The Authorized Roy Orbison

by Alex Orbison

For the first time, legendary performer Roy Orbison's story as one of the most beloved rock legends is revealed through family accounts and records. Roy Orbison died in 1988 but he's hardly forgotten. Raised in rural Texas, Orbison became one of the pioneers of rock and roll in the 1950s, sharing the famed Sun Records with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash. He achieved superstar status in the 1960s, writing and releasing a series of smash singles, such as Oh, Pretty Woman, Only the Lonely, and Crying, plus many others that remain the most well-known songs of the era. IN DREAMS features rare memorabilia from Roy's career, much of it unseen for decades. This stunning biography, written by his sons along with Jeff Slate, tells the true story of their father's remarkable life, including his personal tragedies, reinventions, and untimely death.

Genres: Biography, Music, Nonfiction, Rock N Roll

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Mark Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m fascinated by biographies of successful individuals from different walks of life. Roy Orbison, who grew up in rural Texas knew that he wanted to be a singer/songwriter at an early age. Gifted with a unique voice, as a youth he would play guitar before going to bed and awaken to the instrument beside his bed to once again resume playing. His persistent drive and passion brought fame and fortune.

No one should have to face a major tragedy in life and unfortunately Orbison faced three. He professed that he maintained his sanity due to his work ethic and the fact he was grounded, not hit highs by throwing wild parties with alcohol or drugs, so when the bad times came he maintained the same plateau without hitting the bottom.

In early 1988 the group Traveling Wilburys was formed on impulse made up of five rhythm guitar players including Orbison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, and Tom Petty. With his career soaring he was at the Diamond Awards in Antwerp, Belgium on November 19, 1988 playing and singing to a full house a beautiful rendition of “You Got It”. Just 17 days later another family tragedy, a massive heart attack, would take Orbison away at just 51 years old. He seemed older to me in part I suppose because he lived such a full life.

I’m thankful that Roy Orbison’s’ three sons compiled this first biography of the notable star, whom they simply called dad. The text is complemented by an abundance of enlarged photos often showing Orbison with pitch black hair wearing his trademark dark prescription glasses. Although repetitive at times, which may be due to first edition editing, I highly recommended this book for musical history, as well as for a coffee table.

[Richard West · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of coffee table books because they're difficult to deal with, but this is Roy Orbison, one of the greatest voices to ever grace the American radio airwaves and anyone's turntable. If you have the Bear Family Records Roy Orbison box set, this is a perfect companion piece although they have nothing to do with each other.
Written by Roy's sons, this is loaded with photos -and I do mean loaded - which makes it worth the cost alone. It's a loving, fact-filled memoir of their father and offers an inside look at what it was like being Roy Orbison during the days when everything he recorded was on the radio and placing high on the music charts.
Somebody did screw up in the proofreading however as pages 26 and 28 are identical - word-for-word and you have to wonder - what was left out? This mars what is otherwise a perfect musical read about the man who could have sung opera if he wanted to, but instead decided to bless us with some of the greatest pop and rock classics of all time.
Must reading obviously for the Roy Orbison fan. Also must reading for the person who has heard of him and wonders what all the fuss is about. This will answer your questions. From triumph to tragedy and back to triumph again before his untimely death in 1988.

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remembering...

Roy Orbison is one of the greatest singers of all time. It's hard not to get emotional when I hear "Crying".
A nice look back from his three sons. I wonder if any of his family were musicians? That voice had to come from somewhere! This makes me wonder if any of the boys are talented?
Nice read...if you've never heard Roy Orbison give him a try..you will be happily surprised...

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible story!
Truth be told, I knew of Roy Orbison, the musician. Now I feel like I really know him though. Wow, what an amazing and tumultuous life he had. Rising to the top one minute only to be brought down by the worst of circumstances, over and over again.
His sons, who wrote the book, really take you inside their lives with their dad and show you the real story of his life. You gain so much insight as to why or how things were the way they were.
The photos were nice to see too, some I had seen, but most were new to me. I saw so many celebrities and family, all who Roy loved closely and cherished, but was sad to not see one photo of him and Elvis. A man he admired so much and was friends with as well.
Still, this is an excellent read. And with Tom Petty's passing as I write this out, it almost feels poetic that I finished this book today.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent comprehensive biography of a musical icon. Basically chronological (which is how I like it), it doesn't overly dwell on his relationships with his well-known and equally famous friends in the business, but it doesn't ignore them either, as they were integral to his life. This is a true biography - of the man, his family, his triumphs and his tragedies, as well as insight into the brilliant music he bestowed upon his listeners. (I read the hardcover, not the Kindle edition).

