Elvis described him as the greatest singer at all – no praise from the King of Rock ‘N’ Roll personally. George Harrison described him as a “marble”. Roy Orbison was one of the big voices; Many legends like Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne looked up at him. Orbison itself saw itself as a songwriter – we take a look at the life and death of the great singer.
Roy Orbison: childhood and youth
Roy Kelton Orbison was born on April 23, 1936 in Vernon, Texas. His parents, Orbie Lee Orbison, a drilling worker in the oil industry, and Nadine Orbison, a nurse, recognized his musical talent early on. He was given a guitar for his sixth birthday. Orbison learned to play from his father and older brother.
In 1946 the family moved to Wink, Texas. In the small town of Texas, he founded his first band during his high school era: The Wink Westerners. Orbison pulled all the music he heard on the radio. Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Moon Mullican and Jimmie Rodgers were formative for him; Frizzell’s singing style was particularly impressed. The name Lefty was supposed to appear again with himself: in the Supergroup The Traveling Wilburys he was Lefty Wilbury.
Orbison heard rhythm & blues, Western Swing, Tex-Mex, Cajun music and orchestral music. He had his first appearance in a local radio show at the age of nine. He later took over the moderation of the show. At the age of nine, he also won a vocal competition at the radio station KVWC, whereupon he received his own weekly radio broadcast.
In the spring of 1955 Roy Orbison broke off his studies and founded the teen Kings after the dissolution of the Wink Westerners. During a performance, he met his future wife Claudette Frady. In 1956 the teen king “Ooby Dooby”, which initially appeared on Je-Wel Records. Orbison wanted to switch to a larger label and loosened from the contract. A demo for Columbia Records was rejected, but finally Sun Records recorded the song. It is controversial whether Johnny Cash Orbison advised himself to report to Sun; According to other reports, a record shop owner provided contact.
Musical successes
At the end of the 1950s, Orbison’s career picked up. After a short time at Sun Records, which was not successful, he signed in 1959 with Monument Records. Big hits soon followed there. Orbison celebrated great success with “Only the Lonely” (1960), “Crying” (1961) and “Oh, Pretty Woman” (1964). Everything was memorable: the songs, the voice, the performance, the appearance and of course the (colored, since Orbison’s hair became white early) black hair.
Private tragedies and career bluts
The 1960s were characterized by great success, but also severe strokes of fate. In 1966 his first wife Claudette died in a motorcycle accident. Orbison’s house burned down two years later – two of his sons did not survive the fire.
The 1970s brought a career blutting. Orbison was no longer considered up to date, but he never wanted to bend. “Being a songwriter means that the songs come out deep out of you, and you have to treat them with respect. I couldn’t cheat myself, ”he once said in the US Rolling Stone.
The Traveling Wilburys
In the 1980s it went up again. In 1987 he was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bob Dylan praised him in his eulogy as one of the most unique artists of his time. In the same year, one of the greatest supergroups ever formed: Together with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, Orbison founded the traveling Wilburys.
The band was almost accidental when Harrison wanted to record a song for a B side. The musicians involved were so good that they decided to make an entire album without further ado. The debut album “Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1” was released in 1988 and became a great success with hits like “Handle with Care”. Especially for Orbison, it was a triumphal return that introduced him to a new audience. His striking voice gave the songs a special depth and emotionality. But while his career was at the peak again, he didn’t have much time.
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Roy Orbison’s death
In parallel to the Wilburys, Orbison worked intensively on his solo comeback. His album “Mystery Girl” was almost completed when he died on December 6, 1988. The album was posted posthumously in February 1989.
The Wilburys continued without Orbison. “Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3” (Ironically titled the second album) appeared in 1990. But without his distinctive voice there was no decisive factor. In the music video for “End of the Line” there is a moving tribute: While the other members of the Wilburys collective sing, there is an empty rocking chair on stage-a quiet but powerful farewell to one of the greatest singers of all time.
Bob Dylan about Roy Orbison
Bob Dylan wrote in his memoirs about Roy Orbison: “I was always looking for something on the radio. Roy Orbison’s voice boomed from the speakers. His new song, ‘Running Scared’, exploded in the room. Orbison crossed all genre boundaries – folk, country, rock ‘n’ roll or more. He could sound in common and rugged and sing in a falsetta like Frankie Valli the next moment. With him you never knew whether you heard Mariachi or opera. His music was flesh and blood, he sounded as if he were singing from an Olympic mountain summit.
Earlier songs like ‘Ooby Dooby’ were simple, but he developed further. His compositions jumped over octaves so that you wanted to drive your car over a cliff. Orbison’s voice was able to startle a body. His songs contained songs in the songs, alternately switched between major and minor. Orbison was deadly – nothing comparable on the radio. “
Family
Roy Orbison was married twice and had a total of five sons. He closed his first marriage in 1957 with Claudette Frady. In 1964 they divorced, but soon got married. In 1966 Claudette died in a motorcycle accident. Two years later, his house burned in Hendersonville, Tennessee, with two of his sons, Roy Dwayne Orbison and Anthony King Orbison.
In 1979 Orbison married the German Barbara Jakobs. They got two sons, Roy Kelton Orbison Jr. and Alexander Orbison. Barbara played an important role in Orbison’s late career.
Roy Orbison’s death
Roy Orbison suffered a heart attack on December 6, 1988. He died at the age of 52. On the day of his death, he had flown with friends and spent the evening in his mother’s house. “He seemed to look forward to the upcoming Wilburys appointments, not knowing that his next appearance with the band would be his last,” said the American-American Rolling Stone.
The news of his death shocked the music world. Tom Petty later remembered George Harrison’s first reaction: “Are you not glad that you are not? … it will be okay, he’s still here. Just listen, ”Petty recalled. “I was very happy to have worked with Roy and really knew him,” said Petty. “In his last year of life we spent a lot of time together, we got to know each other really well. … I wish he could have seen it – maybe he saw it, maybe he will see it too. ”