Roy Orbison

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Vernon TX, United States (1954 – 1988)

Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988), nicknamed “The Big O”, was an influential American and a pioneer of , whose recording career spanned more than four decades. By the mid-1960s Orbison was internationally recognized for his ballads of lost love, rhythmically advanced melodies, three-octave vocal range, characteristic dark sunglasses, and sometimes distinctive usage of , typified in songs such as “Only The Lonely, “Oh, Pretty Woman”, and “Crying”. In 1989, he was inducted posthumously into the National Academy of Popular Music/Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Two common misconceptions about his appearance stubbornly continue to surface about Orbison: one, that he was an albino, and two, that he wore his trademark dark glasses because he was blind or nearly so. Neither is correct, although his poor vision required him to wear thick corrective lenses (He suffered from childhood from a combination of hyperopia, severe astigmatism, presbyopia, anisometropia, and strabismus). Orbison’s trademark sunglasses were a fashion statement arising from an accident early in his career. Due to go onstage in a few minutes, Orbison left his regular glasses in an airplane. Unable to see without corrective lenses, the only other pair of glasses he had available were darkly tinted prescription sunglasses. “I had to see to get onstage,” so he wore the glasses throughout his tour with the Beatles, and he carried on with it for the rest of his professional career. “I’ll just do this and look cool.”

Early life and career
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Popular tags: classic rock, oldies, 60s, rockabilly, rock  See more

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  • erdiawan

    i thought he got at least 1 million listeners

    Wednesday evening

  • ChellyBlaze

    His music is so amazing...

    Monday evening

  • Clansman_1982

    www.lastfm.ru/music/Roy+Orbison/+images/74208694

    last week

  • staths86

    the right is (1936-1988)

    17 days ago

  • AnthonyAkinshin

    awesooooooooooome!

    18 days ago

  • aminalcollectiv

    progressive rock pioneer... roy orbison more like boy this-is-goodison

    20 days ago

  • sbarcelo

    mt bom ♥

    22 days ago

  • Slim_rafa

    foda

    last month

  • Enigmatic_Smile

    Huge "Thank You" to my uncle who gave me a cd with Roy's songs when I was about 10 years old. I was growing up listening to such a beautiful music.

    last month

  • bobandjean

    he was one of the best rest in peace roy we love you

    last month

  • Nintendoman64

    There is no better way to listen to Roy then to shut off the lights, plug in your headphones and enjoy. Absolute Bliss. I actually discovered him thanks to the film Blue Velvet and the song In Dreams. Now I have a load of his albums and memorabilia. Wish I could have seen him when he was alive, I can only imagine hearing his voice with your very own ears an amazing experience. RIP Dude.

    last month

  • Wiracocha

    Such a legend.

    last month

  • Nakkinak

    Post-Rockabilly

    last month

  • extext64

    I heard In Dreams at the end of Alan Wake's first episode. 'tis a great song.

    last month

  • CaptainLesgate

    No pissing about with Roy, he was just pure 'stand and deliver'.

    December 2011

  • PhilAbernethy

    Orbison, though, transcended all the genres - folk, country, rock and roll or just about anything. His stuff mixed all the styles and some that hadn't even been invented yet. He could sound mean and nasty on one line and then sing in a falsetto voice like Frankie Valli in the next. With Roy, you didn't know if you were listening to mariachi or opera. He kept you on your toes. With him, it was all about fat and blood. He sounded like he was singing from an Olympian mountaintop and he meant business. One of his previous songs, "Ooby Dooby" was deceptively simple, but Roy had progressed. He was now singing his compositions in three or four octaves that made you want to drive your car over a cliff. He sang like a professional criminal. Typically, he'd start out in some low, barely audible range, stay there a while and then astonishingly slip into histrionics. His voice could jar a corpse. His songs had songs within songs. There wasn't anything else on the radio like him.

    December 2011

  • barryvs

    Absolutely inimitable.

    November 2011

  • Pissisviss

    Great voice!

    November 2011

  • Nakkinak

    his music was like this ___________________________________ ahead of its time

    November 2011

  • markalvin

    Amazing voice.

    November 2011
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Just Announced: ROY ORBISON: THE MONUMENT SINGLES COLLECTION (1960-64)

9 Feb 2011 | from blog.myspace.com/royorbison

CELEBRATE THE 75th BIRTHDAY YEAR OF ROCK & ROLL LEGEND ROY ORBISON.... WITH THE LONG-AWAITED MONO RELEASE OF.... ROY ORBISON: THE MONUMENT SINGLES COLLECTION (1960-64).... …

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