Roy Orbison mix from the top down rather than from the bottom up, beginning with close-miked backing vocals in the foreground, and ending with the rhythm section soft in the background. This combination became Orbison's trademark sound. "Only the Lonely" shot to number two on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and hit number one in the UK and Australia. According to Orbison, the subsequent songs he wrote with Melson during this period were constructed with his voice in mind, specifically to showcase its range and power. He told "Rolling Stone" in 1988, "I liked the sound of [my voice]. I liked making it
Roy Orbison discography ten top-10 hits between 1960 and 1966, including three No. 1 singles. Born and raised in Texas, Orbison got his start in a rockabilly band in high school. According to the official Roy Orbison discography by Marcel Riesco, Orbison's first release was in March 1956 on the Je-Wel label. He broke into professional music under Sam Phillips at Sun Records in the summer of 1956, but found only marginal success there. After a couple years writing for other musicians (including "Claudette" recorded by The Everly Brothers), Orbison recorded several songs at Monument Records under producer Fred Foster starting in 1959.