<Archive Obituaries> Roy Orbison (December 6th 1988)
Bill Schenley
When Roy Orbison, Who Died Yesterday At 52, Sang A Sad Song, He Was
Singing From Experience
Photo:
http://photos1.blogger.com/img/102/4250/640/Roy_Orbison.jpg
FROM: Newsday (December 8th 1988) ~
By Wayne Robbins
"I was alright - for awhile
I could smile for a-while . . . "
- Roy Orbison ("Crying") -
How can you mend a broken heart? Sometimes you can't. Anyone who
shared with Roy Orbison the solitary anguish of "Only The Lonely," the
unashamed regret of "Crying," the homesick ache of "Blue Bayou," the
breathtaking terror of "Runnin' Scared" knew Orbison's death, like his
life, would be an affair of the heart.
Orbison, one of the most admired ballad singers and songwriters of the
rock era, died early yesterday morning of a heart attack in a hospital
near Nashville. Death at 52 seemed like the startling final insult to
a tragic life.
Orbison had survived the death of his first wife, Claudette, in a 1966
motorcycle accident as the singer rode just yards away. In 1968, his
two oldest sons, Roy Jr. and Tony, died in a fire at the family's
home. And the singer himself survived a coronary bypass operation in
1979.
Perhaps the saddest aspect of Orbison's death was that it occurred at
a time when his career was at an apogee, a time when acclaim for his
music was at its highest peak since his remarkable streak of two dozen
hits from 1960 to 1965.
He was in the process of being discovered by a new generation of rock
fans as a member of the Traveling Wilburys rock group, an aggregation
whose other members are Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty and Jeff
Lynne. Orbison's vocals are featured on the group's current hit,
"Handle With Care," and are spotlighted on the album track "Not Alone
Any More," a typically passionate ballad full of Orbison's trademark
dramatic climaxes.
He recently finished recording an album, "Mystery Girl," which Virgin
Records will release in February. The album features songwriting and
production contributions by admirers such as Bono of U2, T-Bone
Burnett, Elvis Costello and Jeff Lynne.
"He was as gentle, wise and mysterious as his voice," Bono said. "His
great gift was to turn the pain and bad luck he experienced into
groundbreaking, shiny pop songs that were a light to everyone else."
Calling Orbison "the finest white pop singer on the planet," Bono
added: "Writing a song for him was like writing a song for Elvis
Presley, the only comparable vocal talent."
Presley himself was said to have felt deferential towards Orbison's
vocal gifts. "Elvis Presley idolized him," said singer Jay Black, who
as leader of Jay and the Americans had a hit with Orbison's "Crying"
in 1966. "Before a show he used to say, 'I hope I can hit that note -
better get me Orbison.' " Black, still a popular performer in the
metropolitan area, opens his shows with Orbison's "Runnin' Scared,"
and credits Orbison's supportiveness for maintaining his career. "I
knew Roy for close to twenty-five years," Black said. "About seven
years ago he called me, and heard I was unhappy and thinking about
giving it up. He got very upset and asked me to meet him at LaGuardia
Airport at the American Airlines VIP lounge. He spent two hours
telling me to keep my chin up, don't give up."
Orbison made have had some of those moments himself. "I sensed he was
an angry man," said Mort Cooperman, proprietor of the Lone Star Cafe,
where Orbison played six years ago, perhaps bitter that at a time when
he was playing stadiums in Europe, he was relegated to a small club in
New York. Orbison came across then as "a reclusive individual"
insulated by protective associates.
"I recall a night he was here, he was downstairs in the office not
talking to anybody," Cooperman said. "Linda Ronstadt went downstairs
to see him. Jerry Brown was with her at the time, but the bodyguards
wouldn't let him through, and he's shouting, 'Let me in! I'm the
governor of California.' "
Earlier this year, Orbison was the star of a Cinemax cable special,
"Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night," which featured
Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Costello
and Burnett.
It was Springsteen who made a memorable speech at Orbison's induction
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria in 1987.
"Some rock and roll reinforces friendship and community," Springsteen
said. "Roy's ballads were always best when you were alone in the
dark." Orbison's songs, Springsteen said, "addressed the underside of
pop romance - they were scary."
They also provided a yardstick for quality. "When I went into the
studio to make 'Born to Run,' I wanted to write words like Bob Dylan,
that sounded like Phil Spector, but with singing like Roy Orbison. But
nobody sings like Roy Orbison."
