volume 5
september 2002

The monumental music of Roy Orbison

The seventy-five songs Roy Orbison made at Monument Records

by René de Bruin

Some time ago René de Bruin catalogued the first twenty-five recorded Orbisongs performed by Roy Orbison for the famous Sun-label. In this follow-up he now picks up the story of Orbison's recording career where he left off, the year 1958, presenting an inventory of all seventy-five songs — including two German language overdubs — performed for and released by Monument from 1959 till 1965.

Leaving Sun. In 1958 Roy Orbison was selling off his contract at Sun records by handing over his publishing rights to Sam Phillips. [1] Until these days those songs are recognizable by their mentioning of Phillips as the writer of the song. This business agreement offered Orbison at least one big advantage, as it allowed him to step over to Elvis Presley's record company RCA in Nashville, Tennessee. There, at age twenty-two, he came under the guidance of Chet Atkins. After one fruitless year, he joined Monument. He stayed there till 1965, and made some of his best work during that period while his style evolved from rock and roll to pop. Before discussing the Monument years we first will take a quick look at Orbison's few RCA recordings — a meager seven songs and an instrumental. At the end of the article you will find a listing, as complete as possible, of Orbison's work at Monument Records.

The seven RCA songs. At RCA four recording sessions were planned, yielding a meager harvest of just seven songs: "Almost Eighteen", "The Bug", "I'll Never Tell", "Jolie", "Paper Boy", "Sweet And Innocent", and "Seems To Me". Only four of those songs were released on single: "Seems To Me" / "Sweet And Innocent" in 1958 and "Almost Eighteen" / "Jolie" in 1959. "Almost Eighteen" also made an appearance in a German pressing with overdubs done by Dutch Johnny Kendall and The Heralds, but that is all. It took over twenty years until Bear Family Records in Germany released a mini-LP — or so you want an ultra long 12" single — with six of those songs in mono: Almost Eighteen (1982). Just four years later the same company let it be followed by a CD Roy Orbison and Sonny James. The RCA sessions with all seven songs in studio "two-track" stereo — the remaining twelve tracks of this CD are filled by Sonny James.

Two-track stereo. The first two-track stereo recorders, developed during the 1950s, were initially used in recording studio's to record the vocals and instruments separately, to make a better mixdown to mono later on. Some of these recordings, however, were later released as stereo records when the use of stereo equipment became popular among record buyers. If you listen to records like these, you will hear the vocals in one box, and — at least most of the time — all the instruments in the other one. As a result it seems that there is no "center" to what you are hearing. On the other hand, the advantage is that the vocals are not "drowned" in the music anymore. This kind of stereo was used until the 1970's and can also be heard on some older albums of the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival and others.

The eighth song. The number of seven songs may seem strange. Indeed, in those days record companies were thinking in singles and not in LP's. Therefore some people have suggested that there should be an eighth song, planned as a backside of a possible future single. For years the rumor circulated among collectors that this track really did exist and, and in fact, last year the German record company Bear Family Records discovered this eighth song. For the anxious fans it came out as a disappointment, as it was just a basic instrumental take without any vocals, titled "Happy Little Bluebird". [2] There never has been a third or fourth RCA single because if RCA wanted to do so, they would have been crossed by the first Monument release. Both RCA singles became — seen from a commercially perspective — a flop, and looking back from our vantage point of view today, we can see why.

Bridging RCA and Monument. At Sun Orbison was making a raw rock and roll / rockabilly style of music, although we can hear fragments of the coming style on some of the demo's Orbison recorded there. The RCA songs, however, were much more "sweeter" — read teenager-like — and romantic of style. Though this seemed to fit his voice better, they did not show Orbison's vocal capabilities. His real style of song writing and singing would become clear at Monument Records, where he wrote songs with Joe Melson and later on Bill Dees, under the production of Fred Foster. The "bridge" between RCA and Monument was the single "Paper Boy" / "With The Bug". These songs were recorded for RCA as well as re-recorded for Monument — only in a matter of days and in the same studio! At that time Monument was such a new player on the record market that the company did not have its own studio and therefore hired space at RCA's Nashville studio. Orbison's later global success made Monument move to its own facilities, also in Nashville.

