Here I go again, FINALLY getting around to doing a post that I promised AGES ago! BUT--like some of the others I've featured here, I wanted to get this one RIGHT! Because with Roy, his music--- that VOICE!--- It's a personal treasure of mine! Something I've held close to the heart for a good chunk of my life!
He was the most UNLIKELY of stars, Roy Orbison! In looks, he was a rather plain, ordinary-looking guy. Except for that carefully styled hair, and those 'mysterious-looking' Ray-Ban prescription shades, he could've passed for an insurance salesman!
On stage, he moved very little. He stood, almost like a statue, behind the mic-- as he let 'the VOICE' do it's almost unearthly thing that it could do! Oh, he also could play some MEAN guitar (in fact, I think his playing has ALWAYS been overlooked / under-rated!), but, again.... there was 'the VOICE'! (That was actually Elvis Presley's nick-name for Roy!)
I heard his songs, over the years of my childhood, on 'oldies' radio stations here and there, but it was (like most of the other artists that became life-long favorites / inspirations of mine!) as a slightly goofy, awkward-feeling teen, that I became a FAN!
A good friend had Roy's greatest 'Monument' hits on vinyl (the label Roy was with, when he rose to the height of his fame!). There they ALL were--- the ones I refer to as 'the BIG 10' of my personal all-time favorites of 'The big O's' tunes! 'Only the Lonely', 'Uptown', 'It's over', 'Crying','Candy man', 'Running scared', 'Mean woman blues','Working for the man' 'Pretty woman' (probably my ALL-TIME personal favorite!), and this little tune!--- (This is Roy, doing it LIVE in front of a somewhat 'subdued' audience, in 1965)---
As the years rolled on, I discovered other classics from not only Roy's Monument years, but his early years at MGM records. Dozens of GREAT tunes! But the 'BIG 10' will ALWAYS have a special spot in the Loydster's heart!
Nobody could sing about heartache and lost love, exactly like Roy. I guess that's what appealed to the then-somewhat-DORKY, awkward young 15-year-old Loydster, listening to all those 'Monument' hits on that old record!
That, and he could also do swaggering, tough-sounding rockers if he wanted! Just TRY to NOT at least bop your head a little, and tap your foot--- when listening to 'Pretty woman'!----
So, you can imagine how my mind was BLOWN, when Roy joined up,with some of my other ALL-TIME favorites, in 1988--to form the 'super-group' (NEVER was that term MORE accurate!) 'The Traveling Wilburys'! Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison, some guy named 'Dylan'....AND ROY---in the SAME BAND!!! I was speechless!
Needless to say, the album those multi-talented individuals put together, was (AND IS!) a CLASSIC! Here's Roy's 'solo number' from the album-- 'Not alone anymore'. I think it holds up REALLY well along side any of his 'classic' material! Also, Jeff Lynne did a MASTERFUL job on the production!--
Roughly around the same time that 'The Wilburys' album came out, Roy was also working on what would be, sadly-- his final album. 'Mystery Girl', released after Roy's death, was a MASTERPIECE!
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Roy performing one of his classic tunes, in 'A black and white night', a September 1987 concert (filmed in black & white) with an ALL-STAR back-up band. (Including: Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, legendary guitarist James Burton, and others!) Another 'Loydster favorite'!
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Roy was something of a 'work-a-holic' / touring 'machine', pretty much ALL of his professional life.If anything, in 1987-88, he was working HARDER than ever! Because, after YEARS of constant touring in 'oldies' / 'greatest hits' revues / concerts, his star was once again on the rise! He was in the middle of a 'comeback'!
His GRINDING tour-schedule, busy-like CRAZY recording schedule, AND a life-long chain-smoking cigarette habit--- finally took it's toll on him. He left us, all TOO soon,in late 1988--- at only the age of 52! One of SEVERAL times an entertainer's passing, made the 'Ol Loydster weep! I say this with NO SHAME whatsoever!
I've listened to his music countless times (it is OF COURSE, a permanent FIXTURE in ALL of my digital devices!), and some of it---- especially the songs from his final album, STILL makes tears well-up in my eyes (go ahead, listen to 'A love so beautiful', and TRY to at least NOT have a lump in your throat! I dare you!)! That says something about the man's gift, I think. That the music he recorded, all those years ago-- can STILL touch the heart. Still sound SO fresh and TIMELESS. They've called him 'the Soul of Rock and Roll', and I think that's a fitting title! God bless the memory of the ONE, the ONLY... Roy Orbison! May his music, his GIFT... live on for generations to come!
P.S.---- If your'e interested in reading 'Roy's story'--- and believe me, NO movie script could be written to match what REALLY happened to the man, throughout his life! That he survived some of the tragedies he did, and continued on to reach the successes he achieved, is TRULY amazing! There are a couple of PRICELESS biographies that you should snag! They're VERY MUCH worth seeking out!---
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| 'Dark Star', a well-researched, even-handed, honest biography by Ellis Amburn--- was first published in 1990, just a couple of years after Roy's death. I've actually read it multiple times! |
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| 'The authorized Roy Orbison', is actually a 'coffee table' / 'photo-album'-style book. Put together by Roy's sons Roy Jr., Wesley and Alex, it's a treasure-trove of BOTH 'Roy-related' trivia, AND odd-ball personal photos from the Orbison family's collection! For it being assembled by Roy's family, it's STILL very fair and even-handed! It's an excellent companion-book to the 'Dark Star' biography. Neither book contradicts the other! |
Long live 'The BIG 'O'!!!!
