ROY ORBISON - UNDER THE COVERS /A Birthday Tribute CD

New artists pay tribute to Roy Orbison at the Roy Orbison Birthday Tribute Concert held at the Gibson Guitar Studio, London – 23rd April 2009
A host of new and established International singer songwriters took time out to perform many of Roy Orbison’s greatest hits in their own style to a specially invited audience. The tribute concert was hosted by Barbara Orbison, Roy Orbison Jr and Alex Orbison and held at the Gibson Guitar Studio in London. The concert was timed to mark the birthday of the legendary Roy Orbison (23rd April 1936) and to celebrate his life and legacy. The event was also an opportunity to unveil the new Limited Edition Epiphone Roy Orbison “Oh, Pretty Woman” 12 String acoustic guitar which was played by various artists including Ex-Fleetwood Mac and John Fogerty guitarist Billy Burnett. The tribute concert saw musicians from around the world celebrate Roy’s life and music by recording and performing songs written by the great Roy Orbison. All the songs will be available world-wide on iTunes from April 27th

The tribute concert opened with a touching introduction from Barbara Orbison who talked openly about the life of Roy Orbison and what the event would have meant to him, she then handed over to her son Alex Orbison who introduced each act onto the stage.
Artists who performed live at the Roy Orbison Birthday Tribute Concert included:
Mary N'Daiye/ Phil Marshall / Vera Bohl/ Findlay Brown/ Gary Nock/ Ginger Redcliff/ Honey Ryder/ Kaycee Cole/ Reid & Stanners/ Netsayi/ Smoke Fairies/ Tone Damli Aagerge/ Peter Conway/ Katie Vogel/ Billy Burnett/ Fyfe Dangerfield (The Guillemots)/ Aruba Red/ Dave Stark Five Group.
The night climaxed with Roy’s classic “Oh,Pretty Woman” which saw all the artists take to the stage to sing the final verse and chorus. A specially made birthday cake in the shape of the Epiphone Roy Orbison “Oh, Pretty Woman” guitar was cut after everyone sang happy Birthday to Roy.
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Roy Orbison & Roy, JR.


 




Roy & Barbara
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Last night Dave and I attended the Roy Orbison Birthday Party celebration at the Gibson Guitar Studio in London.

There was a tribute show in honor of the late singer, with bands and artists performing songs written by Roy Orbison. Barbara Orbison, sons Alex and Roy Jr. along with 19 new artists and friends from around the world celebrated the life and music of one of music’s biggest legends.
It was a pleasant surprise seeing Fyfe Dangerfield from Guillemots there, who we were happy to share a table with, along with Guillemots drummer Greig Stewart. Fyfe performed a superb rendition of “Only The Lonely”.
We took quite a few pictures…I went a little crazy with the camera, but with all the other photographers there taking pictures, it felt natural to join in with the other flashes going off for each act.
Roy’s son Alex Orbison MC’d the event, introducing other artists that performed their favorite Big O hits - (in order) Mary N’Daiye, Phil Marshall, Vera Bohl, Findlay Brown, Gary Nock, Ginger Redcliff, Honey Ryder, Kaycee Cole, Reid & Stanners, Netsayi, Smoke Fairies, Tone Damli Aagerge, Peter Conway, Katie Vogel (green eyed monster), Billy Burnett, Fyfe Dangerfield (Guillemots), Aruba Red, Dave Stark Five, Group - Oh Pretty Woman.
The event was supported by Epiphone in celebration of the upcoming launch the new Epiphone 12 String ‘Pretty Woman’ acoustic guitar - the Epiphone acoustic guitar was originally used by Roy when he penned that song. Other sponsors on the night include BMI, Denzyl Feigelson and his team at AWAL (Artists Without A Label).
Over 30 artists have recorded one of their favourite Orbison songs for an iTunes only album called ‘Roy Orbison Under the Covers’.
(By: Jenny May)
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                           Barbara Orbison


