Le sue sontuose ballate romantiche, veri melodrammi orchestrali, scritti da lui stesso, erano reminescenti delle funzioni religiose, degli shouter e del bel canto. In breve divenne il Caruso del rock, anche se il suo tenore era tutto malinconia e niente potenza, alternato a crescendo in falsetto. I testi erano cupi, paranoici, e auto-commiserativi, quasi anticipando le tragedie che si sarebbero abbatute sulla sua vita privata, che la voce recitava con plastiche e fantasiose fluttuazioni di tono. L'insieme, liriche deprimenti, ritmi latini, cadenze marziali, cori vocali, sezione d'archi classica, canto melodioso, appariva monumentale, paragonato alle scheletriche frenesie del rock and roll: Only The Lonely (1960, un'aria romantica che si apre a cappella e sembra quasi un doo-wop), Running Scared (1961, con un crescendo in stile bolero), Crying (1961), Dream Baby (1962), sono le sue dolenti prediche amorose, che costituiscono anche il cuore degli album Crying (Sony, 1962) e Lonely and Blue (Monument, 1963). In Dreams (1963) e` il gioiello dell'album omonimo.

Il culmine lo raggiunse pero` piu` tardi, con Oh Pretty Woman (1964), piu` graffiante sia ritmicamente sia melodicamente, un classico del rock di tutti i tempi. Purtroppo l'anno dopo si converti` al country di Nashville con l'album There Is Only One (MGM, 1965).

La morte in moto della moglie (1966) e quella dei figli in un incendio (1968) pesarono duramente sulla sua carriera.

Very Best (Monument, 1966) raccoglie gli hit.

Alla fine degli anni '80 Orbison resuscito` al fianco di Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne e Tom Petty nei Traveling Wilburys. Jeff Lynne e Tom Petty lo aiutarono a scrivere You Got It, il singolo tratto dall'album Mystery Girl (Virgin, 1989) che lo rilancio` nelle classifiche.

Orbison mori` poco prima l'uscita del disco per un attacco cardiaco.

Roy Orbison belonged, rather reluctantly, to the very first generation of rockabilly. A Texas native, he played country and sang gospel in medicine shows, he played at dinners and dances with a mandolin player, and he studied with Pat Boone. Scouted by Sun Records, he converted to the sound in fashion, but his success with rockabilly was limited to the single Ooby Dooby (1956) and a few songs written for Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers, who brought Claudette (1957) to success. When the emphasis shifted to the whiter rhythm of Buddy Holly, Orbison headed for Nashville to discover his true vocation.

His sumptuous romantic ballads, actual melodramas for orchestra that he himself penned, bring to mind religious services, the shouters, and the bel canto. Although his tenor had more sadness than power, and despite the fact that he switched between crescendo and falsetto, in short time he became the Caruso of rock. The lyrics are dark, paranoid and self-pitying - anticipations of the tragedies that would eventually impact his life - which he sang in elaborate, albeit artificial sounding, fluctuations of tone. The finished product - depressing lyrics, Latin rhythms, martial rhythms, vocal choruses, classic string sections and melodious singing - seemed monumental when compared to the streamlined frenzy of rock and roll. Only The Lonely (1960), a romantic melody that starts a cappella and sounds like doo-wop, Running Scared (1961, with a bolero style crescendo), Crying (1961), Dream Baby (1962), are not only painful love sermons, but also the heart of his albums Crying (Sony, 1962) and Lonely and Blue (Monument, 1963). In Dreams (1963) is the jewel of the namesake album.

He reached stardom with Oh Pretty Woman (1964), incisive rhythmically as well as melodically, a rock classic for all time. Unfortunately the following year Orbison converted to Nashville country with the album There Is Only One (MGM, 1965).

The deaths of his wife in a motorcycle accident (1966) and of his children in a fire (1968) weighed heavily on his career.

Very Best (Monument, 1966) is a compilation of the hits.

At the end of the 80s Orbison revived his career with the Traveling Wilburys, a joint venture between Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. Lynne and Petty helped him with You Got It, the single from the album that put him back on the charts, Mystery Girl (Virgin, 1989).

Roy Orbison died of a heart attack shortly before the release of the album.