Twenty years ago today, Roy Orbison died - I remember the jolt of seeing the news on a placard. Orbison truly was (in Cohen's phrase) 'born with the gift of a golden voice', one of extraordinary range and versatility and with a unique sweetness of tone. Elvis called him 'the greatest singer I've ever heard', and it would be fair to include him among the greatest of the century (in popular music). Here's a spine-tingling reminder...
And here's an intriguing clip in which a shadeless Roy talks boots - hope you're watching, Bryan...
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I always think that Orbison is one of those singers whose beauty lies in not quite reaching perfection. The hint of the angelic is more beautiful than the angelic.
ReplyDeleteEven intriguinglier, Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen are in that Crying clip.
ReplyDeleteThe Boss mentions Orbison in Thunder Road, of course.
My favorite tribute to Roy is in a song by Bruce Springsteen:
ReplyDelete"Roy Orbison singin' for the lonely; hey that's me and I want you only...."
Consider that a NB to Brit's comment!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nige, but it was Orbison who reliably supplied true consolation. I remember watching the show, shot in black and white, which for once was more than a gimmick. Also on stage, besides Springsteen and Costello, are Tom Waits, T-Bone Burnett, Jackson Browne, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt and others. Orbison died a month or so after the show first aired.
ReplyDeleteIn The Triumph of Love, Geoffrey Hill asks, “What ought a poem to be?” The poem replies: “Answer, a sad and angry consolation.”
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ReplyDeleteGod yes - you've done it again, Patrick!
ReplyDeleteOddly that has some affinity with Hallelujah too - 'it's a sad and it's a broken Hallelujah'...
And Dick, you're so right - i.e. I agree with you. The slight flaw always enhances beauty, for me...
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