Roy Orbison Jr., Tone Damli Aaberge (Norway Pop Idol winner), Barbara Orbison, Fyfe Dangerfield, Alex Orbison





Fyfe Dangerfield










Mary N’Diaye - “Oh Pretty Woman”


Findlay Brown






Gary Nock - “You Got It”




Honey Ryder - “Love In Time”







Kaycee Cole - “In Dreams”








The Smoke Fairies - “It’s Over”





Peter Conway - “There Won’t Be Many Coming Home”





Katie Vogel - “Blue Bayou”






Billy Burnett (ex Fleetwood Mac) w/ Alex Orbison on Drums - “Ooby Dooby”






Aruba Red (Jack Bruce’s daughter) - “You Fool You”
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Comments:*****
Dennis L. Tredinnick:
I would just like to say a Happy Birthday to Roy on this day, April 23,2009 which would have been his 73rd Birthday. He is truely missed and will always be remembered. My Best to his family.
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Declan:
God I hope this posts correctly! It is 'rare' that an artist transcends, rises 'above' their God-given gift... Roy did that like no other... When I was in the worst time in my life, Roy's voice was the voice not from this world, that touched me like no one else and brought me into the light.. Roy is my favorite artist of all time. Period. I have never ever seen nor heard anyone like Roy. Roy's family are so amazing and the nicest people I have gotten to know. I love Roy and his family and am so grateful that on this side of heaven, I was given a taste of what the afterlife will be like.. Thank you Roy!!! 
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Walter:
Greastest Singer ever. I have been so Bless to be able to sing just like Roy. It's been my saving Grace all my life.
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Valspace:
What a great project! Congrats - I am sure you've done Roy's music proud. I am wearing sunglasses in his honor today. ..
 
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Emanuele D.:
I can believe it! I love this song! When this album come to Brazil?..Good luck guys!..
 
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Kimberly:
Your music is amazing and I can't wait to hear your new album! ...**********************************************************************************
ROY ORBISON - UNDER THE COVERS -A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE
2009

01-You Fool You 2:02 Aruba Red
02-Running Scared 1:52 Disa
03-Claudette 2:41 The Carter Twins
04-Blue Bayou 2:43 Katie Vogel
05-You Got It 3:48 Rooney
06-Best Friend 2:53 Vera Bohl
07-Crawling Back 3:17 Shez
08-It's Over 2:23 Smoke Fairies
09-Oh, Pretty Woman 3:59 Hanan
10-You're the One 3:29 Reid & Stanners
11-Running Scared 2:41 Findlay Brown
12-In Dreams 4:35 54 Seconds
13-Wild Hearts Run Out of Time 3:30 Helgi Jonsson
14-Not Alone Anymore 3:26 Lucy Walsh
15-Paper Boy 3:30 Ginger Redcliff
16-You Got It 3:24 Winterplay
17-Running Scared 2:38 DePedro
18-Crying 3:23 Anthony Roth Costanzo
19-Falling 2:39 Netsayi
20-You Got It 4:39 The Spectaculars
21-Oh, Pretty Woman 2:30 Molly Beanland
22-There Won't Be Many Coming Home 3:36 Peter Conway
23-Oh, Pretty Woman 4:15 Bora Yalcinduran
24-A Love So Beautiful 3:38 Tobias Fröberg
25-Oh, Pretty Woman 6:53 Fractal
26-Working for the Man 3:02 Benjamin Olson
27-Oh, Pretty Woman 2:28 Mary N'Diaye
28-In Dreams 2:49 Kaycee Cole
29-Oh, Pretty Woman (Live) 3:29 The Dave Stark Five
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ROY ORBISON - THE MAN THAT LASTS

/*CELEBRATING ROY ORBISON BIRTHDAY, April 23/

(„No one will ever know

     the truth, but me“)

I knew him only through his songs. In the voice, which painted every song of his, there was both sadness and joy, love and friendship, past and future. Right are those in saying that his voice was a blue neon in darkness, a light at the end of the tunnel. Words are superfluous and sometimes even not enough insufficiently expressive to describe the feelings that overflew during listening to each of his songs. He drew nearer a whole World unknown to us by then and it seemed that we could see and feel all the roads of Texas, that endless red ground with oil towers, lake coast lines in Tennessee, the blue of California, those long magical American cars, sad good-byes and merry weddings, a whole distant life.

