From his hardcore '50s Memphis start to his symphonic 1960s masterpieces and his stunning 1980s comeback,Roy Orbison's uniformly extraordinary recordings still rank today as some of American music's finest. Gifted with a soaring voice that conjured vulnerability and loss with acute precision, the Texas-boren singer-songwriter-guitarist wasted no time-he had his own radio show at age ten and formed his first rock & roll band, The Teen Kings in 1955. Recording at Sam Philips' legendary Sun Studios alongside Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, Orbison was stillseeking his ideal sound and, after parting ways with Sun,finally found it, with 1960s "Only The Lonely". Orbison's creativity gave birth to a unique, highly individualized, orchestral pop-rock style that resulted in a series of masterpieces and him an international start. By 1988, Orbison was enjoying a dream comeback:topping the charts with songs that once again cemented his reputation as a pop genius;while death claimed him too soon, The Essential Roy Orbison (which marks this legend's 70th Anniversary)charts the entire grand trajectory of his unrivaled career.

The original 1987 comeback concert- filmed and originally aired by HBO. Features Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Jennifer Warnes.

The essential ballads and rock 'n' roll classics by the lovelorn loner we've always rooted for! Includes Oh, Pretty Woman; Running Scared; Only the Lonely; Crying; Dream Baby; Blue Angel; The Crowd; In Dreams; Mean Woman Blues; It's Over; Blue Bayou , and more hits.

Celebrating the 75th birthday year of Roy Orbison with the long-awaited release of Roy Orbison: The Monument Singles Collection. A 2 CD/1 DVD set including all the A&B sides recorded by Roy Orbison for the groundbreaking Monument label during an electrifying peak from 1959-1966. Restored to pristine mono mixes for the first time since their original 7" vinyl releases, Roy Orbison: The Monument Singles Collection presents The Big O's core classic catalog the way it's meant to sound.plus the first-ever DVD release of Orbison performing nine songs from "The Monument Concert 1965." Roy Orbison signed with the newly emerging independent label Monument Records in mid-1959. Orbison's third single for the label, "Only The Lonely (Know How I Feel)," which announced to the world the true artistry of Roy Orbison. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and rocketed up to #1 on the UK charts.Orbison followed up the breakthrough with a pair of respectfully charting singles before knocking it out of the park with "Running Scared," his first US #1. After that came an unbroken four-year string of Top 40 hits during which Roy Orbison became America's top-selling recording artist and one of the world's most celebrated entertainers. Roy Orbison was one of the few established hit-makers from the late 1950s and early 1960s to not only hold his ground, but to actually increase his popularity in the wake of the British Invasion. He maintained his popularity through music which displayed an extraordinary variety of content, structure, tempo and rhythm and an authentic emotional connection that transcended mere craft, exemplified in his signature classic, "Oh Pretty Woman," recorded on August 1st, 1964. Written by Orbison with his new writing partner Bill Dees, "Oh Pretty Woman" became Roy's biggest hit and is one of the most immediately recognized and popular rock songs of all time. Released in August 1964 in the US and in September of that year in the UK, the song hit the #1 slot in virtually every country in the world where people had record players, selling some seven million copies that year.

Welcome to the Playlist series. Painstakingly compiled by the artists and the music nuts at Legacy Recordings, these collections truly represent an artists' complete body of work. We've fished through hundreds-thousands-of tracks to cherry pick the perfect playlists. Not just the hits (anyone can find those). The life changing cuts. The out-of-print tracks. The fan favorites everyone loves. The songs that make the artist who they are.

You’ll no doubt enjoy the sound of the beautifully remastered songs on this CD (as opposed to MP3's that contain less information, which translate into compromised sound). But we think the thing you'll appreciate most about this Playlist is that even though you didn't make it, you might wish you did.

Here is, bar none, the most all-inclusive anthology ever assembled to honor the greatest singer ever considered to be a "Rock and Roll artist." But Roy Kelton Orbison was so much more: behind his ever-present sunglasses and beneath his shock of raven-black hair, clad in black, he was rock's Mystery Man, the possessor of the most glorious voice ever to soar on such signature songs as "Only The Lonely," "In Dreams," "Running Scared," "Crying" and "Oh, Pretty Woman," to cite a mere handful of his Top Ten hits.

As Orbison's widow, Barbara, who is also this collection's Executive Producer, points out in her loving annotation contained in this four-CD package: "For the first time, you will have a chance to hear Roy's first recording to the last time he ever sang--Dec. 4, 1988, in Akron, Ohio. Roy recorded for several different labels [including 15 covered in this 107-song collection] and toured the world many, many times--we have numerous unreleased masters [specifically, 12 in this package] and live performances included in this box set to make it truly special."

IN DREAMS - DVD Movie