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just what I was hoping for after becoming reacquainted with Orbison’s work. I loved all of the details in this well paced book.

[Sheree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learnt so many new things in reading this bio. I grew up listening to my parents play Roy Orbison & then the traveling Wilburys. The amount of physical & emotional pain this one person went through was enough for four lifetimes.I did tear up a few times. I was shocked & impressed though, that with everything he went through & the eras he lived in, Roy never battled substance abuse outside of Coca Cola & cigarettes when so many others did & mainly those closest to him. I did get pissed at him though with how he seemed to leave Wesley behind once he remarried. It was like he went & started a new family but didn't want to remember he had another child who needed him in so many ways. How that poor child must have felt seeing his dad from a distance doing new things with his new wife & new sons.
Overall, a great read, I'm just a little disappointed in the ways The Big O handled some things

[Jaema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I would recommend to all Roy fans and music history fans in general! Roy jr., Wesley, and Alex Orbison honored their father's memory in this beautifully written biography. I was amazed by how much detail of Roy's life was included. The writing was very intimate. At the end of the book, I felt as though I had been friends with Roy for years. I applaud his sons for paying such a beautiful tribute to their father. For the very first time, we got a chance to look at who the man behind those dark glasses really was. He was a man. A man with a golden voice and a golden heart to match.

[Sam Motes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very engaging read on one of the key icons of rock who influenced generations of artists and wrote many entries in the song book of our lives. The ups and downs of stardom and personnel tragedy made a very engaging read. One of a kind voice for sure.

[Ray Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT insight to a Great Singer / Song writer.

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my humble opinion this biography did not live up to its promise. It was more perfunctory than intimate, a once-over-lightly that could have been so much more given its authors. We are provided with a pretty thorough rundown of dates, events and record releases, but we are never really admitted to Roy's inner world, except for the glimpses obtained when he (or in some cases his friends and collaborators) are quoted directly. The book barely touches the terrible events which shaped Roy's life as much as his music: the deaths of his first wife and, later, his sons. The later death of his brother gets barely more than a sentence. We hear more of his reaction to Elvis's passing than Claudette's, or the boys. Overall the book entirely lacks the kind of detail that devoted Orbison fans would like to sink their teeth into and that they might have hoped for from his sons.

Other than clearing up my mental Roy Orbison timeline somewhat, I didn't feel I'd really learned anything significant and new about him by the time I got to the end. A few factoids maybe. In contrast, I found the documentary the Orbi-Sons made (Mystery Girl Unraveled) far more intimate, revealing, and moving.

The boys redeem their effort to a certain extent by the inclusion of a wondrous number of fabulous photographs, many never previously published. These, in my opinion, lift the book from 3 stars to 4, although if Goodreads allowed half-stars that would probably have been from 2.5 to 3.5 stars.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy Orbison was a rock ’n’ roll enigma. He possessed neither Elvis’s gyrating pelvis nor Jerry Lee Lewis’s pound-the-piano machismo. Orbison would walk on stage, dressed all in black, with jet black hair, dark sunglasses, a black guitar, looking more like a shadow than a rocker. Then he would strum his guitar and open his mouth. Roy Orbison voice was unique and different and when it came to his singing, very few could even come close. And by close, I mean reaching his upper vocal range. Furthermore, his music makes you pay attention. The lyrics will intrigue anyone that’s really listening. At times, dark and moody and then uplifting and beautiful. No stage antics, just a guy, with his band singing hit after hit, moving only his lips and fingers while strumming his guitar.

"The Authorized Roy Orbison" is a book written by his sons, Alex and Roy Jr. The book gives you an idea of the incredible roller coaster of a ride this man led: so many ups-and-downs, tragedies and high points. I only thing I didn't like was there was to many timelines about tours he did, people he saw, music he produces, with very little personal details about why and how he came to write the songs he did. One plus for the book, is that it has lots of pictures which added to quality of reading it.