This was a tender, fair and persistant man. A man of happiness and of sorrow. Still, even in sad moments, he found strength to exit, for tomorrow, for forthcoming happy hours. People loved and respected him which he recompensed them with his beautiful voice. The compositions which he created were so sentimental that he really deserves a place among the greatest singers of the World. A peaceful man who could through his seemingly weak voice so powerfully express the loveliest and strongest emotions of life.

A man who was kind. Why do the kind men stay with us for such a short time? 52 years are too little for a life opus of such a great and good man. I believe that he had so much more to tell us in his compositions and songs. Roy lasts we don’t yet know the answer to the question why he was the best or one of the best. This is why he is unique and unrepeatable.

Because of this, the grave in the graveyard near Los Angeles is not the definitive end of this man – it will rather be a mark in memory and recollection that he physically is there. But, his deeds and his voice will always be with us. He is around us, in our memories, loves, journeys...

People say that he was a lucky man. I don’t know. I believe more formly that he kept his sadness caused by overdoleful disasters inside himself. He didn’t want to hurt others. The singing and the life have beaten the pain; life had to move on. Even when he’s gone, precisely because of him, he is still with us. He will really and always be there. With his compositions and songs he entered our lives, and there is where he endures.

A man that lasts. Roy.

Slobodan, Belgrade, 1997  

(Translated from „Roy Orbison – Remembrance, Part 3“)

(*Thank you so much, Paula)

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Roy Quotes:

* There is always someone who knows me. I must be one of the most unloneliest people in the world!

* There was a lot of loneliness in West Texas where I grew up. We used to say it was the center of everything, five hundred miles away from anything.

* The sense of 'do it for all it's worth, do it now, and do it good' has always stayed with me.

* Life is something I don't want to run way from. I am interested in what it has to offer, both good and bad. I have the balance in my life to see what the bad is, what the good is and where the in between lies

* I use to be asked how I would like to be remembered. My answer was that I would just like to be remembered. And I think maybe if I made a contribution, some form of a contribution. That maybe brought a little happiness to someone, or held a few things together. Then that would be great.

* The intensity of your emotions is something awe-inspiring, no matter how painful it might sometimes seem. I believe that none of us ever really grows out of that.

* My life is a never-ending dream. I take one day at a time and never look too far into the future.

* ... Just keep carrying on. Go ahead, because you could stop one day short of the good thing that's gonna happen.
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/*Thank you so much, Aurora from Lubbock,TX!

ROY ORBISON - ČOVEK KOJI TRAJE

   /*Celebrating Roy Orbison Birthday, April 23/

     

                                                                                                              

 („No one will ever know

   the truth, but me“)

Poznavao sam ga samo preko njegovih pesama. U glasu kojim je slikao svaku pesmu bilo je i tuge i radosti, i ljubavi i prijateljstva, i prošlosti i budućnosti. U pravu su oni koji kažu da mu je glas bio plavi neon u tami, svetlost na kraju tunela. Reči su suvišne a ponekad i nedovoljno izražajne da bi se opisala osećanja koja su se izlivala slušanjem svake njegove pesme. Približio nam je čitav svet koji nismo mogli osetiti i videti, sve puteve Texasa, beskrajnu crvenu zemlju sa naftnim tornjevima, obale jezera u Tennessee-u, plavetnilo Californije, ona dugačka čarobna američka kola, tužne rastanke i srećna venčanja, čitav jedan daleki život.

