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 strength. 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. In 2002 the song was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and In 2004, it ranked #69 on Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The album was ranked No. 136 on Pitchfork's 200 Best Albums of the 1960s. Crying also features Multiple covers songs including "The Great Pretender", & "Love Hurts" and the early recordings of "She Wears My Ring"
"Baby Love" is a song by the American music group the Supremes from their second studio album, Where Did Our Love Go. It was written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland and was released on September 17, 1964.
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."
More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits is a Roy Orbison album from Monument Records recorded at the RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee and released in 1964. The songs "It's Over" and "Indian Wedding" were recorded at the Fred Foster Studios also in Nashville.
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."
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.
"Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 hit with her cover in 1977. Many others have since recorded the song.
"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.
"In Dreams" is a song composed and sung by singer Roy Orbison. An operatic rock ballad of lost love, it was released as a single on Monument Records in February 1963. It became the title track of the album In Dreams, released in July of the same year. The song has a unique through-composed structure in seven movements in which Orbison sings through two octaves, beyond the range of most rock singers.
Roy Orbison was an American singer-songwriter who found the most success in the early rock and roll era from 1956 to 1964. He later enjoyed a resurgence in the late 1980s with chart success as a member of the Traveling Wilburys and with his Mystery Girl album, which included the posthumous hit single "You Got It". At the height of his popularity, 22 of Orbison's songs placed on the US Billboard Top 40 chart, and six peaked in the top five, including two number-one hits. In the UK, Orbison scored ten top-10 hits between 1960 and 1966, including three number-one singles.
"You Belong to Me" is a popular music ballad from the 1950s. It is well known for its opening line, "See the pyramids along the Nile". The song was published in Hollywood on April 21, 1952, and the most popular version was by Jo Stafford, reaching No. 1 on both the UK and US singles charts.
"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.
"Love Hurts" is a song written and composed by the American songwriter Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by the Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is most well known in two hit versions by UK artists; by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth in 1974 and by English singer-songwriter Jim Capaldi in 1975.
"Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 26, 1964, making it the second and final single by Orbison to reach number one in the United States. It was also Orbison's third single to top the UK Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at number one.
"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.
"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.