"Only The Lonely". In 1959 Orbison left RCA for the quite new label Monument/Records — licensed in Europe by London Records — owned by producer Fred Foster. Orbison started working with Joe Melson, resulting in the first composition that chartwise did something in the USA. That song was "Uptown", appearing on a single with "Pretty One" for the B-side. From there off the story is quite known to everyone who knows a bit about rock and roll and popular music. "Uptown" was followed by "Only The Lonely", a song that, according to stories and rumors, seemed to be offered to Elvis Presley. The rest is just history. How fast the success came, can be seen on old footage of a TV show where Orbison is singing "Only The Lonely", and where his hair is not yet black but his original color: sand-blond. Missing are also his famous dark glasses — also to be seen at the cover of Orbison's first Monument LP titled "Lonely And Blue". These marks of his image came later. Over the years Orbison's RCA and Monument catalogue has been re-released over and over again. Those immortal songs — the Monument ones — belong to pop-music's legacy and will still be remembered for the decades to come.

Three albums. Looking back upon this period with 21st century eyes, it seems surprising that Orbison "made" only three original LP-albums between 1960 and 1965: "Lonely And Blue" (1960), "Crying" (1962) and "In Dreams" (1963). The remaining albums were and are compilations — the original albums have also been re-released several times on CD. The first quite comprehensive insight upon this creative period can be found at the Bear Family box Orbison 1955-1965, released in 2001. When one hears all those songs passing by, one quickly notices that Orbison succeeded in recording really beautiful, innovative, enchanting and groundbreaking songs between 1960 and 1965. Remarkable is his vocal expression of loneliness and heartbreak, which renders a feeling that touches the strings of the heart. In the end it is the performance that counts. It does not matter if Orbison wrote the song himself or that it was written for him, he simply had the skills to make every song — cover or not — his own. Over all those decades there are very few singers who can come close to the glowing, almost real feeling of loneliness and heartbreak in those crystal-clear songs. It is often said and written that Orbison "lived" his songs, and hearing these songs one can only agree.

Dark music. Bruce Springsteen once described what an Orbison' song did for him and that comes close to what I think and feel myself about it. Springsteen repeated those lines during Orbison's introduction in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame on 21 January 1987, where he told the following story:

"In 1970, I rode for fifteen hours in the back of an U-haul truck to open for Roy Orbison at the "Nashville Music Fair". It was a summer night and I was twenty years old and Orbison came out in dark glasses, a dark suit and he played some dark music. In 1974, just prior to going into the studio to record my album Born To Run, I was looking at Duane Eddy for his guitar sound and I was listening to a collection of Phil Spector records and Orbison's All-Time Greatest Hits. I'd lay in bed at night with just the lights of my stereo on and I'd hear Crying, Love Hurts, Running Scared, Only The Lonely and It's Over filling my room."

"Orbison's voice was unearthy. He had the ability, like all great rock and rollers, to sound like he'd dropped in from another planet and yet get the stuff that was right to the heart of what you were livin' in today, and that was how he opened up your vision. I carry his records with me when I go on tour today, and I'll always remember what he means to me and what he meant to me when I was young and afraid to love. In 1975, when I went into the studio to record 'Born To Run', I wanted to make a record with words like Bob Dylan, that sounded like Phil Spector's production, but most of all I wanted to sing like Roy Orbison. Now, everybody knows that nobody sings like Roy Orbison."

Rumors and speculations. Between 1958 en 1960 Roy Orbison and Joe Melson wrote many compositions that were picked up and recorded — often years later — by other artists such as Arlene Harden, Buddy Holly, Mark Dinning. A lot of these compositions have never been recorded by Orbison himself, but rumors and speculations keep going, and will probably live forever, that he did. I have been looking for a complete Monument recording file over the past twelve years, but I did never find it. To me it seems like if Monument was never properly archived and nobody seems to bother asking Fred Foster about it while he is still alive.