Čovek je bio blag, dobar, istrajan. Čovek sreće i čovek tuge. Ipak, i u tužnim momentima našao je snage za izlaz, za sutra, za buduće srećne časove. Voleli su ga i poštovali a on im je uzvraćao svojim divnim glasom. Kompozicije koje je stvarao bile su tako osećajne da zaista zaslužuje da bude medju najvećim pevačima na svetu. Miran čovek koji je umeo tako snažno da preko naizgleg slabašnog glasa izrazi najdivnija i najsnažnija osećanja života.

Čovek je bio dobar. Ali, zašto su dobri ljudi tako malo sa nama? 52 godine je premalo za životni opus tako velikog i dobrog čoveka. Verujem da je imao toliko puno da nam kaže kroz svoje kompozicije i pesme. Zato što još ne znamo odgovor na pitanje zbog čega je Roy najbolji, ili medju najboljima, zato on traje. Zato je on jedinstven i neponovljiv.

I zbog toga, grob na groblju u blizini Los Angelesa nije definitivni kraj ovoga čoveka – pre će to biti jedno obeležje u spomen i potsećanje da je on fizički tu. Ali, njegova dela i njegov glas biće uvek sa nama. Jer, on je svuda oko nas, u našim sećanjima, ljubavima, putovanjima...

Kažu da je on bio srećan čovek. Ne znam. Pre verujem da je on svoju tugu zbog pretužnih nesreća držao u sebi. Nije hteo da povredjuje druge. Pesma i život su pobedili bol, život je morao da ide dalje. Čak i kada ga nema, upravo zbog njega, on je uvek sa nama. I biće uvek tu. Svojim kompozicijama i pesmama ušao je u naše živote. I tu on traje.

Čovek koji traje. Roy.

 Slobodan, Belgrade, 1997.

(from „Roy Orbison – Remembrance, Part 3“)

CELEBRATING ROY ORBISON BIRTHDAY - April 23

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I've listened to Roy Orbison as far back as I can remember! I love his voice and beautiful songs - and I always will!
Thank you Roy for your contribution to making me the music lover that I am!
(Zelma,Sweden)*************

Roy Orbison is great because while he wasn't the best singer in the world, he always got the job done like none else could. his vocal lines were pure and no one could touch him.
(Matthew,USA)
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ROY ORBISON - IT"S OVER
What's the greatest break-up song ever? Thing is, I'm looking for the best because today is a momentous day. At 3pm I kissed goodbye to the love of my life over the last few months - my dissertation! And as I passed it over to my tutor I could hear strains of Roy Orbison beginning in my head: 'your baby doesn't love you anymore.'

I'm no expert on break-up songs but I just cannot believe there is one better than this one by Roy Orbison (More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits, 1964). It's so good it's almost worth breaking up with someone just so you can send it to them as a kind of parting gift! There's just something amazing about that voice and the backing singers - it's heartbreaking.

So it's offical - me and my dissertation are no longer an item. Praise God!
(Nick Coke
Stepney,London,United Kingdom)****************

ONLY THE LONELY
It seemed natural to focus our next post on one of the greatest at speaking to the broken-hearted, Mr. Roy Orbison. I first heard Orbison's music when I was probably 8 or 9 years old, can even remember the moment when I was made aware that this music was special music by my father. We were in the car back from a soccer tournament and an Orbison Greatest Hits tape was put in and my dad told me about the man in black with the greatest voice of all-time. I didn't like it at first, probably because it was so far from my first love of hip-hop, plus it was a recommendation from a parent. But, these songs wouldn't have made sense to me then anyway; I was too young to understand what this guy was singing about.

