Roy Orbison
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Roy Orbison Information
Roy Orbison Performances
Roy Orbison was born on April 23, 1936, in Vernon, Texas. His father was a car mechanic and oil well driller and his mother was a nurse. His parents lost their jobs during the Great Depression. Searching for work, the family moved to Fort Worth and took factory jobs before settling down in Wink, Texas.
As a child, Roy Orbison was shy and quiet but enjoyed singing. His father gave him a guitar when he was six years old. While attending high school in Wink, he he started his first band, The Wink Westerners. They played at school assemblies and on local radio shows. Orbison also played in the school marching band. He graduated in 1954.
After graduating, Orbison moved to Denton, Texas to attend North Texas State College (Now the University of North Texas) and started a new band, called The Teen Kings. When famous musicians such as Elvis Presley came to town, the Teen Kings would play concerts with them. They were offered a recording contract at the company that produced Elvis' first recordings, Sun Records. Their recording, Ooby Dooby, became Roy Orbison's first hit song. After the Teen Kings broke up in the late 1950s, Roy Orbison focused on songwriting instead of performing.
In 1960, Orbison wrote a song for Elvis to sing called "Only the Lonely". Elvis didn't think the song was right for him, so Roy Orbison recorded it himself. In 1960, "Only the Lonely" became Roy Orbison's first top 10 song, reaching #2. From 1960 to 1966, 9 of his songs reached the Top 10. including "Only the Lonely" (1960), "Running Scared" (1961), "Crying" (1961), "In Dreams" (1963), and "Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964).
Despite his success in music, Roy Orbison's life was struck by personal tragedy. In 1966, his wife died in a motorcycle accident. Soon after, his two older sons lost their lives in a house fire. These tragedies affected him so much that he was unable to produce hit songs for several years.
Roy Orbison began regaining his popularity when his songs were used in movies and other musicians began recording their own versions of songs that he had written. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 1988, Orbison became a co-founding member of the Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup that included other famous musicians Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn of the band ELO, and George Harrison of the Beatles. He also recorded his own album that year. Unfortunately, Orbison died of a heart attack in December of 1988 at the age of 52.
After his death, Orbison's song "You Got It" became his first song to reach the top 10 in 25 years. Roy Orbison is remembered for his operatic singing voice, unique personal style, and quality songwriting. His work continues to influence musicians even today.