Roy Orbison

Pretty Women. Singles. (Please add your own obscure personal favorite). Albums. (all chart positions are from Billboard pop charts). The group quietly disbanded shortly after.
. The group was staggered, but decided to press on, and toured with bassist Manny Yanes instead, to moderate success.

At the direction of his second wife, Roy Orbison was interred December 15th, 1988 in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California even though his two sons and their mother, Claudette, who predeceased him, had been laid to rest at his request in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Bernard Edwards (former Chic bassist) stepped in and completed the album Living In Fear (1997) in his stead, and was prepared to tour with the group, but then died suddenly of pneumonia during a trip to Japan. He was the posthumous winner of the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and in 1992, the popular "I Drove All Night" and "Heartbreak Radio" appeared on the posthumous album, King Of Hearts, produced by Jeff Lynne. However, divorce and drug rehabilitation forced John Taylor to withdraw from the project before the album was complete. Both the album and the single from it, "You Got It", were hits, and are generally regarded as Orbison's best work since his success of the 1950s and 1960s. The band reunited ten years later with its original members, including Palmer. Several years after having had bypass surgury, Orbison suffered a massive heart attack at age 52 and died while visiting at his mother's home in Hendersonville a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee on December 6, 1988 before his last album Mystery Girl could be released. Palmer went on to record a string of chart-topping hits, including "Addicted To Love", "Simply Irresistible", and "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On".

Tragedy would strike again, when, in 1973, Orbison's elder brother Grady Lee Orbison, died in a motor vehicle accident in Henderson, Tennessee when on his way to visit Roy for Thanksgiving. The band folded late in 1985, as its members turned to other projects: John Taylor returned to Duran Duran, Andy Taylor left Duran Duran and started a solo career, Tony Thompson was to take the place of John Bonham in a re-formed Led Zeppelin, but he was nearly killed in a 1986 car accident before that reunion could get off the ground. These events affected him profoundly but after a few years he would continue to play to loyal audiences all across the globe. Similarly, his friendship with producer Joel Silver led to Power Station writing a song called "We Fight For Love" for the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Commando. The youngest boy, Wesley, at the time only three, was saved by Roy's parents. Des Barres' friendship with actor Don Johnson led to the band's guest appearance on an episode of the TV drama Miami Vice. His first wife, Claudette (Frady), died in a 1966 motorcycle accident. (The Everly Brothers hit "Claudette" had been written about her, by Roy.) Two years later, the family home at Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee burned to the ground while Roy was touring in England, and two of his three young sons, Anthony and Roy Jr., died in the fire. Des Barres also performed with them at the enormous Live Aid charity concert in Philadelphia that summer.

Roy Orbison's life was filled with personal tragedies. This inevitably led to Palmer's departure from the band. Power Station went on to tour with singer Michael Des Barres (formerly of Silverhead and Checquered Past). He subsequently released a new solo album, Mystery Girl, produced by Orbison & Mike Campbell (of the Heartbreakers), Jeff Lynne and one track by U2's Bono (who copies Orbison's trademark dark glasses). The group's unexpected success led to two results: the band decided to do a summer tour in America, and Robert Palmer decided to record a new album to take advantage of his sudden name recognition. Shortly after this critically acclaimed performance, whilst working with Jeff Lynne on tracks for a new album, Orbison joined Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty to form the Traveling Wilburys, achieving substantial commercial and critical success. (Incidentally, the album's cover graphics and color scheme, which were also used in the videos, were based on sketches by John Taylor.) The band also released a collection of the band's three music videos called "The Power Station Video EP". lang, Jennifer Warnes, and Bonnie Raitt singing the female background vocals. The album itself reached number 12 in the UK and number 6 on the US album chart.

Souther, Steven Soles, with k.d. A third single, "Communication", was not as successful; it barely reached the Top 40 in the US, and disappeared after hitting a dismal number 75 in the UK. On piano, Glen Hardin, who had played piano for Buddy Holly as well as for years for Elvis Presley, plus male background vocals with some on guitar, were: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, J.D. (The music video featured the transsexual model Caroline Cossey, credited as "Tula".) The second single was "Bang A Gong (Get It On)", which went to number 22 in the UK and number 9 in the US, while competing against the Duran Duran single "A View to a Kill". Put together by musical director, T-Bone Burnett, Orbison was accompanied by a who's who supporting cast, all fans, and all volunteers who lobbied to participate. The first, "Some Like It Hot", reached number 14 on the UK singles charts and number 6 in the USA. Described as a cinematographic masterpiece, that year's black and white Cinemax television special titled Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night, brought Orbison a whole new generation of fans. The band had two hit singles.

