Roy Orbison 1936 – 1988

Biography

Roy Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, and grew up in Wink, where he learned guitar and formed his first band as a teenager. After recording for Sun Records, he found stardom at Monument Records with a string of operatic ballads built around his extraordinary three-octave voice, including Only the Lonely, Crying, and Oh, Pretty Woman. His dark sunglasses and motionless stage presence became his trademark. Personal tragedy struck in the late 1960s, when his wife died in a motorcycle accident and two of his sons died in a house fire, and his career faded for years. He returned triumphantly in 1988 as a member of the Traveling Wilburys. He died in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1988, weeks before his comeback album Mystery Girl was released. His voice, once described as operatic, is now regarded as one of the greatest in popular music history.