The Caruso of Rock, Roy Orbison Artist With Distinctive Vocals and Top Recordings

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FEMUSINDO.com - Roy Kelton Orbison, with his famous name Roy Orbison, was born in Vernon, Texas, U.S., April 23, 1936.

He is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark and emotional ballads.

Orbison's music is mostly in the rock music genre and his most successful period was in the early 1960s and late 1980s. He was nicknamed "The Caruso of Rock" and "The Big O".

Performing with Minimal Movement

He often performs with minimal movement and wears 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.

His first Sun recording, Ooby Dooby, was a live musical recording similar to Elvis' early Sun recordings.

Greatest Success

He had some success at Sun, but achieved 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), and "Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964).

After the mid-1960s, Orbison suffered a number of personal tragedies, and his career faltered. 

He experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s, following the success of several cover versions of his songs. Founded the Traveling Wilburys Supergroup

In 1988, he founded the Traveling Wilburys supergroup with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne.

Orbison died in Hendersonville, Tennessee, U.S., of a heart attack on December 6, 1988 at the age of 52.

A month later, his song "You Got It" (1989) was released as a solo single, becoming his first US and UK Top 10 hit in nearly 25 years.

Received Many Awards

Orbison's awards include induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987.

In 1989, he received the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2014.

In addition, Roy Orbison has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and five other Grammy Awards.

Rolling Stone ranked her at number 37 on their list of the "Greatest Artists of All Time" and number 13 on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".

In 2002, Billboard magazine ranked her at number 74 on their list of the top 600 recording artists. (*)