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 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.
Joe Melson is an American singer and a BMI Award-winning songwriter best known for his collaborations with Roy Orbison, including "Only the Lonely" and "Crying", which are both in the Grammy Hall of Fame and have both been included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Melson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits is a Roy Orbison record album from Monument Records recorded at the RCA Studio B in Nashville and released in 1962. Between the hit songs were also "Love Star" and "Evergreen" which were released here for the first time. "Dream Baby" had recently been a No. 4 hit in the United States and No. 2 in England.
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."
Felice Bryant and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were best known for songs such as "Rocky Top," "We Could", "Love Hurts", and numerous hits by the Everly Brothers, including "All I Have to Do Is Dream", "Bye Bye Love", and "Wake Up Little Susie".
Early Orbison is an album recorded by Roy Orbison on the Monument Records label at the RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and released in 1964. Essentially a compilation of songs from his first two Monument albums, it is most noteworthy for containing "Pretty One", the "B" side of Orbison's second Monument single, "Uptown". Many Orbison fans believe "Pretty One" would have been his first major hit had it been promoted as an "A" side. The second song of interest on this album is "Come Back to Me My Love" which Fred Foster, owner of Monument Records and producer of all of Orbison's earliest hits, says was the song which inspired production of the hit arrangement that later became "Only the Lonely".
In Dreams: The Greatest Hits is a two-record album set by Roy Orbison songs released in 1987 on Virgin Records. It was produced by Orbison and Mike Utley, except for the song "In Dreams", produced by Orbison with T-Bone Burnett and film director David Lynch. All songs are re-recordings by Orbison from 1986, except "In Dreams" from April 1987.
"Crying" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson for Orbison's third studio album of the same name (1962). Released in 1961, it was a number 2 hit in the US for Orbison and was covered in 1978 by Don McLean, whose version went to number 1 in the UK in 1980.
"Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)" is a 1960 song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. Orbison's recording of the song, produced by Fred Foster for Monument Records, was the first major hit for the singer. It was described by The New York Times as expressing "a clenched, driven urgency". Released as a 45 rpm single by Monument Records in May 1960, "Only the Lonely" went to No. 2 on the United States Billboard pop music charts on 25 July 1960 (blocked by Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry") and No. 14 on the Billboard R&B charts. "Only the Lonely" reached number one in the United Kingdom, a position it achieved on 20 October 1960, staying there for two weeks (out of a total of 24 weeks spent on the UK singles chart from 28 July 1960). According to The Authorized Roy Orbison, "Only the Lonely" was the longest charting single of Orbison's career. Personnel on the original recording included Orbison's drummer Larry Parks, plus Nashville A-Team regulars Floyd Cramer on piano, Bob Moore on bass, and Hank Garland and Harold Bradley on guitars, Joe Melson and the Anita Kerr Singers on backing vocals. Drummer Buddy Harman played on the rest of the songs on the session.
"Running Scared" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison. An operatic rock ballad, the recording of the song was overseen by audio engineer Bill Porter and released as a 45 rpm single by Monument Records in March 1961 and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Running Scared" also reached No.9 in the UK Singles Chart. It sold over one million copies in the US alone. The song was included on Orbison's 1962 album Crying as the final track on the album.
"All I Have to Do Is Dream" is a song made famous by the Everly Brothers, written by Boudleaux Bryant of the husband-and-wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and published in 1958. The song is ranked No. 141 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song is in AABA form.
Chain Lightning is an album by American singer-songwriter Don McLean. It was recorded in Nashville between June and August 1978 and featured many of that city's noted session players as well as backing vocals from the Jordanaires. It was first released in December 1978 in the UK and other markets, but not released for another two years in the US following its delayed success in European markets. The lead single "Crying" became a major hit for McLean, reaching No.1 in the UK Singles Chart in June 1980. The album was subsequently repackaged and released in the US where it also became a success with "Crying" reaching the top five in early 1981. "Since I Don't Have You" was also released as a single, reaching #23.
"Mexico" is the title of a 1961 instrumental recording by American bassist, orchestra leader, and Rockabilly Hall of Fame member Bob Moore. The song was written by Boudleaux Bryant. Moore was a noted session musician in the 1950s and 1960s who worked with Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Roy Orbison, and Brenda Lee, among others.
Glen Travis Campbell is the eponymous seventeenth studio album by American country music artist Glen Campbell, released in 1972 through Capitol Records. Recorded in Hollywood, and produced by Jimmy Bowen, the album's title refers to his full name. The record entered Billboard's Album charts November 1972, reaching a peak position of #148 and remaining on the chart for thirteen weeks.
Freddie and the Dreamers is the eponymous debut album from the British Invasion band Freddie and the Dreamers from Manchester, England. It was released in the United Kingdom in 1963, peaking at number five in the UK Albums Chart and reaching number 19 in the US albums chart on May 22, 1965. It was the only 331⁄3 RPM record by the group to chart in America.
Roy Orbison's Sun recordings were made by Orbison at Sun Studio with producer Sam Phillips. Sun Records was established in 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee, and during an eight-year period Phillips recorded such artists as Roy Orbison, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Ike Turner, Rufus Thomas, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Harold Jenkins, and Charlie Rich. The musicians signed at Sun Records made music that laid the foundation of rock and roll in the 20th century.
"Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" is a song written by Cindy Walker which was first recorded and released by Roy Orbison originally as a non-album single in 1962. It was a big international hit for Orbison, reaching number 2 in both the Australian and the UK singles charts and number 4 in the U.S. Billboard. It was also a top ten hit in Canada and Norway. Five months later, "Dream Baby" was included on Orbison's Greatest Hits compilation LP.
"Working for the Man" is a song composed and sung by rock and roll performer Roy Orbison. Released in 1962 as a double A-side with "Leah", it reached number one in Australia, number thirty-three in the US, and the top 50 in Canada and England.
"Candy Man" is a song by Roy Orbison, released as the B-side to his international hit "Crying" in July 1961. It was later covered by British beat group Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, becoming a top-ten hit in the UK.
"Blue Boy" is a song written by Boudleaux Bryant, sung by Jim Reeves, and released on the RCA Victor label. In July 1958, it peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's country and western jockey chart. It spent 22 weeks on the charts and was also ranked No. 10 on Billboard's 1958 year-end country and western chart. On the Hot 100, "Blue Boy" peaked at No. 45.