In 1980 he teamed up with Emmylou Harris to win the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for their song, "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again." He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the induction speech made by his devout follower Bruce Springsteen. The album was produced by Bernard Edwards, with some informal assistance from Nile Rodgers. Adopted by intensely loyal fans in Ireland, where he continued to perform despite the constant terrorist activities, his powerful rendition of the ancient Irish folk ballad "Danny Boy" on the 1972 Memphis album is considered one of the best recordings ever made of this much-recorded song. In March of 1985, the band issued the album Power Station (originally released on vinyl and subtitled 33⅓ for the turntable speed). Much loved in Belgium, at an awards ceremony in Antwerp, a few days before his passing, Roy Orbison gave his only public rendition of the hit "You Got It" to the thundering applause of a huge crowd. On February 16, 1985, the band performed "Some Like It Hot" and "Bang A Gong" on the Saturday Night Live TV show; this was Palmer's only live performance with the band. Adoring fans in the Netherlands founded his largest world-wide fan club. Before long, they had decided to record the entire album with Palmer.

In France he was viewed as the master of the ballad of lost love in the vein of that country's most popular singer Edith Piaf and a cover version of Orbison's "Blue Bayou" sung in French by Mireille Mathieu went to the top of France's record charts. When he heard that they had recorded demos for "Bang A Gong", he asked to try out vocals on that one as well, and by the end of the day, the group knew that they had found that elusive chemistry which distinguishes successful bands. His popularity extended to Germany, and he recorded his hit song "Mama" in German. The group then invited eclectic soul singer Robert Palmer to record vocals for the track "Communication". A few songs that had only reasonable success in North America, such as "Penny Arcade" and "Working for the Man" would go to #1 on the Australian charts. Similarly, he was enormously popular in England, logging three No.1 hit singles and was several times voted top male vocalist of the year. Those who were approached included Mick Jagger, Billy Idol, Mars Williams and Richard Butler (of The Psychedelic Furs), and Mick Ronson. Roy Orbison first toured Australia with the Rolling Stones in 1963 and would build a devout following there. The original plan for the one-album project was for the three musicians (Taylor, Taylor and Thompson) to provide musical continuity to an album full of material, with a different singer performing on each track.

Singer Sonny James would have a number 1 hit on the country music charts with a cover of Orbison's "Only The Lonely". When Buell and Taylor broke up, the project evolved into the idea of a revolving supergroup; a tentative name for the band was Big Brother. A number of other artists have recorded songs written by Orbison, including the Everly Brothers, Don Gibson, Linda Ronstadt, Don McLean, Mireille Mathieu, Chris Isaak, Dwight Yoakam, and Van Halen. Both Taylors were eager to branch out from the synthesizer-heavy pop of Duran Duran and play some Led Zeppelin-flavored rock'n'roll; the participation of their idols from Chic lent the project a horn-inflected funk that meshed surprisingly well with the crunching guitars and booming drums. As well, his hit song "In Dreams" was used extensively in the David Lynch film Blue Velvet (Lynch also featured a Spanish version of "Crying" in his film, Mulholland Drive.). Rex song "Bang A Gong (Get It On)". Named for his song, the music was integral to the movie that brought fame to actress Julia Roberts. The group began as something of a whim -- it was a one-time gathering of friends to provide backing to model and would-be singer Bebe Buell (John Taylor's girlfriend at the time) who wanted to record a cover of the T.

Roy Orbison wrote and recorded numerous songs specifically for motion pictures and many of his hit songs became part of motion picture soundtracks, the most famous of which is the blockbuster film Pretty Woman. The band was formed in New York City late in 1984 during a break in Duran Duran's schedule, and were named after the Power Station recording studio where their album was conceived and recorded. In 1966 Orbison signed a contract with MGM Records and starred in MGM Studios' western-musical motion picture The Fastest Guitar Alive in which he would perform several songs from an album of the same name. Power Station was a pop group made up of singer Robert Palmer, bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor of Duran Duran, and former Chic drummer Tony Thompson; two other Chic members, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers were also involved on the studio side. The smash hit record sold more copies in its first ten days of release than any 45rpm up to that time and would go on to sell more than seven million copies. "She Can Rock It". Even as the British Invasion swept America in 1964, Orbison's single "Oh, Pretty Woman" broke the Beatles' stranglehold on the Top 10, soaring to number 1 on the Billboard charts. "Communication".

