Roy Kelton Orbison nació el 23 de abril de 1936 en Vernon, Texas, en el seno de una humilde familia. Desde pequeño, Roy mostró un interés innato por la música y, a la edad de seis años, su padre le regaló una guitarra que desencadenaría una carrera legendaria. Criado en el ambiente rural de Texas, su sensibilidad musical se nutrió de influencias del country y del bluegrass.
Durante su adolescencia, Orbison formó su primera banda, los Wink Westerners, mientras asistía a la escuela secundaria en Wink, Texas. La banda se destacó en el entorno local y comenzó a tener pequeñas actuaciones en programas de radio y televisión regionales. En 1956, la banda cambió su nombre a The Teen Kings y grabó el tema "Ooby Dooby", que captó la atención de Sun Records.
En Sun Records, Roy grabó varios temas que aunque tuvieron éxito moderado no lograron catapultarlo al estrellato. Sin embargo, Orbison no se desanimó. Su paso por Sun Records le permitió aprender y desarrollarse junto a figuras icónicas como Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis y Johnny Cash.
En 1960, Orbison firmó con Monument Records, un momento crucial en su carrera. Con la nueva discográfica, Orbison alcanzó un éxito fenomenal con el sencillo "Only the Lonely (Know How I Feel)". La canción no solo mostró su poderosa voz, sino que también introdujo su estilo distintivo de baladas melancólicas. Este
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M Smotherman
Well when I first got to Memphis...
I was knocked out by those friendly people
They all said "howdy, howdy, come on in
we don't know the meaning of the word outsider"
I said "people, you gonna play this kinda music
well there's something I would surely like to know
When I was a boy I heard this wild kinda music
and I think they called it, oh, rock and roll
Can you tell me what you know about rock and roll?"
They said "son, it's just a feeling, way down in your soul"
Just a simple story with this wild rock and roll
Yeah, well all the boys in Louisiana called it rock and roll
But I'll tell you a secret, it drives the women crazy
And that's all you need to know about rock and roll
Well you could not imagine the shape my head was in
I took me a walk down by the Mississippi
When I heard this rockin' out of the harbour inn
I couldn't resist, I had me a drink, then I had me a listen
I said "people, you gonna play this kinda music
There's something that I'd really like to know
When I was a boy I heard this wild kinda music
and I think they called it, rock and roll
Can you tell me what you know about rock and roll?"
They said "son, it's just a feeling, way down in your soul"
Just a simple story with this wild rock and roll
Yeah, well all the boys in Louisiana called it rock and roll
But I'll tell you a secret, it drives the women crazy
And that's all you need to know about rock and roll