Carolyn and I have appreciated the work of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Roy Orbison, best known for his distinctive, operatic voice and emotionally evocative ballads, which include such hit songs as Oh, Pretty Woman and Blue Bayou. Orbison received many honors for his exceptional work, including multiple Grammy Awards, and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Roy Kelton Orbison was born in 1936 in Vernon, Texas. He was the second of three sons. Orbison’s father was an oil-field driller and auto mechanic, who also worked in defense building B-24 Liberator bombers during WWII. His mother enjoyed painting and writing poetry. As a child, Orbison had eyesight problems and he started wearing thick glasses at four years old.

In 1942, on Orbison’s sixth birthday, his parents gave him a guitar, and his father and older brother taught him how to play it. Orbison’s father showed him the chords to “You Are My Sunshine,” and he learned these first songs by the time he was seven. Within a year, music became the focus of Orbison’s life, and he won a local talent show when he was eight years old. At the age of 9, Orbison won a contest on radio station KVWC, which further led to his own radio show where he sang every week.

Around this time, Orbison’s family moved to Fort Worth, Texas. Orbison said that a formative experience in his childhood was the regular singing sessions that he attended at the nearby military base in Fort Worth where, as a young boy, Orbison would perform for the soldiers stationed there. These soldiers, who were intensely emotional because they were about to be sent to the front lines of World War II, were deeply moved by Orbison’s music. This experience profoundly influenced Orbison’s understanding of the emotional power of music and shaped his future songwriting and performing style.

As a youth Orbison’s primary musical influence came from listening to country and western swing music. In 1949, when Orbison was thirteen years old, he began singing in a rockabilly band called The Wink Westerners. Rockabilly is an early style of rock and roll music, that blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues.

In 1954, after graduating from high school, Orbison enrolled at North Texas State College in Denton. Orbison planned to study geology there to secure work in the oil fields if his music didn’t pay well enough. However, Orbison became bored with the coursework during his first year and preferred to play music with his fellow students, so he dropped out of college to pursue a music career.

Around this time, Orbison began performing at a local radio show called The Louisiana Hayride, which served as a platform for many aspiring musicians. It was here that Orbison met singer Johnny Cash, as they were both performing on the show. Cash liked Orbison’s music, and he arranged for a meeting between Orbison and Sun Records label founder Sam Phillips.

In 1956, Orbison signed a recording contract with Sun Records, after impressing Phillips with his songwriting talent and unique voice. This was a pivotal moment in Orbison’s life, as it was where he met and began working with other legendary figures in rock music, like Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. This experience not only exposed Orbison to the burgeoning rockabilly scene but also helped him refine his unique style, ultimately leading to his breakthrough hits and lasting influence on the music industry.

In 1960, Orbison moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue his music career more intensely and to be closer to the heart of the country’s music industry. In 1962, Orbison first met Bob Dylan and they formed a lifelong bond. Orbison switched his recording contract to Monument Records, and between 1960 and 1966, twenty-two of Orbison’s single songs reached the Billboard Top 40. Orbison wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own top 10 hits, including Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel), Crying, and Running Scared. These songs were primarily about themes of love, heartache, and longing, characterized by his powerful, emotive vocals and dramatic, orchestral arrangements.

For a song to reach the Billboard Top 40 means that it has achieved significant popularity and sales, ranking within the top 40 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. This chart is a widely recognized industry standard for measuring the success of singles in the United States, based on factors such as radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. Reaching the Top 40 is a notable accomplishment, indicating that the song is among the most popular and frequently played tracks in the country at that time.

At the height of his success, Orbison faced several personal tragedies that profoundly affected his life and career. In 1966, Orbison’s wife died in a motorcycle accident, and in 1968, a house fire claimed the lives of his two eldest sons. After these losses, Orbison experienced a quieter period in his career, although he continued touring and recording.

Despite these hardships, Orbison maintained a loyal fanbase and collaborated with various artists. He also made several television appearances and released albums that kept his distinctive voice and style in the public eye. Despite these devastating losses, Orbison persevered in his career, channeling his grief into his music and ultimately achieving a remarkable comeback years later.

In 1987, Orbison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 1988, Orbison co-founded The Traveling Wilburys, a band with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. Often referred to as a “supergroup,” due to its mega-star members, The Traveling Wilburys achieved significant commercial success and critical acclaim with their blend of rock and folk music, which was characterized by its collaborative spirit and hit songs like Handle with Care and End of the Line. Their debut album in 1988 placed Orbison in the Billboard Top Ten for the first time since 1964.

Orbison also recorded a new solo album, “Mystery Girl,” around this time, which is often considered to be his finest work in decades. Tragically, Orbison died of a heart attack that year in Hendersonville, Tennessee, at the age of 52. This was just a few weeks after the release of The Traveling Wilburys debut album. Mystery Girl was released posthumously in 1989, and it featured the hit single You Got It, which remained in the Billboard Top Ten for 18 weeks.

Orbison is remembered for his distinctive style, incredible vocal range, and carefully crafted ballads of loneliness, heartache, romantic yearning, and despair.

In 1989, Orbison was inducted into The National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and five other Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone magazine placed Orbison 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.

Some of the quotes that Roy Orbison is known for include:

I close my eyes, then I drift away, into the magic night I softly say. A silent prayer, like dreamers do, then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you.”

If you have faith, then your whole life is put in a new perspective. You get to work but enjoy the work at the same time. If you grow spiritually, you do what’s in front of you and let the results speak for themselves.

To be a songwriter-singer means the songs come from deep within, and you treat them as an artist, with that much respect. I couldn’t hardly cheat myself.

You wiggle to the left, you wiggle to the right, you do the Ooby Dooby with all your might.

My voice is a gift. My talent is a gift. The life process is a gift. The opportunity for the journey is a gift.

You set out to whip the world, and then when you get beat up a little bit… You turn your will over to God.

I’ve really learned a lot, really learned a lot, love is like a stove, burns you when it’s hot.

I may be a living legend, but that sure don’t help when I’ve got to change a flat tire.

by David Jay Brown