The Great Songs of Roy Orbison

Last updated
The Great Songs of Roy Orbison
GreatSongsOrbison.jpg
Compilation album by Roy Orbison
Released February 1970
Recorded July 8, 1965 - July 18, 1969
Genre Rockabilly, country
Label MGM (SE 4659)
Producer Wesley Rose, Jim Vienneau
Roy Orbison chronology
The Big O
(1970)
The Great Songs of Roy Orbison
(1970)
Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way
(1970)

The Great Songs of Roy Orbison is an album recorded by Roy Orbison for MGM Records that was released in the United States in February 1970.

Roy Orbison American singer-songwriter

Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his powerful voice, wide vocal range, impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. The combination led many critics to describe his music as operatic, nicknaming him "the Caruso of Rock" and "the Big O". While most male rock-and-roll performers in the 1950s and 1960s projected a defiant masculinity, many of Orbison's songs instead conveyed vulnerability. During performances, he was known for standing still and solitary and for wearing black clothes to match his dyed jet-black hair and dark sunglasses; all of this lent an air of mystery to his persona.

MGM Records American record label

MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. It soon transitioned to a pop music label which 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, it even released the highly successful soundtrack album of a film made by a rival studio, Columbia Pictures's Born Free (1966).

United States federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees, except where indicated

William Marvin "Bill" Dees was an American musician known for his songwriting collaborations with singer Roy Orbison.

Side one
  1. "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart" (P) 1966
  2. "Cry Softly Lonely One" (Joe Melson, Don Gant) (P) 1967
  3. "Penny Arcade" (Sammy King) (P) 1969
  4. "Ride Away" (P) 1965
  5. "Southbound Jericho Parkway" (Bobby Bond) (P) 1969
Side two
  1. "Crawling Back" (P) 1965
  2. "Heartache" (P) 1968
  3. "Too Soon to Know" (Don Gibson) (P) 1966
  4. "My Friend" (P) 1966
  5. "Here Comes the Rain, Baby" (Mickey Newbury) (P) 1967

Produced by Wesley Rose and Jim Vienneau
except "My Friend" & "Southbound Jericho Parkway" Produced by Don Gant
Arrangers: Bill McElhiney, Jim Hall, Emory Gordy, Jr., Tupper Saussy

Wesley Rose was an American music industry executive and record producer.

James Francis Vienneau is a retired music producer. He is best known for producing the song "Hey Good Lookin'" by Hank Williams and "It's Only Make Believe" by Conway Twitty.

Donald W. Gant was an American singer, songwriter and record producer.

Related Research Articles

P. J. Proby American singer, songwriter, and actor

P.J. Proby is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has also portrayed Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison in musical theater productions. The stage name P.J. Proby was suggested by a friend, Sharon Sheeley, who had a boyfriend of that name at high school.

The Gants was an American garage rock band that formed in 1964 in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the cultural and geographic Deep South.

<i>The Classic Roy Orbison</i> album by Roy Orbison

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.

<i>Roy Orbison Sings</i> album by Roy Orbison

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.

<i>There Is Only One Roy Orbison</i> album by Roy Orbison

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 it, though, was "Ride Away", which reached #25 in the US charts, #12 in Australia and #34 in the UK.

<i>Memphis</i> (Roy Orbison album) album by Roy Orbison

Memphis is the seventeenth album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his tenth for MGM Records. The album was released in November 1972.

<i>The Orbison Way</i> album by Roy Orbison

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 that album; "Crawling Back" and "Breakin' Up Is Breakin' My Heart", both of which were chart hits in England, the US and Australia.

<i>Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson</i> album by Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson is a tribute album recorded by Roy Orbison for MGM Records, and his tenth studio album overall. 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 #4 in Ireland and #27 in Australia.

<i>Cry Softly Lonely One</i> album by Roy Orbison

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 #9 in February. According to the official Roy Orbison discography by Marcel Riesco, the London Records release of this album featured the extra track "Just One Time".

<i>The Big O</i> (album) album by Roy Orbison

The Big O is the fifteenth music album recorded by Roy Orbison, and according to Marcel Riesco's official Roy Orbison discography, 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 #27 in the UK and would be 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.

<i>Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way</i> album by Roy Orbison

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 recorded in just three sessions in early 1969, and none of its tracks were released as singles.

<i>In Dreams: The Greatest Hits</i> 1987 compilation album by Roy Orbison

In Dreams: The Greatest Hits is a two-record album set of 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 new recordings by Orbison from 1986, except "In Dreams" from April 1987.

Dan Folger was an American singer and songwriter.

<i>Im Still in Love with You</i> (Roy Orbison album) album by Roy Orbison

I'm Still in Love With You is the nineteenth album by Roy Orbison, recorded for Mercury Records and released in 1976.

Roy Orbison discography discography

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 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 No. 1 singles.

Oh, Pretty Woman single

"Oh, Pretty Woman" or "Pretty Woman" is a song recorded by Roy Orbison, 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, the second single by Orbison to top the US charts. It was also Orbison's third single to top the UK Singles Chart. The record ultimately sold seven million copies and marked the high point in Orbison's career. Within months of its release, in October 1964, the single was certified gold by the RIAA. At the year's end, Billboard ranked it the number four song of 1964.

<i>Arkansas</i> (Glen Campbell album) album by Glen Campbell

Arkansas is a compilation of album tracks from Hey Little One and A New Place in the Sun plus the B-sides of Capitol singles "Private John Q"/"Less of me" (1965), "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"/"You've Still Got a Place in My Heart" (1967) and "Where's the Playground Susie?"/"Arkansas" (1969).

"You Win Again" is a 1952 song by Hank Williams. In style, the song is a blues ballad and deals with the singer's despair with his partner. The song has been widely covered, including versions by Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones.

"Run, Baby Run " is a song written by Joe Melson and Don Gant and performed by The Newbeats. It reached #4 in Canada, #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #66 in Australia in 1965. The song was also released in the United Kingdom as a single, but it did not chart on its original release. The group re-released the song as the B-side to their 1971 single, "Am I Not My Brother's Keeper", and in that year, "Run, Baby Run " reached #10 in the U.K., following extensive playing in Northern Soul clubs in England.