Alternates. Of course there are many alternate recordings, different sessions, demo's and so on. Copies always will circulate among fans and bootleggers. However, one can be easily be deceived by wrong titles and descriptions of songs, suggesting an alternate — a different version. However, the practice of producing and releasing alternate takes really was not very popular with recording companies in those days. Some of Orbison's songs were — in the case of Sun recordings — rereleased, overdubbed with instruments to make them more modern sounding. The Monument' recordings, however, certainly do not need such tricks, as they still sound as fresh now as they did then. Moreover, when we listen to different takes of the same song, it is amazing and stunning to see how close different recording sessions come out in their results. Most recording sessions of the same song resulted in almost identical takes, resembling each other as two drops of water — at least when one does not listen very carefully. This is remarkable, while — and that is one thing that is totally different from procedures and techniques nowadays — each and every different take was recorded live and techniques like sampling did not yet exist.

Come with me. Orbison's greatest hit, "Oh, Pretty Woman" offers a good example of the almost identical outcome of different recording sessions. There are two different versions of this song, a single and a LP version. Most people will think the first is just a mono-reworking from the same tapes as the stereo album version. However, both versions really are two seperate recordings. You can check it on the only noticeable difference, which is to be found in the bridge. On the single version Orbison sings: "Come to me, baby, I'll treat you right ...". On the LP-version this line goes: "Come with me, baby ..." Why? Well, in the conservative USA of the early 1960's — we are talking about 1964 to be precise — the phrase "Come with me" of the LP-version had a too sensual meaning, so it was recorded for the single-version. Except for this small part of the lyrics, there is not much difference to be heard. Even radio stations have been playing the "wrong" version for decades without even noticing it! We have to remember, though, that reproducing exactly the same arrangement was part of what was required from professional studio artists in those days. Actually, with the early 1960's technique, recording sessions had to be almost identical, as sampling and mixing techniques had not yet been fully developed. Still, with Orbison's recording sessions, there were approximately ten people involved in each one, and to make the result sound so identical each and every time is really an amazing fact. Sometimes more than sixteen takes were necessary to put the right sound on tape and they all sound more or less alike. One could name those recordings "studio-live".

Leaving Monument. Until 1965 Orbison was, musically seen, falling into an avalanche of events and he sold millions and millions of records and he became famous all over the globe. In 1964 Orbison even visited The Netherlands for a short concert in a place called Laren. That concert was televised and the sound track was released on CD by Orbison Records in 2000(!) after several video-releases in prior years. [3] The year 1964 brought some important transitions in Orbison's life. For one thing he divorced from his wife Claudette, only to rejoin her in 1965. He also left Monument Records for MGM records that was offering so much money and facilities that Fred Foster simply had to let him go. The — first — Monument period was closed, moreover, with a big bang, happening when Claudette was killed during a motorcycle-accident. Her death left Orbison behind with three kids — Wesley, Roy Dwayne (Duane) and Tony. The strong fundament under his life was blown to pieces and with it a part of the motivation that kept him going during the previous years. In the meantime Orbison already had been making recordings for his first MGM album that soon hit the market in the company of a Monument compilation album called "Orbisongs", including some alternate versions of his prior songs.

The Monument list. The list below list all seventy-five songs that Orbison recorded for Monument. It mentions the song title, the song's composer(s), the number of the original USA release, and the date — month and year — a song was recorded [4] An asterisk indicates a song for which a Monument alternate was released. The choice of CD-reissue is just an arbitrary one, as there are many alternatives.

