Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for his distinctive voice, complex song structures, and emotional ballads. He was active primarily in the early 1960s and experienced a resurgence in the late 1980s. Orbison was recognized for performing with minimal movement, often wearing dark clothing, dark sunglasses, and styling his hair black. Born in Texas, Orbison began performing in a country-and-western band as a teenager.
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Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for his distinctive voice, complex song structures, and emotional ballads. He was active primarily in the early 1960s and experienced a resurgence in the late 1980s. Orbison was recognized for performing with minimal movement, often wearing dark clothing, dark sunglasses, and styling his hair black. Born in Texas, Orbison began performing in a country-and-western band as a teenager. In 1956, he was signed to Sun Records by Sam Phillips, following a recommendation from Johnny Cash. His first Sun recording, "Ooby Dooby", shared stylistic similarities with early Elvis Presley recordings. Orbison achieved moderate success at Sun but reached greater commercial success with Monument Records. Between 1960 and 1966, 22 of his singles reached the Billboard Top 40. He wrote or co-wrote most of his top-10 hits, including "Only the Lonely" (1960), "Running Scared" (1961), "Crying" (1961), "In Dreams" (1963), "Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964), "I Drove All Night" (1987), "She's a Mystery to Me" (1988), "You Got It" (1988), and "California Blue" (1988). Orbison's career declined after the mid-1960s due to personal tragedies but revived in the late 1980s, partly through cover versions of his songs. In 1988, he co-founded the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. Orbison died of a heart attack in December 1988 at age 52. His song "You Got It" was released posthumously in 1989, reaching the top 10 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Orbison received numerous honors, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and five other Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone ranked him number 37 on its list of the "Greatest Artists of All Time" and number 13 on its "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Billboard placed him at number 74 on its list of the Top 600 recording artists. Studio albums Lonely and Blue (1961) Roy Orbison at the Rock House (1961) Crying (1962) In Dreams (1963) There Is Only One Roy Orbison (1965) The Orbison Way (1966) Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson (1967) Cry Softly Lonely One (1967) Roy Orbison's Many Moods (1969) The Big O (1970) Hank Williams: The Roy Orbison Way (1970) Roy Orbison Sings (1972) Memphis (1972) Milestones (1973) I'm Still in Love with You (1975) Regeneration (1976) Laminar Flow (1979) Mystery Girl (1989) King of Hearts (1992) One of the Lonely Ones (2015)
