Music Blog

The Big O

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week Jim Adams has asked his
readers to write about a song by an artist who is no longer living.

Juanca Ravelo © Pinterest

Sadly, there’s an endless list of artists who fit the bill for today’s theme from Jim Adams, aptly (and brilliantly) titled “Turn Me On, Dead Man”. There are so many greats to choose from, I decided to go with someone who consistently touches my heart every time I hear him sing …. The Big O.

Roy Orbison was born April 23, 1936, in Vernon, Texas to a working-class family, growing up immersed in musical styles ranging from rockabilly and country to zydeco, Tex-Mex and the blues. His dad gave him a guitar for his sixth birthday and he wrote his first song, “A Vow of Love”, when he was 8 years old. In high school, Orbison played the local circuit with a group called the Teen Kings. When their song “Ooby Dooby” came to the attention of Sun Records’ producer Sam Phillips, Orbison was invited to cut a few tracks. In addition to a highly collectible album called Roy Orbison at the Rockhouse, their collaboration yielded a re-recording of “Ooby Dooby” that became Orbison’s first minor hit.

After Roy Orbison landed a record deal with the Nashville-based label Monument in 1960, he began perfecting the sound that would define his career. His big break came after he tried to pitch his composition “Only the Lonely” to both Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers and was turned down by both. Deciding to record the song himself, Orbison used his vibrato voice and operatic style to create a recording unlike anything Americans had heard at the time. Reaching as high the #2 spot on the Billboard singles chart, “Only the Lonely” has since been deemed a pivotal force in the development of rock music. Between 1960 and 1965, Orbison recorded nine Top 10 hits and another ten that broke into the Top 40, including “Running Scared,” “Crying,” “It’s Over” and “Oh, Pretty Woman“.

As distinctive as his three-octave voice was, Roy Orbison’s unglamorous style has been  described as “geek chic.” Stricken with both jaundice and bad eyesight as a child, Orbison had sallow skin, a shy demeanor and wore thick eyeglasses. On a fateful day during his 1963 tour with the Beatles, Orbison left his glasses on the plane before a show, which forced him to wear his prescription sunglasses for that night’s show. Although he considered the incident “embarrassing”, the look became an instant trademark.

Roy Orbison’s unhip underdog look suited his music well, as his lyrics were marked by incredible vulnerability. At a time when rock music went hand-in-hand with confidence and machismo, Orbison dared to sing about insecurity, heartache and fear. His stage persona went a long way toward challenging the traditional ideal of aggressive masculinity in rock & roll.

Although the first half of the 1960s saw the rise of Roy Orbison’s star, the second half of the decade brought harder times. Tragedy struck when Orbison’s wife, Claudette, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1966, and again when his two eldest sons died in a house fire in 1968. Following those incidents, a devastated Orbison failed to generate many hits and with the rise of the psychedelic movement in rock & roll, the market for rockabilly had all but dried up.

In 1980, however, Roy Orbison experienced a return to his musical career when the Eagles invited him to join them on their “Hotel California” tour. That same year, he rekindled his relationship with country music fans by performing a memorable duet with Emmylou Harris on “That Lovin’ You Feeling Again,” which went on to win a Grammy. When Van Halen covered “Oh, Pretty Woman” in 1982, rock fans were reminded that gratitude for the song was owed to Roy Orbison. By the late 1980s, Orbison had staged a successful comeback, joined the all-star supergroup The Traveling Wilburys alongside Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Jeff Lynn, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and initiated into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

On December 6, 1988, Roy Orbison died of a heart attack. His posthumously- released comeback album, Mystery Girl, reached #5 on the charts, becoming the highest-charting solo album of his career. Although he was only 52 years old when he died, Roy Orbison lived to see his rightful place in music history restored.

