When did Roy Orbison die and what was the cause?
Roy Orbison died on the 6th of December 1988, of a heart attack at the age of 52. He collapsed at his mother's home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Questions about Roy Orbison
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was Roy Orbison's biggest hit song?
"Oh, Pretty Woman" (1964) is widely considered Orbison's signature hit. It reached number one in the United States, stayed on the charts for fourteen weeks, went to number one in the UK for a total of eighteen weeks, and sold over seven million copies.
Who were the members of the Traveling Wilburys and what was Roy Orbison's role?
The Traveling Wilburys consisted of Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. Orbison used the stage name Lefty Wilbury, chosen in honor of his childhood musical hero Lefty Frizzell. The group's debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, was released on the 25th of October 1988.
What personal tragedies did Roy Orbison experience in the 1960s?
Orbison's wife Claudette was killed in a motorcycle accident on the 6th of June 1966, in Gallatin, Tennessee, at age 25. Two years later, on the 14th of September 1968, while he was on tour in Britain, his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, burned down and his two eldest sons died in the fire.
How did Roy Orbison's voice get described by other musicians?
Elvis Presley called it the greatest and most distinctive voice he had ever heard. Bob Dylan compared it to an opera singer performing from "an Olympian mountaintop." Barry Gibb said hearing "Crying" for the first time made him feel it was "the voice of God," and Dwight Yoakam described it as "the cry of an angel falling backward through an open window."
What was Roy Orbison's posthumous album Mystery Girl and how did it perform?
Mystery Girl was completed in November 1988 and released on the 31st of January 1989, by Virgin Records. It became the highest-selling album of Orbison's career. Its lead single "You Got It," co-written with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, reached number nine in the US and number three in the UK.