When they finally decided to try America, they asked Orbison to manage their first tour but his own schedule forced him to turn down what was to become an astounding success. "Some Like It Hot". During their tour of Europe, an impressed Roy Orbison encouraged The Beatles to come to the United States. "Bang A Gong (Get It On)". A powerful influence on his contemporaries such as The Rolling Stones, in 1963 Roy Orbison headlined a European tour with The Beatles, becoming lifelong friends with the band, in particular with John Lennon and George Harrison (Orbison would later record with them both). Power Station: 20th Anniversary Edition (2005). Multiple Academy Award winning songwriter Will Jennings ("My Heart Will Go On", from the Titanic soundtrack), called him a "poet, a songwriter, a vision" after working and together writing Roy's song "Wild Hearts" for the 1985 motion picture, Insignificance. Best Of (2003).

Elvis Presley called Roy "the greatest singer in the world" (from onstage in Las Vegas, in 1976), Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees referred to Orbison as the "Voice of God". Living In Fear (1997). In 1989, Roy Orbison was inducted posthumously into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame. Power Station (1985). Three songs written and recorded by Orbison, "Only The Lonely", "Oh, Pretty Woman", and "Crying", are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Among the bonus tracks on the album will be Michael Des Barres track "We Fight For Love" -- now retitled "Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay" (from the Commando OST). Roy Orbison's vocal range was impressive (he had a three octave range) and his songs were melodically and rhythmically advanced and lyrically sophisticated. The package will include the original 8 track album, 7 bonus tracks and a 40-minute 8-chapter DVD.

Master record producer and Orbison fan Don Was, commenting on Orbison's writing skills, said: "he defied the rules of modern composition." Songwriter Bernie Taupin (composer of many lyrics for Elton John) and others, referred to Orbison as far ahead of the times, creating lyrics and music in a manner that broke with all traditions. EMI are scheduled to release a new version of Power Station on February 21, 2005, to commemorate the album's 20th anniversary. Orbison is most remembered for his ballads of lost love, and within the music community, he is revered for his song writing abilities. They released the album Astronaut in October 2004. The play of Orbison's voice against the dynamic yet uncluttered sound of the band gave Orbison's records a unique, identifiable sound. John Taylor and Andy Taylor reunited with the original members of Duran Duran in 2001. Throughout Orbison's stay at Monument Records, his backup band was a group of all-star studio musicians led by Bob Moore. Robert Palmer died of a heart attack in September 2003, and Tony Thompson died two months later of kidney cancer.

With the release of "Only The Lonely", and its immediate rise to the top of the charts, Roy Orbison would go on to become an international rock and roll star. Under Foster's guidance, Orbison began writing his own songs alone or in collaboration with Joe Melson, and later Bill Dees, developing his signature operatic voice, and creating a sound unheard of in Rock and Roll at the time. There, Fred Foster, the record company's head, encouraged him to break from his established style. But the rockabilly and blues sounds of Sun's artists did not bring Orbison much success and his career seemed over until he signed with Monument Records in Nashville, Tennessee.

Many of the earliest songs he recorded were produced by Sam Phillips. There, Roy Orbison (along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley) recorded for Sam Phillips. In 1955 Orbison left college, determined to give music a serious try. With a new band named "The Teen Kings", he headed for Memphis, Tennessee and to Sun Records. Recognizing that a career in music was a long shot, after graduating high school the group disbanded and Roy Orbison went to North Texas State College.

At age 13 he organized his first band, "The Wink Westerners," and when not singing with the band he spent his time playing guitar and writing songs. Neither are correct, although his myopia required thick corrective lenses. Two misconceptions stubbornly continue to surface about Roy, one, that "he was an albino", and two, that he wore his trademark dark glasses because "he was blind" or nearly so. Born in Vernon, Texas, he was raised in the tiny oil town of Wink, Texas, with music a part of his family life.

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) nicknamed "the big O" was an influential American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll whose recording career spanned more than thirty years. [1965] "There is only one Roy Orbison". King of Hearts. 1992: