This weekend, April 23, 2023, is Roy Orbison’s 90th birthday. American rock was huge in the 1950s. The star – also known as The Big O – is best known for bringing rock and roll to the forefront of the music industry, and has been instrumental in laying the foundation for rockabilly. Elvis Presley loved him, and was inspired as a teenager. He adored the Pretty Woman singer so much that he gave him the highest compliment the King of Rock and Roll could give.
Roy was iconic for a number of reasons. In addition to the denim and leather jacket he always sported (a new trend, at the time), he also had slicked-back black hair and always wore Ray-Ban glasses while playing his guitar—a rugged look that would define a generation. Portions of this look have also been endorsed by Elvis over the years.
After searching for Roy for a long time, Elvis eventually toured all over the USA with him for a few weeks, where they bonded and played music together.
During his career, Roy has sold more than 7 million albums worldwide, which at the time was an even more impressive feat than it is now.
After touring for some time together, Elvis and Roy parted ways, but King always held the amazing singer in high esteem.
In fact, when he started playing music at his Las Vegas residency in the 1970s, he spoke openly about Roy.
During these Las Vegas shows, Elvis covered a number of songs, including tracks by The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Dolly Parton, and more.
But when the topic of Roy came up, he refused to cover any of the star’s songs.
He reportedly told the audience that he could “not sing any of Roy’s songs better than the original recordings”.
Elvis went on to praise the singer, adding that Roy had the “most perfect voice”.
However, Elvis’ respect for Roy was not one-sided. The singer attended as many of Elvis’ live performances as possible from 1954 to 1976.
He reportedly opened for Elvis in the 1960s when he was still touring.
Furthermore, Roy also opened for the Beatles in the 60’s when they toured all over the USA. This makes Roy the only artist to have opened for both The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Roy even wrote a song for Elvis, but it didn’t go as planned.
Roy was a prolific songwriter and wrote many of his own tracks.
So when he started writing Only the Lonely, he knew it would be a perfect fit for Elvis.
But when he showed up to Graceland to hand-deliver the song, a bodyguard told him Elvis wasn’t there, and he likely “wouldn’t be interested.”
After failing to submit the same song to The Everly Brothers, Roy eventually sang and recorded the song for himself. It reached number one and became one of his biggest hits.
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