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 According to the official Roy Orbison U.S. discography by Marcel Riesco, a rare alternate version of "Blue Bayou" was released only in Italy. Orbison finished 1963 with a Christmas song written by Willie Nelson, "Pretty Paper" (US number 15 in 1963, UK number six in 1964). As "In Dreams" was released in April 1963, Orbison was asked to replace the guitarist Duane Eddy on a tour of the UK in top billing with the Beatles, whose popularity was on the rise. When he arrived in Britain, however, he saw the amount of advertising devoted to the quartet and realized he