Roy Orbison Biography and Album Guide: In Dreams

Roy Orbison was one of the early greats of rock and roll music, who is now best remembered for his hit song, “Pretty Woman.” In the fifties and early sixties, however, Orbison had a slew of hits and was one of the most successful of the early rockers.

Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, in 1936. By the late fifties, Orbison had become a member of Sun Records’ legendary roster of musicians, which included Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. Sun Records had just recently lost Elvis Presley. Like Cash and Perkins, Orbison was a rockabilly performer in his earliest incarnation, recording the rockabilly classics “Ooby Dooby,” “Trying to Get to You,” and “Go! Go! Go!”

By the Sixties, Orbison was recording for Monument and added pop ballads to his repertoire with the hits, “Only the Lonely,” “Running Scared,” and “Crying.” In 1964, Orbison would record his biggest hit, “Pretty Woman.”

Orbison would continue to record singles for the remainder of the sixties and seventies but would not score another major hit. Orbison would become a member of The Travelling Willburys in the early eighties along with Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Tom Petty.

Orbison’s best albums include “Crying” (1962), “In Dreams” (1963), “Orbisongs” (1965), “Cry Softly Lonely One” (1967), “Roy Orbison’s Many Moods” (1969), and “Mystery Girl” (1989).