Roy Orbison's Sun Recordings Roy Orbison. Orbison, still in Texas began writing with Joe Melson, who led a group in Midland called the Cavaliers. Together they wrote the hit "Uptown," which sold better than any single since "Ooby Dooby". Looking for a follow-up, Melson showed Orbison a piece of a song he had been working on called "Only the Lonely". This song was the "first song that truly probed the frightening potential of Orbison's voice." In the early sixties Orbison reached his first peak period from 1961-1964. Despite the lack of commercial success Orbison looked back at his time at Sun Records as an
Roy Orbison became his first to break the U.S. Top 10 in 25 years. His honors include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in the same year, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1989. "Rolling Stone" placed him at number 37 on their list of the "Greatest Artists of All Time" and number 13 on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time'. In 2002, "Billboard" magazine listed Orbison at number 74 in the Top 600 recording artists. Roy Kelton Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, the middle