Honestly have never liked his music and always deemed him to be one of those artists from an era who really didn’t have the greatest of voices but who was revered because it was a time of musical revolution. Those who I have met that like his music are all from that era and remember that era well. They typically also like Elvis, another singer that I personally really don’t enjoy listening to and very much NOT the “king” in my mind.
To be fair some of the early Beatles music was naive and horribly off key and amateurish but it wasn’t the quality of music that turnd people’s swicthes back then. It was the Woodstock revolution and all that went with it, the rebellion against the establishment and war and a determination to feel liberated and easy with drink and drugs and free love.
In fact there are a few artists I really don’t like listening to so much that I will tune to another radio station when they are on. They include Roy and also Elvis and also Annie Lennox and Shania Twain.
It’s nothing personal, I just don’t like the voice and style. I equally can’t abide all the Elvis impersonators which to me is incredibly sad, nor the aging 70+ yr old wannabe “teddy boys” who haven’t moved on in life and still want to brill cream their hair.
Pretty Woman, You Got It, Crying . . . . just really can’t abide those songs, genuinely. Big hits I know, just not for me. Each to their own though.
I am still smiling at what I wrote and had to go back to make sure it was me.
Realist my friend in my defence you singled out one line of my post but if you read it again you will see I had a perfect excuse for writing it.
[SIZE=“5”]"Hi I am high has a kite, but I am determined this thread is not gonna die so I am gonna keep posting when I am high or low.
And if you don’t like Roy Orbison then you must be silly billy’s.".[/SIZE]
It was a time when I was suffering in bad pain with a trapped nerve in my back and as I said I was very high on painkillers.
“Each to their own buddy each to there own.”
Oh wasn’t having a go at you Longfellow, not in the least. Just sayin Mr Orbison ain’t my thang ! But then he ain’t my era so I understand why others are fond of just about anything from that era.
Hey no problem fella I knew you weren’t.
Like I said I was smiling when I read it because I could not remember writing it.
I don’t believe he was my era to be honest.
When I started taking music seriously around 70s think that was the start of the glam rock years.
Orbison had been about a while before that but over the years he kind of grew on me and I learnt through YouTube just how many songs he was responsible for which did surprise me at first.
Seeing your lengthy post - I am wondering why if you so dislike Roy’s Music you would visit the site? You do seem very familiar with Roy’s music though! ???
Hi Realist
Likewise I was really into music around the early 70’s Blues Jazz Rock. About the time groups actually could play rather than synthed music.
Never really got into the earlier Country Rockabilly stuff although liked Folk etc. Liked BlueGrass though.
Mostly loved the 70/80 rock - Clapton/Cream genre.
More recently I have looked back at the influences of all that and found Orbison at the core of it all. Ok he was early Rock and Roll- country ballads etc.Even so the music had energy and zing. Reading biographies he seems to have been a big influence on a lot of people- Beatles, Bono, kd lange, Springsteen, Dylan. Petty,Jeff Lynne etc
Yes he was a country balladeer-not everybody’s taste- but if Bob Dylan admires his lyrics- who can argue with a Nobel Literature Prize winner. His guitar work and operatic voice( range and quality) are something to admire.
( Hmm how would you classify Ed Sheeran- guitar solo- ballads- voice??)
I went back and really looked and listened to the music and found something to treasure- certainly something that was missing in the 80’s.
Try looking at the Black and White Night recordings. Not the expected ballad /crooner stuff. Some good rocking music. Yes he was a man of his time ( quite a few decades) but he is worth listening to in that context and appreciating his voice and guitar.