		Song title	Composer(s)	Original USA-release	Recording date	CD-release

1.	-	The Actress	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 456	1-1962	A4K 46809 (4 CD-set)
2.	-	All I Have To Do Is Dream	Boudleaux Bryant	SLP 18003	4-1963	CBS / Monument A 21429
3.	-	Almost	Vic McAlpin / Jack Toombs	ROYCD 47002 / 2	9-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
4.	-	Beautiful Dreamer	Stephen Foster	MO 830	4-1963	CBS / Monument A 21429
5.	-	Blue Angel	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 425	8-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
6.	-	Blue Avenue	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SM 14002	3-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
7.	-	Blue Bayou	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 824	11-1961	CBS / Monument A 21429
8.	-	Borne On The Wind*	Roy Orbison / Bill Dees	SLP 18024	1-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
9.	-	Bye Bye Love	Felice and Boudleaux Bryant	SM 14002	3-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
10.	-	Candy Man	Ross / Neil	MO 447	6-1961	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
11.	-	Come Back To Me (My Love)	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SM 14002	9-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
12.	-	The Crowd	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 461	4-1962	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
13.	-	Cry	Kohlman	SM 14002	9-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
14.	-	Crying	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 447	6-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
15.	-	Dance*	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SM 14007	5-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
16.	-	Darkness	Gene Pitney	XPS 178	9-1960	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
17.	-	Distant Drums	Cindy Walker	MO 815	1-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
18.	-	Double Date	Roy Orbison / Jack Clement	AK 45404	6-1959	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
19.	-	Dream	Johnny Mercer	SLP 18003	4-1963	CBS / Monument A 21429
20.	-	Dream Baby (How Long Must Dream)	Cindy Walker	MO 456	1-1962	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
21.	-	Evergreen	Tanner	SLP 18003	1-1962	Bear Family BCD 16423 (7 CD-set)
22.	-	Falling	Roy Orbison	MO 815	1-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
23.	-	Goodnight	Roy Orbison / Bill Dees	MO 873	1-1965	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
24.	-	The Great Pretender	Buck Ram	SM 14007	6-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
25.	-	Here Comes That Song Again	Dick Flood	MO 421	3-1960	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
26.	-	House Without Windows	Tobias / Pockriss	SLP 18003	11-1961	CBS / Monument A 21429
27.	-	How Are Things In Paradise	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	XPS 178	11-1961	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
28.	-	I Can't Stop Loving You	Don Gibson	MO 433	9-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
29.	-	(I'd Be) A Legend In my Time	Don Gibson	SM 14002	9-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
30.	-	(I Get So) Sentimental	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SLP 18035	8-1962	Sony / Monument 474957 2
31.	-	I'll Say It's My Fault	Roy Orbison / Fred Foster	SM 14002	8-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
32.	-	I'm Hurtin'	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 433	9-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
33.	-	In Dreams	Roy Orbison	MO 806	1-1963	CBS / Monument A 21429
34.	-	Indian Wedding	Roy Orbison	MO 837	3-1964	Sony / Monument 492743 2 (2 CD-set)
35.	-	It's Over	Roy Orbison / Bill Dees	MO 837	3-1964	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
36.	-	Lana	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 939	6-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
37.	-	Leah	Roy Orbison	MO 467	8-1962	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
38.	-	Let The Good Times Roll	L. Lee	MO 906	11-1961	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
39.	-	Let's Make A Memory	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SM 14007	2-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
40.	-	Loneliness	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SM 14007	5-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
41.	-	Lonely Wine	Roy Wells	SLP 18003	4-1963	CBS / Monument A 21429
42.	-	Love Hurts	Boudleaux Bryant	MO 438	2-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
43.	-	Love Star	Cindy Walker	SL 18000	1-1962	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
44.	-	Mama	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 461	4-1962	Sony / Monument 492743 2 (2 CD-set)
45.	-	Mama (German languaged overdub of 44)	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson / Ralph Maria Siegel	DL 20726	6-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
46.	-	Mean Woman Blues	Claude Demetrius	MO 824	4-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
47.	-	My Prayer	Kennedy / Boulanger	SLP 18003	4-1963	CBS / Monument A 21429
48.	-	Nightlife (aka Nite Life)*	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SM 14007	2-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
49.	-	No One Will Ever Know	Mel Foree / Fred Rose	SLP 18003	1-1962	CBS / Monument A 21429
50.	-	Oh, Pretty Woman*	Roy Orbison / Bill Dees	MO 851	8-1964	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
51.	-	Only The Lonely	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 421	3-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
52.	-	Only With You	Roy Orbison / Bill Dees	MO 873	1-1965	Sony / Monument 492743 2 (2 CD-set)
53.	-	Paper Boy	Roy Orbison	MO 409	6-1959	Sony / Monument 492743 2 (2 CD-set)
54.	-	Party Heart	Boudleaux Bryant	XPS 178	1-1962	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
55.	-	Pretty One	Roy Orbison	MO 412	9-1959	Sony / Monument 492743 2 (2 CD-set)
56.	-	Pretty Paper	Willie Nelson	MO 830	9-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
57.	-	Raindrops	Joe Melson	SM 14002	9-1959	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
58.	-	Running Scared	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 438	2-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
59.	-	San Fernando (German-language overdub of 61)	Cindy Walker / Hans Bradtke	DL 20726	6-1963	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
60.	-	(Say) You're My Girl*	Roy Orbison / Bill Dees	MO 891	6-1965	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
61.	-	Shahdaroba	Cindy Walker	MO 806	1-1963	CBS / Monument A 21429
62.	-	She Wears My Ring	Felice and Boudleaux Bryant	SM 14007	6-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
63.	-	Sleepy Hollow	Bill Dees	MO 891	6-1965	Sony / Monument 474957 2
64.	-	Summersong	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 939	5-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
65.	-	Sunset	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SLP 18003	6-1961	CBS / Monument A 21429
66.	-	(They Call You) Gigolette	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SLP 18003	11-1961	CBS / Monument A 21429
67.	-	Today's Teardrops	Gene Pitney / Aaron Schroeder	MO 425	3-1960	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
68.	-	Twenty Two Days*	Gene Pitney	SLP 18035	9-1960	Sony / Monument / Legacy JK 66219
69.	-	Uptown	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	MO 412	9-1959	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
70.	-	Wedding Day	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	SM 14007	11-1961	CBS / Monument A 21428
71.	-	What'd I Say	Ray Charles	SLP 18024	4-1963	Sony / Monument 492743 2 (2 CD-set)
72.	-	With The Bug	Roy Orbison	MO 409	6-1959	Sony / Monument 492743 2 (2 CD-set)
73.	-	Working For The Man	Roy Orbison	MO 467	8-1962	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
74.	-	Yes	Roy Orbison / Joe Melson	XPS 178	11-1961	Sequel NXTCD 246 (3 CD-set)
75.	-	Yo Te Amo Maria	Roy Orbison / Bill Dees	MO 851	8-1964	Sony / Monument 474957 2

