Roy Orbison as a Traditional Country?

GaryHoetker · Post by **GaryHoetker** » 12 Nov 2001 1:10 pm

I watched a special recently about his musical career. He was a pretty simple man with incredible vocal range. Many have called him the greatest singer who ever lived period.I would have loved to hear him sing traditional country with pedal steel,twin fiddles and over-dubbing his voice.

Bob Shilling · Post by **Bob Shilling** » 12 Nov 2001 3:49 pm

Many have called him the greatest singer who ever lived period.

That's been my opinion for about 40 years now. But I consider such a thing VERY subjective, so I know others disagree. Of course there are other singers from other cultures who would vie for that position as well -- Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Sharem Nazari, Ima Sumac, Hamza Al Din, etc. -- but I still like Roy the best.

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Bob Shilling, Berkeley, CA--MSA S10, "Classic"

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 12 Nov 2001 4:53 pm

I worked in a band with a guitar player who grew up with Orbison in North Texas....said he was "kind of different" even when he was a kid, and went his own way in music instead of the western-swing that everyone else was doing at the time. (Btw...he is my wife's favorite singer)

Bill Fall · Post by **Bill Fall** » 13 Nov 2001 11:59 am

Elvis once introduced Roy Orbison in Las Vegas as "the greatest singer in the world."

B Bailey Brown · Post by **B Bailey Brown** » 13 Nov 2001 1:21 pm

I worked for a Program Director many years ago in the radio business that was from the Midland – Odessa area of Texas, which I believe is where Orbison was from, and claimed that he actually played guitar in a band that Roy was in when they were high school kids. By his own admission he mentioned that he was not very good, nor was anybody else in the band except Roy! He told me that even as a kid Roy’s voice was incredible, but as Gene Jones mentioned, he was a little “different”. His roots were really “country”, and while it was a country band and they did that material all the time, Roy was attracted to the “Rock-a-Billy” sound.

I remember meeting Roy at a show years ago in San Antonio. One of the old “package” shows that used to tour the country doing one nighters. He kind of reminded me of Johnny Cash with sunglasses!

Seriously, I remember him as being very tall (well, I am fairly short so he probably wasn’t 6’ 8” or anything…), dressed in a black suit white shirt and tie, quiet and shy, but a very gracious gentleman. If you could get him to say anything, he always had a good word for people.

He is to this day one of my favorite singers.

B. Bailey Brown

Michael McGee · Post by **Michael McGee** » 13 Nov 2001 2:13 pm

In the very late 70's or very early 80's my cousin and I bought concert tickets to one of country music's biggest stars. He shall remain nameless and is now deceased. We wanted to see and hear his steel player (who is still going strong and still one of the very best and is one of our favorites).

Roy was booked to open for 'country star'. I'm 48, and I pretty much missed Roy the first time around. Oh, of course, I knew 'Pretty Woman' and 'Crying', but I had not done any indepth listening to Roy, and his hits had come and gone. We assumed that we'd have to 'put up' with this opening act, and hoped to get to 'country star' as soon as possible.

I'm hear to tell you that Roy absolutely, positively BLEW US AWAY! No one has had more power and clarity and perfect pitch than Roy had that night. We still talk about that evening. When 'country star' came on, there was no comparsion.

But we did get to go back stage and meet 'country star's' steel player, who was and is awesome, and a most gracious and humble gentleman. So see, it really is steel guitar related!

Roy Orbison fan forever!

jmm

Harry Hess · Post by **Harry Hess** » 13 Nov 2001 5:46 pm

Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, Sharem Nazari, Hamza Al Din ? Are they from "Ah'll Qill Ya"?

Bob Shilling · Post by **Bob Shilling** » 14 Nov 2001 4:00 pm

I forgot where the late N.F.A. Kahn is from, but I think it was either Pakistan or Afghanistan. He sang a type of Muslim devotional music. Very spirited. Nazeri is Iranian, and sings a lot of things based on the poetry of Alaludin Rumi, a 13th century Sufi poet from Turkey (actually born in Balkh -- about 30 km from Mazar e Sharif in Afghanistan. His family fled when he was a boy to avoid the invading Mongols.) nazeri has one of the most beautiful voices I have heard (but not as good as Orbison.)Hamza al Din is Nubian. From Egypt. He plays fantastic oud and tar and sings as well.

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Bob Shilling, Berkeley, CA--MSA S10, "Classic"

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 14 Nov 2001 10:11 pm

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was from Pakistan
and was the leading exponent of the "Kawwali" style of singing. I was at concert of his at Radio City Music Hall in NYC shortly before he died. It was one of the most moving and beautiful musical experiences of my life.

I also have seen Roy Orbison and he had the audience wiping tears off there cheeks when he sang "Crying" acapella.
That man could sing !

At no point durring either of these shows did it ever occur to me that it would have been improved in any way by being more country

Bob

BTW: Bob Shilling, are you including Ima Sumac (actually spelled Yma Sumac or Amy Camus spelled backwards) the Aztec goddess from Brooklyn in with Nusrat and Hamsa ?[This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 14 November 2001 at 11:48 PM.][This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 15 November 2001 at 10:55 AM.]

Bob Shilling · Post by **Bob Shilling** » 16 Nov 2001 5:39 pm

Well, I included her because of her 8 octave vocal range. My Dad really liked her and used to play her album a lot (78's of course.) I found her rather boring, but I was pretty young then, and haven't heard her in about 40 years. I thought she was Peruvian, so I guess I just learned something. But doesn't Brooklyn qualify as a foriegn culture?

I heard Kahn in live concert twice. His singing blew me away. People would run up on the stage and shower him and his band with money. The tabla player would actually pause to make change for people.

I believe he was actually living in Seattle when he died. From his looks I'd say he had one too many big macs.

I mentioned all those people because I think they are GREAT singers, and yet Roy is still my favorite.

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Bob Shilling, Berkeley, CA--MSA S10, "Classic"

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 17 Nov 2001 8:49 am

B Bailey Brown, what was the name of the
Program Director, Roy did have a teen hillbily band, one that almost made it.. but splintered and then Roy formed his Teen Kings which led to him recording at Sun Records.

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 17 Nov 2001 7:12 pm

I think around the time of Roy's untimely death, 'Esquire' or 'Rolling Stone Magazine'
asked some 100 prominent, big-time musicians
of the time, from the entire gamut of the music spectrum, what their thoughts were on
Roy Orbison.
Many musicians opined the usual praises and accolades of such a one-of-a-kind talent, but I'll always remember Bob Dylan's, never- one-to-mince-words, feelings about 'Roy-the-Boy'.........."HE'S AN OPERA SINGER."

That just floored me. Leave it to Dylan to.........
"keep it simple, stupid."

ChipsAhoy

Gary Harris · Post by **Gary Harris** » 27 Nov 2001 7:19 pm

Several years ago while driving here on Main Street in Hendersonville, a friend of mine pointed out the office for Monument Records. I asked him, "Who recorded for Monument? His answer was, "Roy Orbison". I asked him a second question, "Who else do they have?" His reply was, "That's all they need".
One of Roy's son was a friend of one of my sons and just shortly before Roy's death I told his son how much I enjoyed his father's music. He played good guitar, he composed wonderful songs and yes his singing was fabulous. Very few musicians are complete. They know how to sing or play others creations but they don't
create themselves. Roy was a complete musician.