly 25 years.
Orbison's honors include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and five other Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone placed him at number 37 on its list of the "Greatest Artists of All Time" and number 13 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2002, Billboard magazine listed him at number 74 on its list of the Top 600 recording artists.
Orbison was born on April 23, 1936, in Vernon, Texas. He was the second of three sons born to Orbie Lee Orbison (1913–1984) and Nadine Vesta Shults (1914–1992). His father was an oil-field driller, who struggled to find work after the Great Depression, and his mother enjoyed painting and writing poetry. His direct paternal ancestry was traced to Thomas Orbison (born 1715) from Lurgan, Ireland who settled in the Province of Pennsylvania in the middle of the 18th century. According to The Authorized Roy Orbison, a biography written by Orbison's son Alex, the family moved to Fort Worth in 1942 to find work in the aircraft factories. Due to eyesight problems, Roy Orbison wore thick glasses from the age of four.
Orbison's father gave him a guitar on his sixth birthday, and he was taught how to play it by his father and older brother. He recalled, "I was finished, you know, for anything else" by the time he was seven, and music became the focus of his life. His major musical influence as a youth was country and western swing music. He was particularly moved by Lefty Frizzell's singing, with its slurred syllables, leading Orbison to adopt the stage name "Lefty Wilbury" during his time with the Traveling Wilburys. He also enjoyed Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Moon Mullican, and Jimmie Rodgers. One of the first musicians that he heard in person was Ernest Tubb, playing on the back of a truck in Fort Worth. Orbison also said that a formative experience was the regular singing sessions at Fort Worth, where he was surrounded by soldiers who were intensely emotional because they were about to be sent to the front line in World War II. In West Texas, he was exposed to rhythm and blues, western swing, Tex-Mex (Tejano music), the orchestral arrangements of Mantovani, and Cajun music. The Cajun favorite "Jole Blon" was one of the first songs that he sang in public. He began singing on a local radio show at age eight, and he became the show's host by the late 1940s. At the age of nine, Orbison won a contest on radio station KVWC, which led to his own radio show, on which he sang the same songs every week. He attended Denver Avenue Elementary School in Fort Worth until a polio scare in 1944 prompted his parents to send Orbison (then eight) and his brother Grady Lee to Vernon to live with their grandmother. As World War II wound down, Roy's parents returned to Vernon.
The Orbison family moved again in 1946, to Wink, Texas, in search of employment. Orbison described life in Wink as "football, oil fields, oil, grease, and sand" and expressed relief that he was able to leave the desolate town. He was self-conscious about his appearance and began dyeing his nearly white hair black when he was still young. He was quiet, self-effacing, polite, and obliging. During recess at school, he played guitar by himself while the other kids were playing physical games. As a teenager, Orbison's lack of sporting ability left him with shyness and low self-esteem. He was always keen to sing, however, and considered his voice memorable, but not great.
In 1949, Orbison (then 13 years old) formed the band "Wink Westerners" with school friends Billy Pat Ellis on drums, Slob Evans on bass fiddle, Richard West on piano, and James Morrow on electric mandolin. They played country and western swing standards and Glenn Miller jazz swing songs at local honky-tonk bars, and had a weekly morning radio show on KERB in Kermit, Texas. Their first performance was at a school assembly in 1953. They were offered $400 to play at a dance, and Orbison realized that he could make a living in music. Orbison was also part of a marching band and a singing octet. At the age of 15, he decided that instead of becoming a guitar player, he would use the guitar as an accompaniment to his singing.
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Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were in the early 1960s and the late 1980s. Many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male performers projected strength. He performed with minimal motion and in black clothes, matching his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses.
Born in Texas, Orbison began singing in a country-and-western band as a teenager. He was signed by Sam Phillips of Sun Records in 1956 after being urged by Johnny Cash. Elvis was leaving Sun and Phillips was looking to replace him. His first Sun recording, "Ooby Dooby", was a direct musical sound-a-like of Elvis's early Sun recordings. He had some success at Sun, but enjoyed his greatest success with Monument Records. From 1960 to 1966, 22 of Orbison's singles reached the Billboard top 40. He wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own top-10 hits, including "Only the Lonely" (1960), "Running Scared" (1961), "Crying" (1961), "In Dreams" (1963), "Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964), "I Drove All Night" (1987), "She's a Mystery to Me" (1988), "You Got It" (1988), and "California Blue" (1988).