Roy Orbison was a truly unique talent. Being a I really big Roy Orbison fan I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

'In Dreams' has all the usual 'poptastic' content, the full life story, the road to stardom, colour/b&w photographs on most pages and the full discography of singles and albums. What is unique here is that 'The Authorised Roy Orbison' has been put together by Roy's Boys, Roy Jr., Wesley and Alex Orbison, so the intimacy and love shines off every page. So, for anyone wanting the full lowdown on the Big O's three decades in the music biz, this has to be the one.

It was a rainy night in Manchester U.K. (not unusual), sometime in 1985 and the gig was at Manchester's Apollo theatre. I arrived to find the place practically deserted, my first thoughts were that the concert had been cancelled. Nobody outside and no one in the bar. I got to my seat in the stalls and was seated next to two old ladies who reminded me of Ena Sharples and Minnie Caldwell. The rest of the seats were empty, except for a dozen bodies on the very front row, which I took for the Orbison fan club. I was amazed that the show was to go on, surely at a financial loss. There was no support act. So I got a full set from Roy Orbison.....almost to myself. The man ran through the full set of his hits, tight as a drum, the incredible vocals, one of the most amazing gigs I'll never forget.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roy's sons have created a sensational biography of their father. The book is well written and the book is filled with photos of Roy and his family. I have a new appreciation for how industrious Roy was as a songwriter and performer. He had little time for his family which is unfortunate but I'm sure he loved them. Little did I know that he traveled considerably in Europe and Australia. He even was the headliner for the Beatles tour when they were starting out.

The only critical comment I have for the book was that the photos were not in chronological order. I found photos from the 60's in the chapters that covered the 80's.

[Ben DT Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a real good autobiography. It gives you the life and times of Roy Orbison, with direct quotes from the man himself throughout his career to sort of back up the stories being written about him. I always love the upbringing and the road to stardom in these books, and this is a great one.

The only drawback for myself is it felt very over the place and rushed too. With long drawn out paragraphs that could’ve been halved and a lot easier to read. I also prefer a book that saves it photos for the end, rather than in between paragraphs - but that’s just me being picky. An overall fantastic read.

[Cheryl A. Breidigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting.

Long time fan. Went to several concerts over the years last,one shortly before his passing. Enjoyed reading about early life

[Myrna Gottlieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the hardcover edition of "The Authorized Roy Orbison" a biography written in 2017 by Roy's three surviving sons. When I searched Goodreads I could find only the kindle and ebook editions. No idea why. The hardcover edition is easily found on both Amazon and ebay-new and like new at a discounted price. I borrowed a copy from the library- it's a smaller size coffee table book. .

This is a wonderful book for fans of Roy Orbison, an icon of rock music from the 60s thru the 80s. It is LOADED with photos, many in color, and stories about his career from the time he was born until he died of a massive heart attack in 1988 at age 52. It starts when in his early teens, he formed a band with classmates in Wink Texas and played at the Lions Club. And ends when he was playing and touring with The Traveling Wilburys- George Harrison, Bob Dylan, et al.

Roy was born blonde and like everybody in his family, needed glasses from when he was very young. Lots of photos of the homely blond, bespectacled Roy, who started playing the guitar at age 6. He grew up inspired by his Dad who had a beautiful voiceand loved to sing. In the 60s, as a career move, to change his image, Roy dyed his hair black, began dressing in black, adopted the sunglasses on stage so he would look like a rock star instead of a nerd.

Roy suffered and survived two great tragedies in his life: his first wife Claudette, mother of three sons, was killed not far from their home when her motorcycle was hit by a truck; then when Roy was on tour, his very fancy house in Tennessee burnt down. His parents, who were watching his children, survived the fire- along with his youngest son Wesley; but his two older boys (11 and 7) perished in the fire. Roy turned to his music to survive and in time he remarried. And he had two sons with his second wife, Barbara.

Roy was loved by many. He was described as mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and generous. His career spanned decades. He was a perfectionist-worked hard writing and recording songs, toured at a relentless pace-mostly abroad- he was huge in (Australia and the UK) and once said he tried to sing for his audience at each live show as if he were performing each number (even his greatest hits) for the first time.

I recommend this book for fans of the music scene in the 60s thru the 8os: fans of Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Elvis; and fans of the legendary younger performers he inspired- such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and George Harrison.

