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.
Tom JonesView profile
The DriftersView profile
Herman's HermitsView profile
The Beach BoysView profile
The Four SeasonsView profile