W-OLF
04-18-2006, 11:57 PM
CLEVELAND (AP) - His was the voice of heartache and the lovelorn in the world of early rock'n'roll. Roy Orbison, who died in 1988 at age 52 of a heart attack, has been a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 1987, a testament to his long popularity derived from his way of blending rock and country music.
An exhibit that opens to the public Wednesday called "Haunting & Yearning: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison" offers a glimpse into his rockabilly career and his personal struggles.
The exhibit is not traveling. It was put together for the Rock Hall, said Barbara Orbison, Roy Orbison's widow, who came to Cleveland from Nashville on Tuesday for the opening.
"I'm proud of it," she said. "It has a lot of private things. I think Roy's legacy is alive. He's so well known and respected. There's always a radio station somewhere playing him. And Roy was fond of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was Bruce Springsteen who inducted him. Roy said to me that was so wonderful."
The display coincides with what would have been Orbison's 70th birthday, April 23. Included are letters Orbison wrote to himself making vows to take better care of himself, committing to exercise and stopping smoking. There are model airplanes he built as his hobby. A poster for a 1963 show in England shows the Beatles were the warm-up band for Orbison.
"The Beatles had gotten so popular so fast that they demanded a switch and Roy went along, opening for them up instead," said Howard Kramer, Rock Hall curator.
In 1990, Orbison posthumously won a Grammy for best male vocalist for his concert performance of "Oh, Pretty Woman" in 1988. But well before that, Orbison influenced a broad range of rock stars who were his contemporaries, such as Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers and John Lennon.
"His one-of-a-kind voice and ethereal songs set him apart from all of his contemporaries and made for a diverse set of followers," Kramer said.
The exhibit runs until Oct. 29. It is small in comparison to the Rock Hall's ongoing salute to rock music icon Sam Cooke. An exhibit featuring a 10-year period of Bob Dylan's career is planned to open May 20.
A video screen in the exhibit shows Orbison performances. He usually wore big-framed glasses beneath thick, black hair.
From the release of "Only the Lonely" in 1960 to "Oh, Pretty Woman" four years later, he was often near the top in the pop music charts with his brooding songs lime "Crying" and "It's Over."
He later lived through personal crises. His first wife, Claudette, died in a motorcycle accident in 1966, and two of his three boys died in a house fire in 1968.
The exhibit also coincides with the release of Legacy Records' Roy Orbison Reissue Project. The first Legacy release is "Black & White Night," the 1987 Orbison concert originally aired on cable TV.
"What I hope young people get out of it is that Roy came from a small town in Texas against all odds and with a dream in his heart and a melody on his lips," Barbara Orbison said. "That's what it really is about, making your dream come true."
credit BellSouth
An exhibit that opens to the public Wednesday called "Haunting & Yearning: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison" offers a glimpse into his rockabilly career and his personal struggles.
The exhibit is not traveling. It was put together for the Rock Hall, said Barbara Orbison, Roy Orbison's widow, who came to Cleveland from Nashville on Tuesday for the opening.
"I'm proud of it," she said. "It has a lot of private things. I think Roy's legacy is alive. He's so well known and respected. There's always a radio station somewhere playing him. And Roy was fond of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was Bruce Springsteen who inducted him. Roy said to me that was so wonderful."
The display coincides with what would have been Orbison's 70th birthday, April 23. Included are letters Orbison wrote to himself making vows to take better care of himself, committing to exercise and stopping smoking. There are model airplanes he built as his hobby. A poster for a 1963 show in England shows the Beatles were the warm-up band for Orbison.
"The Beatles had gotten so popular so fast that they demanded a switch and Roy went along, opening for them up instead," said Howard Kramer, Rock Hall curator.
In 1990, Orbison posthumously won a Grammy for best male vocalist for his concert performance of "Oh, Pretty Woman" in 1988. But well before that, Orbison influenced a broad range of rock stars who were his contemporaries, such as Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers and John Lennon.
"His one-of-a-kind voice and ethereal songs set him apart from all of his contemporaries and made for a diverse set of followers," Kramer said.
The exhibit runs until Oct. 29. It is small in comparison to the Rock Hall's ongoing salute to rock music icon Sam Cooke. An exhibit featuring a 10-year period of Bob Dylan's career is planned to open May 20.
A video screen in the exhibit shows Orbison performances. He usually wore big-framed glasses beneath thick, black hair.
From the release of "Only the Lonely" in 1960 to "Oh, Pretty Woman" four years later, he was often near the top in the pop music charts with his brooding songs lime "Crying" and "It's Over."
He later lived through personal crises. His first wife, Claudette, died in a motorcycle accident in 1966, and two of his three boys died in a house fire in 1968.
The exhibit also coincides with the release of Legacy Records' Roy Orbison Reissue Project. The first Legacy release is "Black & White Night," the 1987 Orbison concert originally aired on cable TV.
"What I hope young people get out of it is that Roy came from a small town in Texas against all odds and with a dream in his heart and a melody on his lips," Barbara Orbison said. "That's what it really is about, making your dream come true."
credit BellSouth