Though acclaimed as a balladeer, Orbison began his career as one of
the pillars of rockabilly, recording for Memphis' legendary Sun
Records in the mid-1950s, along with Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and
Johnny Cash. Though he had a minor hit with the quintessential
rockabilly tune "Ooby Dooby," he didn't hit his stride as a recording
artist until 1960, when the towering operatic ballad "Only the Lonely"
began a streak of hits that made him one of the few Americans artists
impervious to the assault of the Beatles-led English invasion.
Orbison's audience was, in fact, enormous and dedicated both in
England and on the Continent. In 1963, Orbison headlined in the U. K.
with the Beatles as an opening act.
His own recording career may have sagged in the late 1960s and '70s,
but his songs continued to inspire many younger singers. Linda
Ronstadt made the top five with "Blue Bayou" in 1977; Don McLean
revived "Crying" in 1981; Van Halen had a hit with his atypically
cheerful "Oh, Pretty Woman" in 1982.
Orbison reached a new audience when director David Lynch used his song
"In Dreams" for a key segment of his controversial film "Blue Velvet"
a few years ago. Even Joey Ramone of the New York punk band the
Ramones was not immune to the singer's charms.
"I love Roy Orbison," Ramone said. "The guy would admit total emotion.
Whether you're hearing 'Crying' or 'It's Over' or any of his stuff,
hearing it twenty years ago or hearing it today, he poured out emotion
that hit you right in the gut. His greatest attribute was his voice,
and the emotion, raw feelings, he would emit."
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Photo: http://www.kfdx.com/temp/texclebs/roy.gif
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The Gifts Of Roy Orbison;
'If You Grow Spiritually, Then You're In Good Shape'
FROM: The Boston Globe (December 8th 1988) ~
By Jim Sullivan, Staff Writer
In an extended phone interview from Paris on Nov. 25, singer Roy
Orbison spoke with Globe rock music writer Jim Sullivan about his
upcoming show at the Channel in Boston, his resurging solo career, his
new album with the Traveling Wilburys and his new-found religious
faith.
The interview, among Orbison's last, follows.
We've talked several times. At Club Casino in Hampton Beach, N.H.,
summer of '87, we talked with you for a while, a wonderful chat,
talking about the wave of successes . . . You couldn't anticipate this
one? It swept you over?
Yes, it did. Well, it was a gradual thing. It started coming on with
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Barbara and I had moved to California,
and we intended to get proper management and a proper booking agency
and the right recording company - get everything in place, so that I
could do my work and have the best outlet for it. And, at the same
time, we had our plans and God has his and they're working together
now. But the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the film "Blue Velvet"
and all that started happening, and we put in the "Black and White
Nights" television thing, and then I started writing and recording,
about a year ago.
Then, I was touring a lot, not writing a great deal, and this spring I
had done a bit of writing with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty on a couple of
things and just Bob Dylan and I. We were about halfway through the
album; then George Harrison came over and wanted to do a B-side for a
European single, and we went to Bob Dylan's house and Tom Petty came
along and we all wrote this song and recorded it for George.
The record company thought it was too strong for that thing, so we
decided to get together and do an album, midway through my new solo
album. So we did that, we didn't know if it'd ever be released -
'cause we didn't get any permission. We just did it, we didn't call
everybody in and say, "Here's what we're gonna do," because it
ultimately wouldn't have worked that way. Anyway, we presented it to
everybody - here it is; we done it - and everybody said OK. They were
very good about it, all the different labels and things. And then,
back to pick up on my solo album, and finished that about 10 days ago,
and then we flew to Belgium.
Modern arrangements, no synthesizers at all . . . any trouble fitting
your voice into that style?
No, in fact, I was very pleased that we had no synthesizers on this
new album, neither the Wilburys' or mine. It was, more or less, new
music. The technology helped; we'd put maybe a drum machine down and
replace it with a live drummer. 'Most all the stuff is live musicians,
which makes me feel good. But technology is good, too, because it
helps you when you're mixing and overdubbing and things like that. You
get to take a little time. If someone makes a mistake doing a live
take, we can fix it later.
Will your new LP still be dealing with themes like loneliness and
tragedy?
It's still matters of the heart.
Slightly happier?
Well, there're some up things, but there's still a little frustration
there chuckles.
There's a perception people have of you because of the somber
emotional songs and history; is that the kind of guy you are or does
it just come out when you write?
It's just the kind of guy that comes out sometimes when I write,
probably one side of my personality coming through. I read a lot into
what I write, and it's mostly feelings. There's some happy ones, too -
"Running Scared" and "It's Over," I mean, "Pretty Woman." And on the
new album it's the same; there are a couple of occasions where I'm in
good shape.
