In high school, he had a band, the Wink Westerners, playing a mix of Country standards and Glenn Miller tunes. It was almost as if Roy sensed that, like his heroes Frizzell and Williams, he wasn’t going to be on this Earth for very long, so he had to cram it all in. He must have got his money’s worth out of that sixth birthday guitar, because by the age of eight, he was singing on a local radio show! You only have to listen to his songs Only The Lonely, Oh Pretty Woman and Crying to hear how Roy wanted his records to sound huge, and it was a style the whole world loved. Orbison, however, would add his own dramatics with his voice, earning him the nickname The Caruso of Rock. Lefty was the man who gave Country its distinctive singing style, slurring his syllables in the way we’d get used to with Roy, the Everly Brothers, Willie Nelson and many more. Virtual Roy Orbison brings a tear to son’s eye The fact he was also a great songwriter, showman, guitarist and harmonica player didn’t hurt either.Ĭountry was the thing that really got him going as a youngster, and the immortal Hank Williams was one of his heroes, along with Lefty Frizzell.
Part of the reason was that ridiculously-good voice, that could soar to the heights even high-pitched girls couldn’t reach, and then go another octave higher.Īs it could also swoop down to Johnny Cash, earth-shaking low levels, it was quite a trick. Music became his life and, though he’d be taken from us at just 52, Orbison became a living legend, with a voice like no other, and with Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan and others absolutely in awe of him. The man who would become The Big O would never look back!īorn in Texas in 1936, Roy Kelton Orbison would later say of the day he turned six and was given his first guitar: “I was finished, you know, for anything else.” Orbison with his first wife Claudette and son Roy Jr (Moore/Fox Photos/Getty Images) Sam, it transpired, was right, and it broke into the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 59, shifting 200,000 copies. Sam Phillips, the man who’d be at the start of so many rock ’n’ roll legends, reckoned Orbison and The Teen Kings could do a better version of the number, but Roy was tired of it.
It is 60 years since Roy Orbison went somewhat reluctantly into the famous Sun Studio in Memphis, to try a new version of Ooby Dooby. Skip MenuĪS one of the greatest all-time rock, pop and country singers, we’ll never forget The Big O. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across.
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