The Voice

"Only the Lonely" is the quintessential Roy Orbison.  Reportedly the first song and recording to be made with Orbison's particular (and spectacular) voice in mind in 1960, it became the template for the Orbison sound.  His subsequent parade of classic hits took him into the late 60s, but his career went into a long eclipse in the 1970s.

 However, there was a second act in this American life.  His songs appeared in a few movies in the early 1980s, and he was rediscovered through his classic hits.  And suddenly there he still was--fully able to perform those hits, with that same unique and awesome voice.

In 1988 he was working on a new album produced by Jeff Lynne of the Electric Light Orchestra.  Lynne was also producing George Harrison.  In the early 60s, Orbison and the Beatles had toured together in England.  Harrison got together an ad hoc band to write and record a song for the B-side of a single, and Orbison agreed to join up.  The band became the Traveling Wilburys, the resulting album became a smash, and Orbison was making new hits again.  His Lynne-produced solo album came out soon after, which included his first top ten hit in decades.  He was reportedly having a great time, agog at both the respect younger musicians and big stars were giving him, and the concert crowds.  He was in the midst of this ecstatic period when he died of heart failure in December 1988.

Just before the Traveling Wilburys happened, a concert by and for Orbison fans called "The Black and White Night" was created, and is the source of this video.  It consisted of Orbison singing his songs, with instrumental and vocal backing by some of the biggest stars of the day. Fellow Texan J.D. Souther did the vocal arrangements.  Among the backup singers are Souther, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and K.D. Laing.  Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen are among the instrumentalists.

What I especially like about this cut is the responsiveness of the crowd to Orbison's voice.  He seems to respond to them in turn by going higher on some of the high notes than he did on the original record.  With the tasty string section, it's a goosebumper all the way.

In my opinion it's about time for a remix of this concert--even on the CD, the background vocals are too faint.  Otherwise it's a great concert, and this is one of several songs available on YouTube.