Romantic Voice Of Roy Orbison Remembered, Revived
A Roy Orbison revival is under way.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer with the Caruso-like pipes died in 1988, yet is back in the news. A fine live album of historic material came out earlier this month, to be followed by a boxed set later this year.
But the biggest news is that Orbison will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at the Grammy ceremonies on Feb. 25, which should help a new generation discover his music.
“It’s good for the Grammys and good for Roy,” said Barbara Orbison, his widow and longtime manager. “It’s a lifetime achievement award and Roy basically gave his life to music.”
The Texas singer with the lonely but romantic voice had won a posthumous Grammy in 1991 for best male performance for “Oh, Pretty Woman.” It was first a hit in the ‘60s, but became the anchoring song of the movie “Pretty Woman” (starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere), hence the nomination.
“That was a surprise,” Barbara Orbison said of the 1991 Grammy, “but I thought it was so terrific when Roy won it. Some people think these awards are fixed, but this showed me that there was integrity to them.”
The presenter of the lifetime achievement award next month hasn’t been chosen, but Barbara didn’t rule out Bruce Springsteen, who gave an eloquent speech at Orbison’s induction into the Hall of Fame.
Barbara’s record label, Orbison Records, has just released a CD and video of “The Combo Concert,” pulled from a 1965 TV show in Holland, enhanced by five tunes from a Paris show on that tour. In impeccable voice, Orbison sings many of his hits, including “Oh, Pretty Woman,” “Running Scared,” and “Crying,” along with the country-ish “Blue Bayou” and a rocking cover of Ray Charles’s “What’d I Say.”
“He never recorded that song,” Barbara said of the Charles nugget. “He would just sing it live.”
“The Combo Concert” is the only official live recording of Orbison from that time. The sound was taken from the tape of the TV show and, while not up to audiophile standards, is remarkably pristine for that era.
“Strangely enough, I only knew him from his live performances. On our second date, I went to see his live show - and it totally blew me away,” said Barbara. “And Roy preferred live performances, as well. For 15 years of our marriage, if you came to our home, you’d have seen that we didn’t even have a ‘Greatest Hits’ album around.”
Next up is the completion of a boxed set, for which Barbara, as the keeper of the Orbison legacy, plans some surprises. She is sifting through live shows in which Roy sang up to seven encores of the climactic refrain to “Running Scared.” Said Barbara: “I hope to include some of these encores and maybe a couple of demos.”
These days, Barbara, who is based in Nashville, also has a music publishing firm called Still Working Music. Her stable of writers has penned tunes for Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride, and others. “My life is split into two different responsibilities - the music publishing company and Roy. But a lot of my life is still about Roy.”