In 1957 Orbison met songwriter Joe Melson in Odessa. After hearing a song Melson had written entitled "Raindrops," which featured melodic twists and lyrical styling, Roy soon asked him to write with him. Together they created a sound unheard of in rock and roll at the time: the dramatic rock ballad.
They created many hits for Monument Records. Fred Foster liked the new direction and assisted with the writing team's vision. Roy's first record, "Uptown," was moderately successful.
With the release of "Only The Lonely" and its immediate rise to the top of the charts (#2 in the US, #1 in the UK), he went on to become an international rock and roll star. Later, Roy wrote many songs with writer Bill Dees including "Oh, Pretty Woman" which may be the most well-known song of Roy's career. Throughout his stay at Monument Records his backup band was a group of outstanding studio musicians led by Bob Moore.
The play of Orbison's voice against the dynamic yet uncluttered sound of the band gave Orbison's records a unique and identifiable sound. Orbison was a powerful influence on contemporaries such as The Rolling Stones. In 1963 he headlined a European tour with The Beatles.
He became lifelong friends with the band, especially John Lennon and George Harrison. Orbison would later record with Harrison in the Traveling Wilburys. During their tour of Europe, Orbison encouraged the Beatles to come to the United States.
When they toured America, they asked Orbison to manage their tour, but his schedule forced him to decline. Unlike many artists, Orbison maintained his success as the British Invasion swept America in 1964. His single "Oh, Pretty Woman" broke the Beatles' stranglehold on the Top 10, soaring to No.
1 on the Billboard charts. The record sold more copies in its first ten days of release than any 45rpm up to that time, and eventually sold over seven million copies. The song later became the signature tune for the film , named for his song, which brought fame to actress Julia Roberts.
He toured with The Beach Boys in 1964, and with The Rolling Stones in Australia in 1965. He was successful in England, logging three No.1 hit singles and was several times voted top male vocalist of the year.
Orbison signed a contract with MGM Records in 1965, and starred in MGM Studios' western-musical motion picture in which he performed several songs from an album of the same name. Due to changes in musical taste he had no hits in the U.S.
He remained popular elsewhere, but his American popularity did not recover until the 1980s. He had problems in his personal life, with the death of his first wife Claudette (Frady) (b. September 7, 1941) in a motorcycle accident on June 6, 1966 in Gallatin, TN.
On September 14, 1968 the family home at Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee, burned to the ground while Orbison was touring in England. Two of his three sons, Roy Jr. 1958) and Anthony (b.
June 29, 1962), died in the fire. May 23, 1965), three at the time, was saved by Orbison's parents. Orbison met his second wife Barbara in August 1968 in Leeds, England.
They were married in Nashville on May 25, 1969, and built a new house one block away from where Roy's old house once stood. Songs that had limited success in North America, such as "Penny Arcade" and "Working for the Man," would go to Number 1 on the Australian charts, and "Too Soon to Know" was Number 3 in England. His popularity extended to Germany, and he recorded his hit song "Mama" in German.
His records were in great demand on the "black market" behind the Iron Curtain. In France, he was viewed as the master of the ballad of lost love in the vein of that country's most popular singer Édith Piaf. A cover version of Orbison's "Blue Bayou" sung in French by Mireille Mathieu went to the top of France's record charts.
Fans in the Netherlands founded his largest world-wide fan club. He continued to perform in Ireland, despite the constant terrorist activities in Northern Ireland. A rendition of the popular ballad "Danny Boy" on the 1972 album is considered one of the best recordings ever made of this much-recorded song.
His contract with MGM ended in 1973 and he signed with Mercury Records. He released on there a country style album entitled "I'm Still In Love With You." The original liner notes even said how Roy's career was suffering and the lack of hits he had in the states, and according to the notes, that was to change with the release of the songs on the lp.
The song Sweet Mama Blue which is considered another rare and overlooked song was a single from the lp and like all the other songs of that era of Roy's failed to chart. He re-signed with Monument in 1976, in hopes to revive his career with once again Fred Foster at the helm of his recording sessions. The music from the sessions gave us the lp "Regeneration".
The lp is classic Orbison through and through, but once again the public failed to find the songs or Roy. There was enough material yet for another lp to be released, but Roy asked Fred to be released from his contract in 1978. Roy continued to tour heavily in the late 1970's and at times non-stop for weeks at a time.
That all came to a halt in late 1977 when Roy had discovered that he needed open heart surgery at the age 42. On January 18, 1978, Roy underwent the operation and until he passed in 1988, Roy had a new lease on life and his voice and music would become as big, if not bigger than it did in the early 60s. Roy's last contract in the 1970's came in 1979, with Electra-Asylum where he finished the lp "Laminar Flow", the lp was different for fans who still loved Roy, it was attempt of doing disco.
The lp also has a beautiful tribute that Roy recorded to Elvis Presley "Hound Dog Man" Resurgence in the 1980s In 1980 Orbison teamed with Emmylou Harris to win the 1981 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for their song "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again". In 1985 Orbison recorded "Wild Hearts" for the Nicolas Roeg film , released on the ZTT Records label, produced by David Briggs and Will Jennings. The inclusion of "In Dreams" in the 1986 David Lynch film also aided Orbison's return to popularity.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, with the induction speech made by Bruce Springsteen (who had famously referenced Orbison and "Only the Lonely" in his 1975 song "Thunder Road"). His pioneering contribution was also recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Having signed a recording contract for the first time in 10 years, with Virgin Records, he re-recorded his 1961 hit song "Crying" as a duet with k.
d. lang in 1987 for the soundtrack of the motion picture In 1957 Orbison met songwriter Joe Melson in Odessa.
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