Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's music is mostly in the rock music genre and his most successful periods were in the early 1960s and the late 1980s. He was nicknamed "The Caruso of Rock" and "The Big O". Many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male rock-and-roll performers projected machismo. He performed with minimal motion and in black clothes, matching his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses.
Crying is the third album by Roy Orbison, released in 1962. It was his second album on the Monument Record label. The album name comes from the 1961 hit song of the same name. The album was ranked No. 136 on Pitchfork's 200 Best Albums of the 1960s.
The Fastest Guitar Alive is a 1967 American musical comedy Western film, directed by Michael D. Moore with singer Roy Orbison in his only starring role as an actor.
In Dreams is the fourth LP record by Roy Orbison with Monument Records recorded at the RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee and released in 1963. It is named after the hit 45rpm single "In Dreams."
The Classic Roy Orbison is the ninth studio album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his third on the MGM Records label, released in July 1966. The single taken from it, "Twinkle Toes", would be Orbison's last US top-forty single during his lifetime, scraping in at #39. It also reached #24 in Australia and #29 in the UK, The album was successful in The UK, where it spent for 8 weeks on the album chart there at number 12.
Roy Orbison Sings is the sixteenth album recorded by Roy Orbison and the ninth for MGM Records, released in May 1972. Around this time, Orbison's hit singles had well and truly dried up, but this album is said to be one of his finest.
Roy Orbison's Many Moods, also known as The Many Moods of Roy Orbison, is the thirteenth album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his seventh for MGM Records, released in May 1969. It included two singles, both of which were minor hits in the UK: "Heartache" at number 44, and "Walk On" at number 39.
Orbisongs is a compilation LP released by Monument Records in 1965 after Roy Orbison had left the label and joined MGM. It features tracks such as the stereo version of "Oh, Pretty Woman", a different version of "Dance", and the unreleased "I Get So Sentimental."
There Is Only One Roy Orbison is the seventh album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his first for MGM Records, released in July 1965. It features his studio recording of "Claudette", an Orbison-penned song which had become a hit for The Everly Brothers in 1958. Ironically, at the time he recorded the song in 1965, he had divorced his wife Claudette, who had inspired the lyrics. Orbison later re-recorded the song for In Dreams: The Greatest Hits in 1985. The single taken from the album was "Ride Away", which reached no. 25 in the US charts, no. 12 in Australia and no. 34 in the UK. Cash Box described "Ride Away" as a "rhythmic teen-angled ode about a somewhat ego-oriented lad who cuts-out on romance."
Lonely and Blue is the debut studio album by Roy Orbison, released on Monument Records in January 1961.
Memphis is the seventeenth album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his tenth for MGM Records. The album was released in November 1972.
The Orbison Way is the eighth album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his second for MGM Records, released in January 1966. Two singles were taken from the album—"Crawling Back" and "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart"—both of which were chart hits in England, the US and Australia.
Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson is a tribute album recorded by Roy Orbison for MGM Records. Released in January 1967, it is a collection of songs written by Country Music Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Don Gibson who, like Orbison, often wrote about the loneliness and sorrow that love can bring. Its one single, "Too Soon to Know", became a smash hit in the UK, reaching #3 there in September 1966, and also reached no. 4 in Ireland and no. 27 in Australia. In Canada, the song only reached no. 71.
The Big O is the fifteenth music album recorded by Roy Orbison, and according to the authorised Roy Orbison biography, his second for London Records in the United Kingdom. The music and backing vocals were provided by English group, the Art Movement on all tracks except for "Penny Arcade", which was a studio recording and was released as a single in 1969, peaking at No. 27 in the UK and was Orbison's last UK chart success during his lifetime. "Penny Arcade" was also his biggest hit in Australia, spending four weeks at number one around Christmas 1969. The second single, "Break My Mind", was Orbison's last Australian chart success during his lifetime, reaching #24 in March 1970. The album was released in Europe in early 1970.
The Great Songs of Roy Orbison is an album recorded by Roy Orbison for MGM Records released in the United States in February 1970.
Hank Williams: The Roy Orbison Way is the fourteenth album recorded by Roy Orbison, and the eighth for MGM Records, released in August 1970. It is a tribute album to the songs of Country Music Hall of Fame honky tonk singer Hank Williams, whom Orbison listed among his influences. The album was a critical failure and it sold poorly—Fred Foster said it was "an exercise in futility." The exclusively North America release remained relatively unknown to Orbison fans until it was repackaged on Compact Disc in 2009 along with the popular 1967 Don Gibson tribute album Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson. The album was also included in the 2015 box set The MGM Years 1965–1973 – Roy Orbison.
Milestones is the eighteenth album by Roy Orbison, released on September 24, 1973, by MGM Records and his last album for that label. It was arranged by Joe Tanner, Rex North and Randy Goodrum. "The Morning After" was featured in the film The Poseidon Adventure.
I'm Still in Love with You is the nineteenth album by Roy Orbison, recorded for Mercury Records and according to the authorised biography of Roy Orbison, released in September 1975.
One of the Lonely Ones is a posthumous Roy Orbison album which was released on December 4, 2015. It is his 24th and final studio album. Orbison recorded it in 1969. The album, which Orbison recorded surreptitiously in the aftermath of his wife Claudette's death in a motorcycle accident and the death of his two sons in a house fire 2 years later, was long believed lost.
Alexander Orbison, also known as Orbi, is an American drummer, writer, director, and film producer. He is the president of Still Working Music Group, a publishing company. He is also president and co-founder of Roy's Boys LLC, which manages the legacy of his father, musician Roy Orbison; the organization also includes his brothers, Roy Orbison Jr. and Wesley Orbison.
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