Unlocking Hidden Gems: 9 Surprising Songs Written by Roy Orbison You’ve Never Heard Of
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Holly and Orbison were both from the same area of Texas, and the two shared a friendship and helped inspire each other at the start of their careers. “I was frustrated as a singer for a long time, particularly when some friendly rivalry broke out between me and a young guy in Texas named Buddy Holly, who, within a couple of months, had a couple of number one singles and soon had stardom that reached to the moon,” said Orbison. Of course, the artist would have his own number one hit a few years later with “Only the Lonely.”
“As Long As I Can Dream” // Exposé
Roy Orbison joined forces with songwriter Diane Warren for this tune, which was written for the girl group Exposé. It was first released in 1992, and is an uplifting song that urges the listener to look into their heart for hope when things get hard.
“Claudette” // The Everly Brothers
This song was written by Orbison for his wife, Claudette, whom he had married the year before penning the track. In the hands of the Everly Brothers, it became Orbison’s first major songwriting success.
“We were backstage. I met the boys and Ike Everly, their father,” Orbison recalled of how he came to give the Everly Brothers the song. “Everybody backstage was pitching songs. They would sit down and say, ‘Sing four or five songs for the boys.’ I said, ‘I don’t think I’ll do that; I won’t impose on them.’ I started to leave the dressing room and they said, ‘Roy, do you have any songs?’ I said, ‘I’ve got one song.’ So, I sat down to sing that (Claudette) for them and they liked it very much and wrote the lyric down on the top of a shoebox. Took it back to Nashville and recorded it and it was a co-number one with ‘All I Have to Do is Dream.’”
“So Long I’m Gone” // Warren Smith
Warren Smith was a friend of Orbison’s while they were both at Sun Records, and Smith recorded Orbison’s song “So Long I’m Gone” in 1957. Smith’s band also accompanied Orbison during some of his tours and recording sessions, and on one 1956 tour that featured both Smith and Orbison, the band would play a set with Orbison, change their clothes, and join Smith, usually without any audience members being the wiser.
“Precious” // Arlene Harden
Orbison wrote this track in the late ‘60s, and it was covered by Arlene Harden on her 1970 tribute album Arlene Harden Sings Roy Orbison. Orbison’s version, meanwhile, wasn’t released until 2008, when it appeared posthumously on his box set The Soul of Rock and Roll. Harden also found great success with a cover of “Lovin’ Man (Oh Pretty Woman),” a take on Orbison’s classic hit “Oh, Pretty Woman.”
“When the Blue Hour Comes” // Rodney Crowell
Orbison partnered with Rodney Crowell and Will Jennings to pen this track, which was released in 1986. The song blends R&B with country-folk and pop stylings and finds the singer promising someone he loves that he’ll always be there for them in a time of need, even if they’re no longer close.
“Blue Bayou” // Linda Ronstadt
Orbison’s ethereal version of this song was released in 1961, but it became even more famous when Linda Ronstadt released her cover as a single in 1977. The song became a smash hit for Ronstadt and turned into her signature track, though of course, many fans associate it mostly with Orbison.
The tune has a distinctly melancholy quality, and its lyrics describe longing for a beautiful place, a bygone time, and a lost love. But for Orbison, the whole thing was always meant to be somewhat joyful. “That’s simply a song about being on the road,” Orbison said. “And that is really a happy song. It probably sounds very strange to you for me to say that. The fellow’s bound and determined to get back to where you sleep all day, and the catfish play, and the sailing boats and the girls and all that stuff. It’s a beautiful thought. Now granted that it is a sad song, a lonely song, but it’s a loneliness that precedes happiness.”
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