Roy

It was Autumn, 1964, and life was GOOD.
On the way to school I'd turn East on Olive Branch to pick up John T.,
and we'd switch around on the radio dial until we found a station playing "Oh, Pretty Woman".
What a great way to start the school day!


For me, Roy was mysterious. It seemed to me he'd been around the music scene forever... "Oh, Pretty Woman" was huge, but we'd all heard his other songs on the radio, a few even reached number one, and many others had climbed the charts to a lesser degree.
"Crying" was another of my favorites, as was "Running Scared".
I had heard there was much tragedy in Roy's life, but didn't pursue trying to nail down information about him back then, mostly because I didn't know where to go to learn.
Looking into his career now there are several things that surprise me:
He was 52 when he died in 1988. I'm surprised he died that long ago... time sure passes quickly, doesn't it?
I'm also surprised he was that young.

And there certainly was tragedy in his short life...
In 1966 his first wife Claudette, (subject of an Everly Brothers song written by Roy) was killed in a motorcycle accident. He had divorced Claudette in 1964, then remarried her in '66.
In 1968, two of his three pre-teen sons were killed when his Tennessee home burned to the ground while he was on tour in England.

The Beatles and Rolling Stones credited him with influencing them.
He toured with the Beatles in 1963, with the Beach Boys in '64, and with the 'Stones in '65. Folks that know music talk about what a trailblazer he was in the early Rock and Roll era, writing tunes that didn't fall into the normal musical "formula", and writing "Rock Ballads". Combined with that voice with the four octave range...
Roy Orbison was one of a kind.

Just before his death, Roy got together with Jeff Lynne from "Electric Light Orchestra", Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and George Harrison to form "The Traveling Wilburys".
He died in December of 1988.

I have his "Greatest Hits" CD, but can only listen to it infrequently.
Sara Jean isn't a big "Roy" fan, so I poke it into the player when I'm in the car solo.
I think she's missing some great music.

If you're interested in learning more about Roy's "dash", you can go here, or here.

And now, TGIF time...
How badly are you being affected by anthropomorphic global warming?