The Fastest Guitar Alive | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster by Frank Frazetta | |
Directed by | Michael D. Moore |
Written by | Robert E. Kent |
Produced by | Sam Katzman |
Starring | Roy Orbison Sammy Jackson Maggie Pierce |
Cinematography | W. Wallace Kelley |
Edited by | Ben Lewis |
Music by | Roy Orbison Bill Dees Fred Karger |
Color process | Metrocolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Fastest Guitar Alive is a 1967 American musical comedy Western film directed by Michael D. Moore and starring singer Roy Orbison in his only acting role. The film features Orbison performing seven original songs, which appeared on his 1967 MGM album of the same name. His song "There Won't Be Many Coming Home" is featured in the 2015 western film The Hateful Eight .
Near the end of the American Civil War, a Southern spy (Orbison) with a bullet-shooting guitar is given the task of robbing gold bullion from the United States Mint in San Francisco to help finance the ill-fated Confederacy's last-ditch war effort.
Filming began September 1966. [1] Although Orbison was pleased with the film, it proved to be a critical and box office flop. While MGM had included five films in his contract, no more were made. [2] [3]
The Fastest Guitar Alive | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | June 1967 | |||
Genre | Rock and roll | |||
Length | 22:27 | |||
Label | MGM (E 4475) | |||
Producer | Wesley Rose & Jim Vienneau | |||
Roy Orbison chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Record Mirror | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
A soundtrack album for the film was released in June 1967 on MGM Records. It was the only album to consist entirely of Roy Orbison/Bill Dees originals. Its single "There Won't Be Many Coming Home" reached No. 18 in the UK and entered the Australian chart at its highest position of #32 before slipping down the chart.
The album was also included in the 2015 box set The MGM Years 1965–1973 – Roy Orbison. [7]
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic said the album "includes what may be his best obscure tune, the rarely anthologized "Whirlwind." With its galloping rhythm, emotive operatic vocals, swirling strings, and ghostly backing vocals, it recalls the best uptempo ballads that he recorded during his early-'60s heyday at the Monument label." [8]
Billboard described the album as "a pack powerful emotion." [9]
Cashbox gave the album a positive reviews, notes "These tunes, in addition to three other Orbison originals, are included" [10]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Whirlwind" | 2:10 |
2. | "Medicine Man, Medicine Man" | 2:43 |
3. | "River" | 3:02 |
4. | "The Fastest Guitar Alive" | 3:08 |
5. | "Rollin' On" | 2:15 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Pistolero" | 2:58 |
2. | "Good Time Party" | 2:23 |
3. | "Heading South" | 2:45 |
4. | "Best Friend" | 2:38 |
5. | "There Won't Be Many Coming Home" | 2:46 |
MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the 1970s. The company also released soundtrack albums of the music for some of their non-musical films as well, and on rare occasions, cast albums of off-Broadway musicals such as The Fantasticks and the 1954 revival of The Threepenny Opera. In one instance, MGM Records released the highly successful soundtrack album of a film made by another studio, Columbia Pictures's Born Free (1966).
Crying is the third album by Roy Orbison, released in January 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"
William Marvin Dees was an American musician known for his songwriting collaborations with singer Roy Orbison.
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.
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.
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".
The Classic Roy Orbison is the ninth studio album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his third for MGM Records, released in July 1966. The single taken from it, "Twinkle Toes", was Orbison's last US top-forty single during his lifetime, scraping in at No. 39. It reached No. 24 in Australia and No. 29 in the UK. The album spent eight weeks on the album chart in the UK, peaking at number 12.
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." Bear Family included the track "Ride Away" in the 2001 Orbison 1955-1965 box set.
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.
Cry Softly Lonely One is the twelfth music album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his sixth for MGM Records. The album was released in October 1967 and included two singles: "Communication Breakdown" and the title tune, both of which were minor hits in the States early that year. "Communication Breakdown" did much better in Australia, where it reached No. 9 in February. According to the official Roy Orbison biography, the London Records release of this album featured the extra track "Just One Time".
Hank Williams: The Roy Orbison Way is the fourteenth album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his eighth with MGM Records, released in August 1970. It is a tribute album to the songs of 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.
"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.
Herman's Hermits is the debut album of the band Herman's Hermits, first issued in 1965. As was typical of the time, the album's contents were different on the UK and US releases. UK albums tended not to include singles. The US edition of the album is sometimes called Introducing Herman's Hermits – a title used on the back cover and the record label but not on the front cover.
"Bread and Butter" is a 1964 song by American pop vocal trio the Newbeats. Written by Larry Parks and Jay Turnbow, "Bread and Butter" was the group's first and most popular hit.
Best Always is the twelfth studio album by rock and roll and pop idol Rick Nelson and his fifth for Decca Records, released on April 19, 1965. Jimmie Haskell arranged the album and Charles "Bud" Dant produced it.
Love and Kisses is the thirteenth studio album by American rock and roll and pop singer Rick Nelson and his sixth for Decca Records, released on November 15, 1965.
Country Fever is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Rick Nelson, and his ninth for Decca Records, released on April 17, 1967. The album features Nelson's composition of "Alone" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Walkin' Down The Line", Nelson's earliest Dylan cover.
Another Side of Rick is the seventeenth studio album by American singer Rick Nelson, and his tenth for Decca Records. It was released on November 13, 1967. Jimmie Haskell arranged the album and John Boylan produced it.