As my man sang, "Only the lonely know know why I cry, only the lonely." Indeed. At a certain point, this music makes sense to us all, as no one escapes unscathed. For sad music, though, it sounds so beautiful, majestic at times, it doesn't hide in minimalism and off-notes. Strings, backup vocals, an early rock/abilly sound slowed down, hints of doo-wop, fans of the Jens Lekman can hear one influence on his music. If you are discussing Orbison's music, there's one aspect that you have to mention, that you speak of in awe: that voice. Maybe the greatest to ever grace pop music, it can hit the high notes and go down low with authority. Listen to it on "Crying," it covers the entire vocal range in an almost operatic style and makes a nearly three minute rock song sound like so much more. There's not much to add to all of this, these songs above are some of the saddest you'll ever here, a reminder of the other side of all those great love songs. I'll end with the lyrics to "Crying," my favorite:

I was all right for a while, I could smile for a while
But I saw you last night you held my hand so tight
As you stopped to say hello
Oh, you wished me well, you couldn't tell
That I've been crying over you, crying over you
And you said, so long
Left me standing all alone
Alone and crying, crying, crying, crying
It's hard to understand but the touch of your hand
Can start me crying

I thought that I was over you
But it's true, so true
I love you even more than I did before
But darling, what can I do
For you don't love me and I'll always be
Crying over you, crying over you

Yes, now you're gone and from this moment on
I'll be crying, crying, crying, crying
Yeah, crying, crying over you.

Whew. Try to top that. Thank you Roy for reminding us that it's okay for boys to cry.
(Jack,New York,USA)

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ROY ORBISON BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE CONCERT IN LONDON

Big O Birthday Bash
Roy Orbison birthday tribute concert and iTunes release announced
Gibson Guitar Studio, London
Thursday 23rd April 2009
New signed and unsigned artists from around the world celebrate the life and music of ROY ORBISON by recording songs written by the legend. The songs will be available world-wide on iTunes on April 23, Orbison’s birthday. To launch the release, several artists will perform their Orbison song at a tribute concert and birthday party at central London’s Gibson Guitar Studio on April 23 beginning at 6:30pm
Some 30 new artists from around the world have recorded their rendition of Orbison classics and other songs. Confirmed performances on the night so far include:
• UK singer Rhys Morgan (Sony Music) who sang “After the Love is Gone”
• UK singer/songwriter Jamie Hartman recorded “Only the Lonely”
• Jack Bruce’s daughter Aruba Red who has put a reggae slant on “You Fool You”
• Spencer Gibb (son of Barry Gibb) recorded “In Dreams” – TBC at time of issue
• American band Luna Halo who did a rockin’ version of “You’re the One”
• Alex Orbison (Roy’s son) will get up and play drums with some artists
• and Billy Burnett of Fleetwood Mac is going to perform Ooby Dooby
Other artists who have recorded songs include Norway Pop Idol winner Tone Damli Aaberge, South African band Parlotones have recorded “Crying”, Ben Taylor (son of James Taylor), Peter Anderson (Lucky Dog Records), Mary N’Diyae (from Sweden), have each recorded tracks. The Carter Twins (CMT) from America paid homage to both Orbison and The Everly Brothers with their treatment of “Claudette”.




Some special guests are also to be announced.
The recent boxset Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock & Roll will also be made available for the first time on i-Tunes outside America.
The event is supported by Epiphone in celebration of the upcoming launch the new Epiphone 12 String ‘Pretty Woman’ acoustic guitar – the Epiphone acoustic guitar was originally used by Roy when he penned that song. Other sponsors on the night include BMI, Denzyl Feigelson and his team at AWAL (Artists Without A Label)
The idea for the event was conceived by Barbara Orbison and Denzyl Feigelson, who wanted to promote new and emerging talent across the world. Barbara Orbison, who will be present on the night, states “This is an event that Roy would have loved – to hear new voices sing his songs. Supporting new artistic talent is something we are so happy to do in Roy’s name. I would like to thank all our sponsors and particularly Henry Juszkiewicz Gibson Guitar’s Chairman and CEO for all of his companies’ support.”
The Roy Orbison Birthday Bash starts at 6:30 pm and is by invitation only.