Looking for more details? For this article and discography I made use of the information that I took off from the inserts of the Bear Family releases, such as Almost eighteen, The RCA years: Sonny James and Roy Orbison, Orbison 1955-1965, and also The singles collection of Sony/Monument and several other CD's and LP's from my private collection. The discography, added to this article, offers more details about these carriers. For a far more detailed description of releases over the past fifteen years one can check the articles Orbisonderheden and Orbicural, written by the late Herman van Duyn in the Dutch edition of the magazine of the Roy Orbison International Fanclub, and renown among fans, collectors and connoisseurs all around the world. [5]

What comes next? At this point in Orbison's musical career I will leave you with the promise to pick the story up again in the near future, beginning with the eight years of recording at MGM. Again, I will avoid in-depth stories about the personal tragedies that Orbison encountered in his life. These stories have been properly covered in — collections of — newspapers and books: Alan Clayson's Only the lonely. The life and artistic legacy of Roy Orbison (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1989), Ellis Amburn's Dark star. The Roy Orbison story (Sevenoaks: New English Library, 1990) and some private releases as, for instance, Benjamin Koelewijn's: The Roy Orbison story.

Notes

1. The previous article was written in the Dutch language. I have no intention to translate it in the English language, as I know from experience that only a few people are interested in Orbison's pre-Monument — read Sun — period. Those who would like to have a — different — article on this subject in English, can e-mail me and I will send them a piece that has been published in the Australian Record Collectors Club Magazine.

2. The eighth song "(Happy) Little Bluebird" was found by Bear Family Records in Germany. The track proves to be a basic instrumental demo recording, that does not carry vocals. Most probably this song was to be recorded after the single "Paper Boy" / "The Bug". At that time Orbison had already switched to Monument, so he could no longer add vocals. I have no clue whatsoever if any lyrics to this song do exist.

