Only the Lonely
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison’s most successful periods were in the early 1960s and the late 1980s. He was nicknamed “The Caruso of Rock” and “The Big O.” Many of Orbison’s songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male rock-and-roll performers projected strength. He performed with minimal motion and in black clothes, matching his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses.
Born in Texas, Orbison began singing in a country-and-western band as a teenager. He was signed by Sam Phillips of Sun Records in 1956 after being urged by Johnny Cash. Elvis was leaving Sun and Phillips was looking to replace him. His first Sun recording, “Ooby Dooby“, was a direct musical sound-a-like of Elvis’s early Sun recordings. He had some success at Sun, but enjoyed his greatest success with Monument Records. From 1960 to 1966, 22 of Orbison’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), “Oh, Pretty Woman” (1964), “I Drove All Night” (1987), “She’s a Mystery to Me” (1988), “You Got It” (1988), and “California Blue” (1988).