After the mid-1960s, Orbison suffered a number of personal tragedies, and his career faltered. He experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s, following the success of several cover versions of his songs. In 1988, he co-founded the Traveling Wilburys supergroup with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. Orbison died of a heart attack that December at age 52. One month later, his song "You Got It" (1989) was released as a solo single, becoming his first hit to reach the top 10 in both the US and UK in nearly 25 years.
Orbison's honors include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and five other Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone placed him at number 37 on its list of the "Greatest Artists of All Time" and number 13 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2002, Billboard magazine listed him at number 74 on its list of the Top 600 recording artists.
Orbison was born on April 23, 1936, in Vernon, Texas. He was the second of three sons born to Orbie Lee Orbison (1913–1984) and Nadine Vesta Shults (1914–1992). His father was an oil-field driller, who struggled to find work after the Great Depression, and his mother enjoyed painting and writing poetry. His direct paternal ancestry was traced to Thomas Orbison (born 1715) from Lurgan, Ireland who settled in the Province of Pennsylvania in the middle of the 18th century. According to The Authorized Roy Orbison, a biography written by Orbison's son Alex, the family moved to Fort Worth in 1942 to find work in the aircraft factories. Due to eyesight problems, Roy Orbison wore thick glasses from the age of four.
Orbison's father gave him a guitar on his sixth birthday, and he was taught how to play it by his father and older brother. He recalled, "I was finished, you know, for anything else" by the time he was seven, and music became the focus of his life. His major musical influence as a youth was country and western swing music. He was particularly moved by Lefty Frizzell's singing, with its slurred syllables, leading Orbison to adopt the stage name "Lefty Wilbury" during his time with the Traveling Wilburys. He also enjoyed Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Moon Mullican, and Jimmie Rodgers. One of the first musicians that he heard in person was Ernest Tubb, playing on the back of a truck in Fort Worth. Orbison also said that a formative experience was the regular singing sessions at Fort Worth, where he was surrounded by soldiers who were intensely emotional because they were about to be sent to the front line in World War II. In West Texas, he was exposed to rhythm and blues, western swing, Tex-Mex (Tejano music), the orchestral arrangements of Mantovani, and Cajun music. The Cajun favorite "Jole Blon" was one of the first songs that he sang in public. He began singing on a local radio show at age eight, and he became the show's host by the late 1940s. At the age of nine, Orbison won a contest on radio station KVWC, which led to his own radio show, on which he sang the same songs every week. He attended Denver Avenue Elementary School in Fort Worth until a polio scare in 1944 prompted his parents to send Orbison (then eight) and his brother Grady Lee to Vernon to live with their grandmother. As World War II wound down, Roy's parents returned to Vernon.
The Orbison family moved again in 1946, to Wink, Texas, in search of employment. Orbison described life in Wink as "football, oil fields, oil, grease, and sand" and expressed relief that he was able to leave the desolate town. He was self-conscious about his appearance and began dyeing his nearly white hair black when he was still young. He was quiet, self-effacing, polite, and obliging. During recess at school, he played guitar by himself while the other kids were playing physical games. As a teenager, Orbison's lack of sporting ability left him with shyness and low self-esteem. He was always keen to sing, however, and considered his voice memorable, but not great.
In 1949, Orbison (then 13 years old) formed the band "Wink Westerners" with school friends Billy Pat Ellis on drums, Slob Evans on bass fiddle, Richard West on piano, and James Morrow on electric mandolin. They played country and western swing standards and Glenn Miller jazz swing songs at local honky-tonk bars, and had a weekly morning radio show on KERB in Kermit, Texas. Their first performance was at a school assembly in 1953. They were offered $400 to play at a dance, and Orbison realized that he could make a living in music. Orbison was also part of a marching band and a singing octet. At the age of 15, he decided that instead of becoming a guitar player, he would use the guitar as an accompaniment to his singing.
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