When thinking of the early days of rock, the first name that comes to mind is that of a legendary musician Roy Orbison.
Some regard him as one of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll.
The man could rock, and his live TV performance will remind you of a distinctive baritone who wasn’t afraid to sing about fear, loss or insecurities.
Orbison could take any emotions and turn them into a show.
Orbison was also known as “the Caruso of Rock” and “the Big O..
Most of Roy’s songs were ballads that conveyed vulnerability, which made him very different during the ‘60s.
The famous American singer, songwriter and musician was known as a shy genius, a guy who had tremendous stage fright. That’s why he always wore dark glasses when he performed.
Roy didn’t project defiant masculinity—instead, he was open about his emotions and was one of the first recording artists to popularize the “Nashville sound.”
Orbison didn’t have a manager or a publicist, hence his minimal presence in fan magazines. All that earned him another nickname, the “anonymous celebrity,” but that all changed after he performed with the Beatles in 1963. The audience chanted for him through 14 encores!
He began touring across the world, and he was popular wherever he went.
The Big O was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987.
In 2014, Rolling Stone placed him at number 37 on “The Greatest Artists of All Time” list!
“Pretty Woman” was released in 1964, and it spent three weeks as No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Orbison’s hit song was inspired by his wife Claudette.
On one occasion, his colleague Bill Dees was at Roy’s home, and their conversation was interrupted by Claudette’s announcement that she was going out. Roy asked her if she had enough money and before she had a chance to reply, Dees replied that “a pretty woman never needs any money.”
He used that line to build a whole song, and the rest is history!
Roy’s love for his wife was very famous. They had their ups and downs, but they remained together until her tragic death involving a motorcycle accident in 1966. The grieving superstar threw himself into his work, and he never fully recovered after that loss.
His performance makes this one of the most remembered episodes of CBS’ Dukes Of Hazzard.
The video features Roy Orbison performing his famous song “Pretty Woman” in the 20th episode of the show’s third season.
It was filmed at a bar with Orbison sitting at a bar chair with his guitar is on his lap, the whole place bursting with applause. The audience loves him, that’s for sure!
You can see a lot of pretty women around Roy, but the one that’s dancing closest to him to illustrate the lyrics is Daisy Duke.
She was the cousin of Bo and Luke, the protagonists of the show, and her character was played by Catherine Bach. After his performance ended, everyone in the crowd stood up and cheered for more.
As it turns out, Van Halen also recorded the “Pretty Woman” for their 1982 album, Diver Down.
Any artist who gt his hands on the catchy song had massive success with it!
The live version on The Dukes Of Hazzard was viewed almost 30 million times! Unfortunately, Roy Orbison never lived to see how popular the song became again after it was used in the 1990 film of the same name.
He died of a heart attack when he was just 52 years old, so it’s a good thing we have videos like this to speak more than words could.
Watch the full performance in the link below:
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
