NEW YORK (Legacy Recordings/ www.royorbison.com) - In celebration of one of the true pioneers of rock & roll and one of the all-time greatest singers to ever record rock, pop, or country music, Legacy Recordings is proud to launch its ambitious and definitive
Roy Orbison Reissue Project with the long-awaited release of The Essential Roy Orbison, the first-ever "best of" collection spanning the Big O's entire career, on Tuesday, March 28.
The Essential Roy Orbison, the cornerstone release of the Roy Orbison Reissue Project, is the first-ever career-spanning compilation of definitive high points from all phases of Orbison's musical history. The collection features early Sun Records rockabilly recordings including his first chart hit, 1956's "Ooby Dooby" (with the Teen Kings) b/w "Go! Go! Go!"; emotionally wrenching hits like "Love Hurts," "Blue Bayou" and "Only The Lonely"; career-defining masterpieces like "Oh, Pretty Woman" and "Crying"; tracks from his MGM and Virgin catalogs; superstar duets with Emmylou Harris and Elvis Costello; soundtrack rarities; selections from his final album, Mystery Girl and much more.
Barbara Orbison, Roy's widow, served as Executive Producer for The Essential Roy Orbison. The album's packaging includes an exhaustive essay on Roy Orbison and his immeasurable contributions to popular music penned by noted music historian/critic Chet Flippo.
THE ESSENTIAL ROY ORBISON track listing
Disc One
1. Ooby Dooby (2:11)
Originally Released 1956 Sun Entertainment Corporation
2. Go! Go! Go! (2:07)
Originally Released 1956 Sun Entertainment Corporation
3. Rock House (2:04)
Originally Released 1956 Sun Entertainment Corporation
4. Uptown (2:07)
Originally Released 1959 Monument Records
5. Only The Lonely (2:25)
Originally Released 1960 Monument Records
6. Blue Angel (2:51)
Originally Released 1960 Monument Records
7. I'm Hurtin' (2:42)
Originally Released 1960 Monument Records
8. Lana (2:17)
Originally Released 1961 Monument Records
9. Love Hurts (2:26)
Originally Released 1961 Monument Records
10. Crying (2:46)
Originally Released 1961 Monument Records
11. Candy Man (2:44)
Originally Released 1961 Monument Records
12. Dream Baby (2:33)
Originally Released 1962 Monument Records
13. The Crowd (2:21)
Originally Released 1962 Monument Records
14. Leah (2:40)
(R. Orbison)
Originally Released 1962 Monument Records
15. Falling (2:21)
Originally Released 1963 Monument Records
16. Working For The Man (2:25)
Originally Released 1962 Monument Records
17. Mean Woman Blues (2:24)
Originally Released 1963 Monument Records
18. Blue Bayou (2:29)
Originally Released 1963 Monument Records
19. Pretty Paper (2:44)
Originally Released 1963 Monument Records
20. It's Over (2:47)
Originally Released 1964 Monument Records
21. Oh, Pretty Woman (2:57)
Originally Released 1963 Monument Records
Disc Two
1. You Got It (3:30)
Released on the album Mystery Girl (Virgin Records 1989)
2. She's A Mystery To Me (4:15)
Released on the album Mystery Girl (Virgin Records 1989)
3. California Blue (3:56)
Released on the album Mystery Girl (Virgin Records 1989)
4. The Only One (3:53)
Released on the album Mystery Girl (Virgin Records 1989)
5. Ride Away (3:27)
Released on the album There Is Only One Roy Orbison (MGM 1965)
6. Crawling Back (3:12)
Released on the album The Orbison Way (MGM 1966)
7. Best Friend (2:36)
Released on the soundtrack album The Fastest Guitar Alive (MGM 1967)
8. Communication Breakdown (2:58)
Released on the album Cry Softly Lonely One (MGM 1966)
9. Walk On (2:52)
Released on the album Roy Orbison's Many Moods (MGM 1968)
10. That Lovin' You Feelin' Again (3:59)
-Duet with Emmylou Harris
Released on the soundtrack album Roadie (Warner Bros. 1980)
11. Running Scared (2:13) - 1985 Version
Released on the album In Dreams: The Greatest Hits (Virgin 1987)
12. In Dreams (2:50) - 1987 Version
Released on the album In Dreams: The Greatest Hits (Virgin 1987)
13. A Love So Beautiful (3:31)
Released on the album Mystery Girl (Virgin Records 1989)
14. The Comedians (3:32)
Released on the album A Black & White Night Live (Virgin 1989)
15. Claudette (3:01)
Released on the reissue Black & White Night (Orbison 1998)
16. I Drove All Night (3:46)
Released on the album King Of Hearts (Virgin 1992)
17. Wild Hearts Run Out Of Time (3:32)
Released on the album King Of Hearts (Virgin 1992)
18. Coming Home (4:01)
Released on the album Class Of '55 (America Smash 1986)
19. Life Fades Away (3:41)
Released on the soundtrack album Less Than Zero (Def Jam 1987)
Legacy Recordings will, over the course of the next two years, issue virtually every recording - including the Sun Records, Monument, Jewel, MGM and Virgin catalogs - ever cut by the archetypal Rock & Roll Hall of Famer.
Legacy will begin releasing the complete Roy Orbison Sun Records catalog in autumn 2006 and the three Monument (Columbia) albums - Sings Lonely And Blue, Crying, and In Dreams - with bonus tracks in spring 2006 Other classics in Legacy's Roy Orbison Reissue Project will include a DualDisc edition of King Of Hearts, the collection of Orbison's final vocal tracks featuring his Grammy-winning (Best Country Vocal Collaboration) version of "Crying" with k.d. lang and a remastered version of Mystery Girl, Orbison's final studio album.
The eagerly-anticipated arrival of The Essential Roy Orbison follows the February 7 release of the first Legacy edition of Black & White Night, the 1987 star-studded concert originally aired as a Cinemax special.
Black & White Night captures one of Orbison's most emotionally powerful and historically important concerts, recorded a year before his death. Conceived and produced by Barbara Orbison and T Bone Burnett, Black & White Night was a gathering of great artists who came to perform out of love for the songwriter and singer, Roy Orbison, who had influenced them so tremendously.
"Roy Orbison & Friends: A Black & White Night" was filmed in starkly beautiful black & white at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles on September 30, 1987.
The all-star lineup that night included T Bone Burnett, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Steven Soles, k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, and Bonnie Raitt as well as Glen D. Hardin, who'd played piano for Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, on keyboards and mythic lead guitarist James Burton.
During his remarkable career, Roy Orbison received multiple Grammy awards including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award and is also a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In light of these accomplishments, the Estate of Roy Orbison has committed to a campaign to urge the US Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp in Orbison's honor. This campaign includes letters and petitions signed by dozens of Senators and Congressman and Entertainment luminaries. There is a public online petition - signed by thousands from all over the world - at https://www.royorbison.com
