History Music / RoyOrbison

* AbortedArc: His movie career (he wasn't a good actor) and his 1980s comeback (DiedDuringProduction). His first family. His first wife dies in 1966, 2 of his then 3 kids die in 1968.

Tragedy struck in June 1966 when his wife Claudette was killed in a motorcycle accident. Roy's movie career ended after one movie, ''The Fastest Guitar Alive''. He recorded {{Cover Album}}s of Hank Williams and Don Gibson songs, which didn't sell. Tragedy struck again in September 1968 when his house burned down while he was on tour, killing two of his children. Orbison remarried in 1969, to Barbara Jakobs.

* {{Pop}}

* RefrainFromAssuming: "She's a Mystery to Me". What sounds like a TitleOnlyChorus is actually an AlbumTitleDrop; the ''song's'' title is the last line of each verse.
** "Oh, Pretty Woman" (or "Oh! Pretty Woman" depending on the album) is more usually known as "Pretty Woman".

For the next four years, Roy was one of the biggest names in American music, filling a void left behind by the rock and roll pioneers of TheFifties who were now either [[Music/ElvisPresley drafted]], [[Music/BuddyHolly dead]], [[Music/ChuckBerry in jail]] or [[Music/LittleRichard playing gospel music]]. A string of hits from 1961 to '64 showcased his {{Opera}} singer-like voice and broke new ground in songwriting and production, including "Crying", "Dream Baby", "In Dreams", "It's Over", and "Oh, Pretty Woman". Following the pattern of "Running Scared", these songs were two and a half minute operas of heartbreak, loneliness, and hope for new love, with plenty of {{Plot Twist}}s, ManlyTears, and in the uptempo numbers, manly swagger. He also created an onstage persona of a mysterious Man In Black, singing while standing perfectly still, wearing a black suit and CoolShades.[[note]]This wasn't planned - Orbison left his regular glasses on a plane during a tour with Music/TheBeatles and had to wear his prescription sunglasses to be able to see to perform at the gig. Both the audience and Orbison liked the look, Orbison finding it helped with his StageFright problem.[[/note]] This was quite the opposite of his real personality however, and was more about helping him deal with [[PerformanceAnxiety stage fright]].

Tragedy struck in 1966 when his wife Claudette was killed in a motorcycle accident. Roy's movie career ended after one movie, ''The Fastest Guitar Alive''. He recorded {{Cover Album}}s of Hank Williams and Don Gibson songs, which didn't sell. Tragedy struck again in 1968 when his house burned down while he was on tour, killing two of his children. Orbison remarried in 1969, to Barbara Jakobs.

* HomesicknessHymn: "Blue Bayou" is about a man who's moved off for employment reasons, and all he can think about is saving up money so he can return to this friends and family on Blue Bayou.
* IntercourseWithYou: The posthumously released "I drove all night", better known [[CoveredUp for its covers by]] Music/CyndiLauper and Music/CelineDion, is all about this. It's from the POV of a guy who takes a long drive to sneak into his girlfriend's room, wake her up and have sex.

** Also, in his live concert video, "A Black and White Night", he was backed by Music/BruceSpringsteen, Music/ElvisCostello, Jackson Browne, [[AllLowercaseLetters k.d. lang]] (who joined Roy in a duet of "Crying"), Tom Waits, Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt.

* RefrainFromAssuming: "She's A Mystery To Me". What sounds like a TitleOnlyChorus is actually an AlbumTitleDrop; the ''song's'' title is the last line of each verse.

* ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic: Just looking at his black hair, shades, and black suit, you'd think he sang {{Murder Ballad}}s or was another Music/JohnnyCash. But no, he sang love songs.

* EpicRocking: His obscure 1969 song "Southbound Jericho Parkway" which runs 7:00. It's a melodramatic orchestral suite about a guy who commits suicide by driving deliberately into a wall, and the way his family reacts.

* BlindMusician: Subverted, as many ''assumed'' he was one--he was actually closer to BlindWithoutThem. (He actually had NerdGlasses in the early stages of his career.)
** The real reason for the sunglasses was to help with his stage fright.
* BlindWithoutThem: Those CoolShades? They were corrective lenses prescripted by his doctor. He could barely see without them.

* BlindMusician: Subverted, as many ''assumed'' he was one - he was actually closer to BlindWithoutThem. (He actually had NerdGlasses in the early stages of his career.)

In the early [[TheFifties 1950s]], he formed a band called The Teen Kings. He met Music/JohnnyCash in 1955, and Cash recommended producer Music/SamPhillips. The Teen Kings sent the soon-to-be-legendary Sun Records producer a recording of a {{Rockabilly}} song called "Ooby Dooby", which impressed Phillips enough to sign them. Under Phillips' direction, they re-recorded "Ooby Dooby", and it became their first hit. More rockabilly songs and much touring followed, but the Teen Kings broke up at the end of 1956 over royalty disputes. Roy stayed at Sun as a solo act and songwriter. His song "Claudette" (about his girlfriend and soon to be wife) became the B-side of Music/TheEverlyBrothers' big hit "All I Have To Do Is Dream", earning Roy his first real money. But Roy found Sun Records frustrating, and left for country music song publisher Acuff-Rose.

All the pieces needed for success were now in place. Roy and Joe hit their stride as songwriters, beginning with "Uptown", Roy's first hit since "Ooby Dooby". Monument Records provided top-notch session musicians, and allowed Roy to experiment, bringing in strings at his request. And in 1960, Roy finally found the power of his voice, with "Only The Lonely", which went to #2 and made Roy a star. After "Only The Lonely", Roy began to experiment with song structure. He introduced the BoleroEffect to American pop with "Running Scared", his first #1, in 1961.

* ''Lonely And Blue'' (1961)

* ''The Fastest Guitar Alive Original Soundtrack'' (1967)

* ''Hank Williams The Roy Orbison Way'' (1970)

* ''I'm Still In Love With You'' (1974)

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roy_orbison_2073.jpg]]

-->--Music/TomWaits

Roy was born and grew up in Texas. He got a guitar for his sixth birthday, and within a year, he was committed to a life of music. He grew up a fan of Lefty Frizzell, Music/HankWilliams, and Music/JimmieRodgers. He also took in the various sounds of [[TheForties 1940s]] Texas: Rhythm & Blues, Tex-Mex, Zydeco, and the orchestral music of Annunzio Mantovani.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Rockabilly and doo-wop meet classical and opera.

"Oh, Pretty Woman" turned out to be the peak of his career, however. After 1964, The Beatles changed the direction of rock music, and Roy was left behind. His writing partner Joe Melson left to pursue solo success. His agent Wesley Rose took him to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer (along with [[Creator/MGMRecords its record division) so that he could follow Music/ElvisPresley into film. Wesley also took over as Roy's music producer. Without the Nashville session musicians, Roy didn't have the same sound, and record sales plummeted.

Roy met Joe Melson in 1958 and the two became a songwriting team. Roy recorded his material for [[Creator/RCARecords RCA Victor]], but when his contract ran out in 1959, his agent Wesley Rose found a better place for him, Monument Records in Nashville.

"Oh, Pretty Woman" turned out to be the peak of his career, however. After 1964, The Beatles changed the direction of rock music, and Roy was left behind. His writing partner Joe Melson left to pursue solo success. His agent Wesley Rose took him to Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer so that he could follow Elvis Presley into film. Wesley also took over as Roy's music producer. Without the Nashville session musicians, Roy didn't have the same sound, and record sales plummeted.