On the new album, trademark multiple crescendos?
Yeah, but not any predictable ones, I don't think. But there are quite
a few movements . . . It'll be released in the later part of January.
Can we expect any new things when you're playing Boston?
I'm not sure that I want to subject the audience to a tryout, but I
may do a couple of songs from the album. . . . The reason I haven't
done it in the past was because it was a personal thing with me. In an
audience, I didn't altogether want to see a performance. I expected to
hear all the big hit records, and then the performer said, here's my
new album. So you sit for 30 minutes through things you aren't
familiar with. That was just personal taste. But I'm going to,
certainly in the new year, have a big rehearsal before I come out
again and include 'most all of the things on the album.
How do you keep the artistry vital?
This is the first time in a long time that I feel the old phasing into
the new. I never before felt like the older songs were in the past;
they were always very current with me. Now, I feel like the new
material needs to be done. I've heard what's coming, you know, on this
album, and I'm very much looking forward to performing these songs. I
think everybody's gonna like this album; it's really got a lot of
heart and soul and live musicians.
The older stuff, in performance, seems very close to you still, so
long after its genesis. Do you still feel it?
Yeah, I sure do, Jim. It was a thing back in the early days. I might
have one hit record, I'd go out and sing 20 or 30 minutes of other
people's songs and my one hit record. I always thought it'd be nice if
I had five or six hits. When I got five or six, I was really pleased.
Then, it worked out to an hour, an hour and a half. I've always been
really pleased to be proud of that. If I hadn't cared so much for that
material, the shows might not have been what they were. We would've
gotten tired of performing those things and the shows probably
wouldn't have had the sparkle that they've had.
I think you need to treat them as brand-new each evening, and I know
with the new stuff, there'll be a lot of excitement that will carry
over to the old songs. I think it'll probably rejuvenate even a few of
the other songs and help the new ones as well.
Has there been a time when those songs lost something for you - "I
just don't believe in this song"?
No, never happened. I think it was partly because I wrote most of them
- with co-writers. But had I not written them, well, there are some I
didn't write that I sang on stage every once in a while, and I'd say,
"It doesn't move quite as good as it should." But the ones I wrote,
that's one of the great things about being able to be a
songwriter/singer is that the songs come from deep within and then you
treat them as an artist with that much respect. I couldn't hardly
cheat myself and not do the best I could do, if that makes any sense.
Sometimes I talk to artists who lose part of their past. They play it
out, forget why they wrote it. You seem so in touch.
They the songs are still very, very close to me. This is the first
time in my career that I feel they're not in the distant past. But
those are behind, and the new material is in front. Now, I feel I
oughta fit the new stuff in. We won't go deep into the album. I want
to present those songs as well as I do the older material. It needs
rehearsal.
Title?
We don't have a title yet. The record company does, but we're not sure
of it. Not sure we know what the cover will look like. All that's
behind us, no title yet.
Any changes in your voice? Is it as strong?
No, Jim, I never worried about it. I think that if I had been
wondering whether it was still going to be, it might not have been.
But I always just went right ahead. In fact, there have been times
when, if I had a throat problem or illness, and I worried about any
note, it would come very easily. So I found it best just to go
straight on ahead. The other thing is, too, that I'll never forget my
father singing for me when I was a teen-ager. His voice still sounded
very, very young. That's what struck me. He must've been 40, which I
considered to be very old. I was blessed with his voice to some
degree.
On the last album, which we just finished, I did the last performance
on Tuesday, we mixed it on Thursday, I was in Belgium on Friday and it
was some of the best stuff I've done. I'm really pleased. I don't do
anything in particular to look after it except in the old days, when I
used to sing five and six hours a night for dances, I was the only
singer we had and I guess by instinct I knew not to tear up my voice
singing. That treatment, and also singing every day, writing songs,
recording, or just around the house, I think helped.
You've gotten an immense amount of praise, from Bruce Springsteen to
Bono. What's the effect?
It's very pleasing, as you might well understand. It's a nice thing
that people say good things about you. I think it means more to me
that they are in the business and a few of the people I've met said,
"I got in the business because of you" or "You inspired me." That
makes me feel really good, that someone else comes along doing great
work. It's a wonderful thing. It also tells you where you are. If you
ever wondered if you're reaching anyone or touching anyone, why, when
they let you know, it's really great.
You told me last year about a turning point in Canada when you were
insecure, and walked to the show, and saw the marquee "Roy Orbison -
Sold Out." It made a difference.
