Legends of Rock & Roll: Roy Orbison

By James Hoag

Roy Orbison had one of the best voices in pop music. It was a forceful, almost operatic bel canto tenor that is unlike anyone else in music. When you hear a Roy Orbison song, you almost immediately know who it is. Roy had a wonderful career that was cut short at what could be called, the prime of his life. In a career that had its ups and downs, he was just approaching the part of the cycle which would take him up again, when he died of a heart attack at the age of 52.

Roy Orbison had a voice that made one think of angels singing in a choir in heaven. It’s unusual for a rock singer to be a tenor, but Roy Orbison was probably the best tenor that has ever hit the pop charts in this country.

This little book is like the others in the Legends of Rock & Roll series. This is number 14 overall, and the second volume that concentrates on artists whose popularity started in the 1960's. The topics covered in this book are, 1) youth and beginning of a career, 2) first bands, 3) the first recordings, 4) the breakthrough hit, 5) his ups and downs, 6) personal tragedy, 7) was Roy Orbison blind? 8) Pretty Woman, 9) The Traveling Wilburys 10) his untimely death, 11) his legacy and 12) a selected discography of his work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Hoag
• Release date: Apr 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310435843

James Hoag

James Hoag has always been a big fan of Rock & Roll. Most people graduate from high school and then proceed to "grow up" and go on to more adult types of music. James got stuck at about age 18 and has been an avid fan of popular music ever since. His favorite music is from the Fifties, the origin of Rock & Roll and which was the era in which James grew up. But he likes almost all types of popular music including country music.After working his entire life as a computer programmer, he is now retired and he decided to share his love of the music and of the performers by writing books that discuss the life and music of the various people who have meant so much to him over the years.He calls each book a "love letter" to the stars that have enriched our lives so much. These people are truly Legends.

Book preview

Legends of Rock & Roll – Roy Orbison

By

James Hoag

~~~

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Copyright © 2012 by James Hoag

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Cover by James Hoag

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Publishers Notes

Disclaimer

Legends of Rock & Roll – Roy Orbison Copyright 2012 James Hoag.

All rights reserved.

No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the publisher. The only exception is for a reviewer. A reviewer may quote brief passages in a review.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Growing Up

The Wink Westerners

Sun Records

An In-Between Time

Nashville Sound

Only the Lonely

Running Sacred

Was Roy Orbison Blind?

Oh, Pretty Woman

Personal Problems

Marriage Number Two

Health Problems

The Traveling Wilburys

An Early Death

Legacy of Roy Orbison

Afterword

Selected Discography

About the Author

Introduction

Roy Orbison had one of the best voices in pop music. It was a forceful, almost operatic bel canto (meaning beautiful singing) tenor that is unlike anyone else in music. When you hear a Roy Orbison song, you almost immediately know who it is.

Welcome to another volume of the Legends of Rock & Roll series. While Roy Orbison started recording in the Fifties, he didn’t hit the Billboard charts until 1960. I joined the Air Force in 1960 and spent most of my service time in Biloxi, Mississippi. Late at night, if you tried and had a pretty good radio, you could pick up a station out of Nashville, Tennessee. I don’t remember the call letters, but they played music that wasn’t heard on the main stream radio stations. Mostly early rock and roll and doo wop.

It was on this station that I learned about Roy Orbison. They would play his Sun records and while I didn’t know who Roy Orbison was, I liked the sound.

We all know that Roy