3. At that time Orbison was interviewed by Dutch deejay Skip Voogd, who published the results in his book Sjout (1965).

4. On our Monument list song titles are just mentioned once even though more versions do exist. During the recording sessions often more takes were recorded, sometimes to find the right key, sound, or feeling. At the end, however, only one take was chosen to be the final take to be used on LP, EP or 7". Only in later times the alternates appeared on LP's and CD's — the LP Orbisongs (1965) is the only exception, as it carries three alternates. Sometimes songs were intentionally different on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (e.g. "Borne On The Wind"). Also — now and in the past — compilers have made mistakes taking an alternate for the original. It carries much to far to cover this all in this story and list. As my personal point of view, I can say that most of the alternates and demo's are of interest only for those curious for the smallest detail. Most people will and can be very happy with one of more of the soundcarriers mentioned below.

5. The Roy Orbison International Fan Club does still exist but is now based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. President is Mrs. Barbara Orbison. The club's website is the Roy Orbison Official Website. The e-mail address is info@orbison.com.

References and sources

Bruin, René de (2001), Roy Orbison complete songlist, version 2001, compiled by René de Bruin
Duyn, Herman van (1992), Orbison-derheden part 1-50 and Orbicural compiled by Benjamin Koelewijn.
Escott, Colin (2001), Orbison, Bear Family ISBN 3-89795-767-1. This book is a part of the Bear Family Records 7 CD box Orbison 1955-1965, BCD 16423 GL.
Koelewijn, Benjamin (1989), The Roy Orbison Story written and compiled by Benjamin Koelewijn, private outlet.
Voogd, Skip (1965), Sjout. Met tienersterren praten [Shout. Talking with teener stars]. Den Haag: Bakker (Ooievaar-pocket 209/210)

Discography

Song Title	Composer(s)	Original USA release and month and year of recording	CD-release RCA

Almost Eighteen	Roy Orbison	47-7447 (9-1958)	BCD 15407
I'll Never Tell	John D. Loudermilk	BFX 15111 (9-1958)	BCD 15407
Jolie	Boudleaux and Felice Bryant	47-7447 (12-1958)	BCD 15407
Paper Boy	Roy Orbison	BFE 15019 (4-1959)	BCD 15407
Seems To Me	Boudleaux Bryant	47-7381 (9-1958)	BCD 15407
Sweet And Innocent	Sherill / Hall	47-7381 (9-1958)	BCD 15407
The Bug (The Well Known Bug)	Roy Orbison	BFE 15019 (4-1959)	BCD 15407

Recommended soundcarriers

The following CD's and LP's, providing songs from the above list, are recommended as they offer the best sound quality available:

Lonely And Blue — re-issue of original album; CBS / Sony / Legacy JK 66219 (masterdisc)
Lonely And Blue — re-issue of original album; Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL UDCD 758 (this is a so-called Ultradisc in absolutely the best mastering ever made. Unfortunately the company has ceased to exist
Crying — re-issue of original abum; CBS / Monument A 21428
In Dreams — re-issue of orginal abum; CBS / Monument A 21429
Lonely And Blue / Crying — two original albums on one CD; Sony / Monument 474956 2
In Dreams / Orbisongs — two originals on one CD; Sony / Monument 474957 2
The All Time Greatest Hits — re-issue of original compilaton album; Sony / Legacy / DCC GZS-1118 / A 28888 (masterdisc, also available as a 2 LP-set; 180 gram vinyl)
The Singles Collection — 2 CD-set; Sony / Monument 492743 2
The Golden Decade — 3 CD-set; Knight Records ROYCD 47002 later Sequel NXTCD 246
The Legendary Roy Orbison — 4 CD-set; CBS A4K 46809

The Bear Family Records releases of Roy Orbison comprises the next albums (see also www.bear-family.de:

Almost Eighteen — contains six RCA tracks (mono) on "12 vinyl; BFE 15019
Roy Orbison / In Deutschland / San Fernando / Mama — re-issue of DL 2726 on "12 vinyl; BFM 15352
The Sun Years — BCD 15461
The RCA Years — (stereo) with Roy Orbison and Sonny James; BCD 15407
Orbison 1965-1965 — 7 CD-set with LP-sized hardback book; BCD 116423 GL

The ultimate buy in sound, graphics, discography; but also quite expensive, is the 7 CD-box and book titled Orbison 1955-1965. This box will set you back for a heavy € 153,39 excl. p & p, but in return will give you the best money can buy.

Thanks to Josiane de Bruin for correcting my English. Please mail your comments to René de Bruin.