Description Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 December 6, 1988) was an American singer-songwriter and musician, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly / country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis. His greatest success was with Monument Records in the early 1960s where 22 of his songs placed on the Top Forty, including 'Only the Lonely', 'Crying', 'In Dreams', and 'Oh, Pretty Woman'. His career stagnated through the 1970s, but several covers of his songs and the use of one in a film by David Lynch revived his career in the 1980s. He joined the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne and released an album in 1988. He died of a heart attack at the age of 52, at the zenith of his resurgence.Orbison was a natural baritone, but since 1961 writers have speculated that he had a three or four-octave range.[1] The combination of Orbison's powerful, impassioned voice, and the complex musical arrangements in his songs led many in rock and roll to refer to his music as operatic, calling him the 'Caruso of Rock'.[2][note 1] Performers as disparate as Elvis Presley and Bono stated his voice was, respectively, the greatest and most distinctive they had ever heard.[3] While most men in rock and roll in the 1950s and 1960s portrayed a defiant masculinity, many of Orbison's songs instead conveyed a quiet, desperate vulnerability. He experienced tragedies in his life including the death of his first wife and his children on separate occasions. He was known for performing while standing still and solitary, wearing black clothes and dark sunglasses which lent an air of mystery to his persona.
Eric Dee, Boulder Colorado Member Since June 2008 Artist Statement I started painting in the late 70's but would paint typically 2 or so paintings a year. I experimented with everything from portraits and nudes to landscapes. But I was a Rambler, and a bit of an adventurer who suddenly found himself far from his Canadian home and Married with Children and living and starting a career in the corp. world in the mid 80's.
My oil paints and brushes and tools went into a box and wasn't opened again for almost 20 years in late 2007. They had all melted together from years in 100+ degree garage heat and rendered useless other than to stir up old emotions
So I restocked. I had a vision to attack the subject of celebrity portraits in basic monochrome and focus on trying to capture the essence of the character. And so I start with a blank canvas and I paint until all I can hear is the artist perform ( in the case of the musicians at least ) in my head. Then it's time for another. I can't stop this time. I feel like I need to make up for 20 years.
The kids have grown, the Wife is gone and I intend to take this art thing as far as it will go. Welcome to my new adventure. Please feel free to ride along with me. I will do my best to update often. There will be some pieces off on temporary tangents but I have so many artists and talent to pay tribute to and I hope to stay focused on the intended format for the most part.
Comments are very welcome. Offers to buy are also appreciated and welcome.