“He wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own Top 10 hits”
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads.
His music was described by critics as operatic, earning him the nicknames “The Caruso of Rock” and “The Big O.” Many of Roy’s songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male rock-and-roll performers chose to project machismo. He performed while standing motionless and wearing black clothes to match his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses, which he wore to counter his shyness and stage fright.
He was signed by Sam Phillips of Sun Records in 1956, but enjoyed his greatest success with Monument Records. From 1960 to 1966, 22 of Roy’s singles reached the Billboard Top 40.
He wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own Top 10 hits, including “Only the Lonely” (1960), “Running Scared” (1961), “Crying” (1961), “In Dreams” (1963), and “Oh, Pretty Woman” (1964). Orbison’s honours include inductions 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 placed him at number 37 on its list of the “Greatest Artists of All Time” and number 13 on its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time“. In 2002, Billboard magazine listed him at number 74 on its list of the Top 600 recording artists.
In Australia, between 1960 – 1989, Roy had 30 hits, with 5 #1 and 13 top 10. Roy died of a heart attack at the age of 52, at his mother’s house, 6 December 1988
Ron will play many of The Big ‘O’s hits during the show, along with many more of the early pioneers.
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