Born in Texas, Roy Orbison was an American singer-songwriter and musician.
Orbison’s career began in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school when he was signed to Sun Records in Memphis. His biggest hit was with Monument Records in the early 1960s. Twenty-two of his songs made the Top Forty, including “Only the Lonely,” “Crying,” “In Dreams,” and “Oh, Pretty Woman.” . His career faltered during the 1970s, but several covers of his songs (Glen Campbell’s “Dream Baby,” Don McLean’s “Crying,” Linda Ronstadt’s “Blue Bayou,” to name a few) and the use of one in a movie by David Lynch revived his career in the 1980s. He became a member of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne and released one album in 1988. Unfortunately, Orbison died of a heart attack. heart at the young age of 52.
Two things made Orbison particularly memorable; the first was the quality of his voice. He was a natural baritone with a spectacular range. He used his distinctive, powerful voice to great effect, and his use of falsetto was masterful. Many people speculated that he could cover 4 octaves.
The second thing that created an air of mystery about Orbison was the “shadows” he used. Turns out they were prescription sunglasses because, like other siblings, the Orbison family had a history of eye problems. But Orbison started wearing the sunglasses because he showed up to a concert, and realizing his glasses were still on the plane, he only had Ray-Ban Wayfarer prescription sunglasses with him. From then on, sunglasses were part of the Orbison style that he himself developed.
Orbison was loved by many of the world’s most famous rock and pop stars, including the Beatles and Bob Dylan.