My featured song for today is Roy Orbison’s deeply moving hit “Crying”. Recorded and released in 1961, “Crying” tells the story of the one who got away, that old flame that’s so very hard to forget. It’s a beautiful song with a haunting melody, perfect for Orbison’s octaves-spanning voice. “Crying” reached #1 on the US Cashbox chart for one week on October 7, 1961. On the rival Billboard Hot 100 it peaked at #2 where “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles kept it from #1. Despite not reaching the summit in the latter publication, Billboard ranked the record as the #4 song of 1961. In 2002, “Crying” was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 69th on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

There’s no other song by Roy Orbison that touches my heart and soul as deeply as “Crying”. There are also a number of videos for “Crying” but none quite like this.

Here is Roy Orbison with “Crying”.

LYRICS

I was alright for a while, I could smile for a while
Then I saw you last night, you held my hand so tight
When you stopped to say, “Hello”
You wished me well, you couldn’t tell

That I’d been crying over you
Crying over you then you said, “So long”
Left me standing all alone
Alone and crying,

Crying, crying, crying
It’s hard to understand
That the touch of your hand
Can start me crying

I thought that I was over you
But it’s true, so true
I love you even more than I did before
But darling what can I do?
For you don’t love me and I’ll always be

Crying over you
Crying over you
Yes, now you’re gone
And from this moment on
I’ll be crying, crying, crying, crying,
Crying, crying, over you

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Joe Melson/Roy Orbison
Crying lyrics © Barbara Orbison Music Company, BMG Rights Management, Orbi-Lee Music, R-Key Darkus, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Turn Me On, Dead Man

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to follow the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

46 thoughts on “The Big O”

  8. I’ve always said that if I could travel back in time and go to a single concert, it would be one of Roy Orbison’s!

    ‘Crying’ has a second claim to fame as it featured in a much loved and oft’ repeated episode of the TV British comedy ‘Only Fools and Horses’, which I suspect never made it overseas!

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  11. Thank you for your lovely post about a wonderful man and a great song Nancy. His vibrato voice was able to alternate subtly and very quickly between two pitches that are very close together and this variation in the pitch of a sustained musical note created a tone that everyone loved.

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  12. Loved Orbison from the moment I first heard him…I wore out my 45 of ‘Love Hurts’ – which I just spent way too much time reading about and listening to way to many versions – I’ll take Orbison’s version of anything.

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  13. A lovely song, which really showed his beautiful voice to good effect. A great choice for today’s theme.

    You may not have seen this version, though, from one of the best ever British sitcoms, Only Fools And Horses:

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    1. Jeez! Another one in spam! I’m sorry for that, Clive, even though I can’t control it. I wish I’d checked here sooner.
      Thanks for a great comment and the link to Only Fools and Horses. Keith also mentioned that sitcom to me and I now have it on my Amazon watchlist. Thanks for the video.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. No worries, as I said on the other one!

        You may recall that I played that clip as part of a trio in my Friday Funnies 7 post. If you want to get a feel for the show there are lots of video clips on YouTube of the best bits.

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  14. What a fantastic write up on Roy Orbison Nancy. You told his very moving story from geeky youngster to a superstar who experienced great loss in his life. I really enjoyed reading it and your song choice was perfect. I have always loved Crying. ☺️💕

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    1. Thanks so much, Christine. I discovered Roy Orbison during one of the Beatles US tours; Roy opened for them and played an unprecedented 14 encores before the lads ever hit the stage! His was not an easy life and it never ceases to amaze how much sadness some people go through. I believe that sadness came across clearly in many of his recordings, especially Crying.

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  15. A wonderful post about a man who had a wonderful voice and talent for songwriting! So much information Nancy and you made it personal. You managed to pick my favourite song too, if it’s possible to pick a favourite from such a strong catalogue. 💜

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  16. I have always been a big fan of Roy Orbison and I am so glad you chose to honor him. As I was reading your post I was wondering which of his many great songs you were going to feature, hoping that it would be my favorite of his, “Crying.” You made my day when I saw that was your choice. Thank you, Nancy.

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