[Maj · Rating 4 out of 5]

For most of my life I'd lived with a handful of Roy's greatest hits which got played on the radio when I was growing up. But it was only in the past year or so, since I watched Neil Jordan's film In Dreams, that I discovered the song that gave it its title. While I like the director's work, this film I think is the worst of it (not completely terrible, mind you) - nevertheless, the the film's score is outstanding, and most importantly for me, the OST also features the title song.
Once I started listening to the OST on Spotify, it started recommending other Roy songs to me, and I finally discovered the songwriting genius behind the beautiful voice.

And so when I learned earlier this year a biography by his sons would be published I knew I wanted to read it and learn more.

I have to say I also watched the documentary from last year (2017) about Roy, also featuring his sons (all of them crying at various points), and some of the info in the documentary was not present here. I guess the book is a bit more career-details-oriented - and there of course is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I got a bit lost re: years here and there, or missed album titles, but because I read the e-book version I couldn't just flip back to the discography to check the details, and easily come back. The book also features more pictures than me, or my old e-reader expected, and I'm just glad that the poor old thing managed to survive this book!

I'm sure a lot of hard research, and emotional work went into writing the biography. It was quite clear from the documentary the sons love their father very much - even the slightly neglected Wesley. Interestingly though, the book sometimes reads like a list of tour release dates, and can be a bit dry (maybe an attempt to not be too subjective or emotional), but whenever Roy himself is quoted, the whole thing lights up. Similarly whenever his collaborators and friends get quoted.

I think anyone with any interest in Roy should read this book, even though it's "only" a competent biography, and doesn't completely live up to how extraordinary - in great ways, and in sad ways - this man and his too-short life was. It's still a great read, and an invaluable source of Roy information - factual and visual.

[David Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read quite a few biographies. A good biography should not only fill in details of the person that you may not have known before, and presents those details in a format which is relatable and easy to follow. Biographies that jump around in time rather than moving chronologically through a person's life can leave one feeling confused. Others may give you a lot of facts, but don't leave you with real sense of who the person was. I am happy to say that this book does NOT fall prey to either of those problems. The book takes you through Roy's humble beginnings, describes his early influences, and shares the high points and tragedies of his life, right up to his untimely death in 1988. It is written in a smooth narrative style, interspersed with Roy's own words. I highly recommended this book for anyone interested in one of the early pioneers of rock & roll.

[Nick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Struggled to Finish

Not sure what the goal was for this book. What I imagined Roy to be like was shattered by the content which conveyed a superficial pop star who didn’t know when to quit. Some say Roy was “deep”. The authors certainly didn’t get that across, he seemed obsessed with fame and materialism. Every sentence sets out to tell you how great he was. Such is so when family is writing the book. The name dropping was incessant and nauseating. Read many great books on the lives of artists where their thoughts, acts of philanthropy, and love of art and family are stressed. This isn’t one of them.

[Marie Petry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very comprehensive book. By far, the only source on Roy Orbison that I would recommend to anyone unfamiliar with his music, his life, his story.

Beautiful photography. Some of these photos have never been published until the release of this book.

One of the most admirable and respectable rock pioneers, Roy's influence on acclaimed musicians like Elvis Costello and the late George Harrison among others is unmistakable. The Beatles hit "Something" vocally and lyrically sounds like it was created with Orbison in mind.

[Lance Lumley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This coffee table book is filled with great glossy pages and photographs, along with lots of text covering one of the greatest singers of all time. The stories in the book are great, especially the behind the scenes stories of his career . This book was very interesting and entertaining. For a more in depth review, visit https://lancewrites.wordpress.com/201...

[Garry Marlton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, Great singer. I really enjoyed reading the story of Roy Orbison and listening to his music while reading. I doubt we will get a singer like this again. It is hard to distinguish between book and music, both are fantastic.

[Marianne Brodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part was the section that talked about the Traveling Wilburys. If you're looking for something scandalous, this man's life isn't it...which is refreshing, considering L.A. & the music industry. This is a book for people that are into the MUSIC.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

In-depth biography with lots of photographs. I read this in one sitting.

[DDM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it - I listened to the audio version and there were a number of musical clips included - a real treat.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[Mark Holencik · Rating 5 out of 5]

You really get a feeling for who Roy Orbison was.

[archive ☄ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i didn't think i could possibly love you more, but i do, i do, everyday i do ♡