What it was was I realized, all of a sudden, that most people came to
hear me - and a few out of curiosity. But most people knew I was gonna
sing anyway, and they appreciated me before I even walked on. It made
me relax a little bit. I think it's something that you need to work
on; I think everyone needs to grow a little bit and work on themselves
and that was one of the things. You don't need to be so insecure that
it's gonna affect your performance. You don't need to have so many
butterflies that the first two or three songs are gonna be terrible.
It just dawned on me that there was a little bit of love there to
start with. So I just relaxed and everything started turning around.
It must have been six years ago. Canada. I think it was Edmonton or
Regina, or Saskatoon.
When you told me, it seemed like such a simple thing. There must have
been a lot of sold-out shows. Why that one?
I don't know. That's the kind of creature I am. Every once in a while,
I'll make a discovery; that was one of them.
Does religion play a role?
Yes, it does. I think if you have faith, then your whole life is put
in a real new perspective. You get to work, but enjoy the work at the
same time. A lot of times, you'll do something, hoping. You'll make an
album - or people will do something they hope will turn out right -
and if you're too much into that, then it's gonna turn out some other
way. If you grow spiritually, then you're in good shape insofar as you
can be. You must go ahead and do what's in front of you and let the
results speak for themselves. It's a unique way to operate; you don't
get caught up in wishing that you'd have a hit record or wishing
things could go this way or that way. You just do your work. I
remember some years back I would do something and two or three days
later I'd say, "Oh, boy, that was wonderful" or "It wasn't so
wonderful." And now I'm able to enjoy it as I'm doing it. It's a great
show, then I'm having as good a time right then. I don't have to wait
to see if the feeling comes around that it was really terrific.
Did this come at a particular time?
Well, it was almost overnight. You set out to whip the world, then
when you get beat up a little bit laughs - in my case, you say,
"Father, I'm gonna let you have it. I've done what I can do. I'm
turning my life and my will over to God." It's a thing whhis happen?
About three-and-a-half years ago.
Denomination?
Christian. I've been developing a personal relationship with myself
and with Jesus Christ, and it just kind of smoothes everything out,
puts everything in perspective.
Born again?
Yeah. It's an overused phrase, and for some people it turns 'em off,
but Jesus said, "Lest you be born again." It's exactly that kind of
thing, but I'm not fond of the phrase.
Is that because it's associated with right-wing causes, misused?
It is misused. It's a catch phrase. People don't stop to realize . . .
You mean . . .?
Exactly. Jesus said, "If you deny me before me, I'll deny you before
my father." So if someone asks me, I have to tell about me. Barbara,
my wife and manager, she says, "You're being pretty specific here
about all this." And I said, "Yeah, I am. I kind of have to be." It's
what you have that you didn't receive: My voice is a gift. My talent
is a gift. The life process is a gift. And the opportunity for the
journey is a gift. I realized that one night. It's fabulous, Jim.
You're a popular guy.
Even as we speak, I have been part of the number nine album with a
bullet.
When I heard the single and your line - "I'm so tired of being lonely"
- I had to smile. If there's one line for Roy Orbison to sing . . .
That's gotta be it. I felt that was pretty typical of what I should be
singing. And then I got a double life when Bob and Tom Petty came in
with "Everybody's got somebody to lean on. So put your body next to
mine, and dream on."
It's a modest record, not a superstar jam.
Yes, it is. I think the whole endeavor was quite modest. We didn't set
out to prove anything. It's five guys who respected and cared for each
other, working together, and that's what came out. It wasn't
pretentious at all.
I enjoyed talking to you. Maybe we'll get to see you when we're in
town. Looking forward to it.
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Photos: http://www.orbison.de/bilder/roy16.jpg (w/'The Boss')
http://www.nostalgiacentral.com/images_music/orbison_78.jpg
http://www.sherrybarnettphotography.com/img/KDLANGROYORBISON36kw.jpg
(w/k.d. Lang)
Roy Orbison in art:
http://www.texasonblues.com/images/roy_orbison_full.jpg
SO
too....)
Scott O.
"Bill Schenley" <stra...@ma.rr.com> wrote in message
news:cvdlf.171622$tD4....@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com...
deb...@comcast.net
Traveling Wilburys. I remember they did a video in which Roy was
represented by an empty chair.
PirateJohn
best music of my experience. The first time that I heard Orbison sing
one of the Wilburys' songs I remember instantly recognizing his voice
and thinking "Damn ... he's back!" as that wonderful, absolutely
haunting voice came from the radio.
I also remember very well where I was on that dreadful day when I first
heard that he had died.
RIP.