Is Roy Orbison in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Orbison's honors include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014. He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and five other Grammy Awards.
Bruce Springsteen says: "I remember when I was a kid, his music took me out of my little town, you know. And... you don't always get a chance to sing harmony with Roy Orbison and play guitar next to James Burton, that's a dream."
On December 6, 1988, Roy Orbison died of a heart. attack. This is the cover of the Rolling Stone Memorial Issue.
Roy and Claudette's two sons lost their lives in a house fire on Saturday, September 14, 1968.
Roy Orbison, (born April 23, 1936, Vernon, Texas, U.S.—died December 6, 1988, Hendersonville, Tennessee), American singer-songwriter who was best remembered for his soaring voice, one of the most operatic in all of rock music, and for his carefully crafted ballads of loneliness and heartache.
One night in December 1976, Orbison was closing his show at Caesar's Palace, when Presley suddenly came on stage. Elvis announced to the crowd that Roy Orbison was “quite simply, the greatest singer in the world.” The remark was probably born more in his admiration for Roy than reality.
All the Orbison children had poor eyesight; Roy used thick corrective lenses from an early age. He was self-conscious about his appearance and began dyeing his nearly-white hair black when he was still young. He was quiet, self-effacing, and remarkably polite and obliging.
He married his first wife Claudette in 1957 only to divorce, remarry, and divorce again. Then, in 1966, Claudette was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident. Not long after, Orbison also lost his two eldest sons in a tragic housefire.
What song did Roy Orbison wrote for his wife?
The song "Claudette" was written by Roy Orbison in the early days of his career, prior to him achieving fame as a singer. Written about his wife of the same name, whom he had married the previous year, the song was recorded by Orbison but unreleased.
Roy Orbison
When he died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1988 he was buried in an unmarked grave in the same Westwood Village Memorial Cemetery where George C. Scott would ultimately end up.
Following his death, Orbison's estate and wealth were inherited by his wife, Barbara Orbison, and their children.
Roy Orbison and all his siblings had poor eyesight. He had to use thick corrective lenses from a very early age, and was self-conscious about his appearance. Because of this, he began dyeing his almost-white hair black when he was still very young, and he kept the look for the rest of his life.
His first wife, Claudette died in a motorcycle accident in 1966 and two of his three sons, died in a house fire. Roy Orbison played his final ever gig when he appeared in Cleveland, Ohio. Orbison died of a heart attack two days later.
He says Elvis's favorite groups were the Harmonizing Four and Golden Gate Quartet and his favorite gospel singers included Jimmy Jones, Jake Hess (who sang with the Statesmen and later formed the Imperials) and Mahalia Jackson.
Understandably, Orbison saw Presley as the perfect man to voice his new lyrical creation, 'Only the Lonely'. After getting in contact with the star, however, he was disheartened to receive a polite rejection. Sadly, Orbison received a similar response after pitching the track to The Everly Brothers.
Was that Roy Orbison's real hair?
As central as Orbison's dark hair was to his popular image, his real hair was actually a much lighter shade of brown, and he routinely dyed it black to fit in with the rest of his “dark” image.
Barbara met her husband in 1968 when she was 17 years old and Orbison was 32. They married nine months later. The spokeswoman said Orbison will be buried next to her husband at Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Roy Orbison Jr is a producer, guitarist and son of rock and roll legend Roy Orbison (“Oh Pretty Woman,” “You Got It,” “Only The Lonely”) and German-born, prolific music businesswoman Barbara Orbison.
Although legend has it that Roy turned up at the gates to Graceland with a song he has written for Elvis, 'Only The Lonely', however Elvis was not home and Roy went on to record the song which was his first smash hit. In 1979 Roy recorded a tribute song to Elvis, 'Hound Dog Man'.
