Rhapsody in Black: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison

by John Kruth

Two eight-page B&W and color photo inserts

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2013

Reviews

[Barry Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Except for his string of hits when he was on Monument Records (Only The Lonely, Crying, Running Scared, Candy Man, In Dreams, Blue Bayou, It's Over, You Got It, Falling, Pretty Paper, Working For The Man, and Oh, Pretty Woman) and his revival years with Black & White Nights and The Travelling Wilburys, Roy Orbison had a very uneven recording history. His lasting reputation is based mainly on his live shows, which he continued regularly for years and which maintained the quality of "the voice," for which he was known. He was also known as one of the 0riginal Sun Records artists, discovered by Sam Phillips, along with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, though his recording of "Ooby Dooby" was made a year after the others. Musician and journalist, John Kruth, has written a book that chronicles his lengthy but cut short career and his tragic personal life with admirable detail. - BH.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhapsody in Black: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison by John Kruth is a 2013 Backbeat publication.

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read this biography. I’m a huge fan from way back- but although I knew, and loved, most of Roy's music, and of course I’d heard about all the horrible tragedies he endured, I didn’t know that much about him, always thinking of him as something of an enigma.

This biography combines Roy’s musical journey with his personal one and while that is often difficult to balance, the author did a fair job of it. Roy had a hauntingly beautiful voice, and I am glad he enjoyed a career resurgence before his death, after some very lean years.

As to his personal life, we all know of his unfathomable heartbreaks. It does seem like too much for one person to bear. The only area where I bristled a bit was the author’s own projection of suggested 'woo woo' as though there was some kind of curse on the Orbison family, also alluding to specific dates when some of these tragedies transpired.

That said, most of the time the author allows the material to speak for itself. Roy was not perfect, nor were his relationships, but overall, for a person involved in the music industry, he was pretty tame. I found out some things I didn’t know about him previously and did feel as though I got a glimpse into the type of person he was- though a bit of mystery still surrounds him… which is a good thing in this case.

Overall, a descent biography. I found it interesting and enjoyed picking up some information I was not aware of and revisiting all those great hits again.

[Tom McPhillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with music biographies is that you often start reading them with certain preconceptions. When you come across something that challenges your beliefs you have the question as to whether to believe the biographer or wherever you came across the contradictory information. Sadly there were a few places where I had enough doubt to check alternate sources who rather too often agreed with each other. When you have doubts about the accuracy of the information you cannot fully endorse a book. In saying that, as a straightforward read about the life of Roy Orbison, it's fine. I just think that John Kruth has taken some things at face value when more research would have given a better and more accurate book.

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can get past the myriad typographical & grammatical errors in the book (poor proofreading/editing) & the extremely detailed musical minutiae & rather dramatic descriptions, there is a lot of good information on Orbison, many facts of which I was unaware, & an interesting narrative of his life. He is one of my favorite singer/songwriters & it was fascinating to read about him.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Kruth gave me a very special insight in the life of Roy Orbison. I have been an ardent fan of Orbison's music since the age of 12 and every piece of information that came my way was cherished for years.
Mr. Kruth gives an honest and sometimes humorous look and critical view of Roy's journey through his many trials that many an artist could not have endured.

[Nick Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave it five stars because I just loved reading Roy Orbison's life story. However: as a book, as a biography, or even as a novel, the book is horribly written in a childish and immature style of and then... and then... and then... .

Just proves that music journalism is mostly a job for fans, and not for real writers or academics.

There must be better biographies around.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insights

This book gives great personal insights into the life and times of Roy Orbison primarily through his immense body of work. His songs and life reflect an amazing journey.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Rhapsody in Black-The Life and Music of Roy Orbison' appeared in print in 2013. The author John Kruth, a musician himself, has written for Rolling Stone, Wire and Sing Out among others.
The music of Orbison is covered in detail...the life of the man is still partly hidden behind the Ray-Bans. As popular music biographies go, this is quite well written and supported by many quotes from past interviews given by the 'Big O', family, friends and fellow musical collaborators.

Not covered in this book is my own personal gig with Orbison. Believe it or not, this is a true story. In the early 1980's I had a ticket to see Roy in concert at the Manchester Apollo (U.K.) Arriving at the venue I found the place empty. At first my thought was that the show had been cancelled. The Apollo had staged concerts since the early sixties. The Beatles, Stones and Roy himself had appeared. It is still a music venue today. I produced my ticket at the door and found my seat in the stalls. Apart from the front row fan club, the two and a half thousand seating was completely empty. With no support, Roy Orbison played his full set and if there had been a full house, he would certainly have blown it away!

[Isalts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting insight into the Big O's life and music.
Kruth maintains a good balance between the music, Orbison's life and what made him tick.
I feel like I know a lot more about this amazing singer, there will never be another singer like him, his voice was that unique.
As explained in the book he is held in awe by a plethora of legendary musicians and singers of the highest class. That really reflects what a brilliant talent he was.