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Artist
Roy Orbison & Teen Kings
12+ albums
rockabillyamericanrock n roll
about
The Teen Kings went to Memphis and although Orbison had grown weary of "Ooby Dooby", Phillips wanted to cut the record again in a better studio. Orbison rankled quietly at Phillips' dictating what the band would play and how Orbison was to sing it. However, with Phillips' production, the record broke into the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 59 and selling 200,000 copies. The Teen Kings toured with Sonny James, Johnny Horton, and Cash. Much influenced by Elvis Presley, Orbison performed frenetically, doing "everything we could to get applause because we had only one hit record". The Teen Kings also began writing more material such as "Go! Go! Go!" and "Rockhouse", generally in standard rockabilly style. The band ultimately split over disputed writing credits and royalties, but Orbison stayed in Memphis and asked his 16-year-old girlfriend, Claudette Frady, to join him. They stayed in Phillips's home, where they slept in separate rooms; in the studio Orbison concentrated on the mechanics of recording. Sam Phillips remembered being much more impressed with Orbison's mastery of the guitar than his voice; a ballad Orbison wrote called "The Clown" was met with lukewarm appreciation at best. Sun Records producer Jack Clement told Orbison after hearing it that he would never make it as a ballad singer. He found a modicum of success at Sun Records and found his way into Elvis Presley's social circle, once going to pick up a date for Presley in his purple Cadillac. Orbison sold "
top songs
albums
The Essential Roy Orbison
The Very Best Of Roy Orbison
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The Soul of Rock and Roll
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Loud, Fast & Out Of Control (CD3)
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Loud, Fast & Out Of Control (CD4)
The Ultimate Collection
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Sun Records: The 50th Anniversary Collection
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Loud, Fast & Out Of Control
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The Sun Records Collection
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Loud, Fast & Out Of Control (Disc 3)
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Loud, Fast & Out Of Control (Disc 4)
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The Essential Roy Orbison 3.0