SIX OF THE BEST: Roy Orbison

Saturday December 6th will mark 20 years since the death of Roy Orbison, the legendary singer, songwriter, and performer behind 'Oh, Pretty Woman', 'Crying', 'It's Over', and 'You Got It' (amongst countless others), and the man whom Elvis Presley declared 'the greatest singer in the world'.

In celebration of Roy, we're happy to make him the focus of the first edition of a new semi-regular feature, 'Six of the Best' in which we will trawl YouTube in search of the half-dozen videos that epitomize the character and talents of a particular performer or group. Enjoy.

6. Only The Lonely (1960)



This early performance from a Dutch television show perfectly illustrates the beginnings of Roy as unlikely rock n' roll superstar. Standing stock still, without an upward glance from behind his soon-to-be trademark shades, this is the very definition of cool.

Note: Speaking of cool, note the downright frosty looking audience. Bizarre!

This is a particularly interesting video when compared to the one below, taped mere months earlier, pre-image change.



5. Blue Angel (1982)
(from LIVE AT AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, available to buy on DVD)



A stellar performance of one of Roy's greatest songs. His ability to marry catchy, infectious tunes with unusual off-beat song structures remains unparalleled to this day. Back in 1960, this was the follow-up single to 'Only The Lonely', and inevitably, another smash hit. Here, more than two decades later, it sounds as vibrant and fresh as it must have done the day it was first recorded.

Note: Listen out for those impeccable high notes that he could always break out at the drop of a hat.

4. Crying (1987)



From the PBS special 'A Black And White Night', that in many ways served as Roy's epitaph, this fondly remembered performance of an unforgettably poignant track features Roy backed by an all star band including backing vocalists kd lang (with whom Roy had re-recorded the song as a duet earlier in the year, to great success), Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt; and legendary musicians Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and Jackson Browne. Of course, with his jet black hair, clothes and sunglasses against his pallid complexion, Roy was always meant to be seen in black and white.

3. Mean Woman Blues (1987)



27 years on, this rare performance of Roy's best rocker shows the man at his best - confident, accompanied by a truly swinging band, his effortless vocals probably superior to the original 1960's recording. This appearance on David Letterman was made to promote the then-upcoming Black & White Night special, which would seal the deal on an amazing career revival.

Note: Dave's flubbed intro, Paul Schaffer's frenetic accompaniment (and David Byrne-esque dancing).

2. You Got It (1988)

Click to view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siB20alL-Wc

Roy's last televised performance, from Belgium's 'Diamond Awards' ceremony. This is also noteworthy as the only performance of this huge hit and radio staple from the 'Mystery Girl' album. Another great example of the commercial and creative high note on which Roy ended his remarkable career.

1. It's Over/Running Scared (1982)
(from LIVE AT AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, available to buy on DVD)



"Your baby doesn't love you anymore" - who else could open a song with such a blunt, bruising statement and take it to #1 on the UK singles chart?

Here together are two of Roy's most devastatingly powerful and dramatic ballads, from the absolutely essential 'Live At Austin City Limits' DVD. Recorded in intimate surroundings, the sound is pitch perfect as Roy's hauntingly beautiful voice takes flight. This rendering of Running Scared is easily the definitive version of this deceptively simple masterpiece. Proof, as if it were needed, that there will never be another Roy Orbison.

Note: The last note of this video, on the reprise of Running Scared's climax, has to be heard to be believed.

AVAILABLE NOW: Darius Rucker - Learn To Live

Originally posted on the old site, September 2008.



Darius Rucker - Learn To Live

(Capitol Nashville)

It’s a voice that needs no introduction. Darius Rucker’s soulful, rich baritone instantly resonates as a comforting companion in this journey we call life.

On Learn To Live, his first project for Capitol Records Nashville, Rucker has created a work that is steeped in the country traditions of meaningful lyrics and resonant melodies, yet sounds completely modern.

As the best country albums do, Learn To Live takes the listener on a trip. The album’s arc covers major life themes such as falling in love, birth and death. “This CD is a journey,” Rucker says. “I realized I’m 42. I’m not going to write many songs about drinking, chasing girls or booty calls. I was going to write songs about having kids and stuff - songs about life.”

Guests on the album include Brad Paisley on the humorous “All I Want” and Vince Gill and Alison Krauss on the inspirational “If I Had Wings.” “Brad just showed up in jeans and a t-shirt. To me, he’s one of the best guitar players around,” Rucker says. Gill and Krauss made Rucker, the ultimate fan, dizzy with delight. “They sounded like angels. You have these two artists singing on top of my voice . . . it gave me chills.”

Rucker has always had a close kinship to country music and country artists. “Growing up in South Carolina, it was always around, always on the radio,” he says. First an acolyte of Buck Owens, Rucker naturally gravitated towards Dwight Yoakam, New Grass Revival and Radney Foster in his twenties. “When I first heard Radney’s voice on Foster & Lloyd’s ‘Crazy Over You,’ I thought, ‘this guy’s voice is bigger than Texas.’ I’m thinking, ‘this is cool songwriting.’ ”

Rucker’s career path veered first into pop as the lead singer/co-writer for the wildly successful Hootie & the Blowfish. The Grammy-winning group’s 1994 debut, Cracked Rear View, is one of the best-selling albums in history, surpassing the 16 million album mark.

Fans of the band, many of whom have made the natural migration from pop to country radio, realize that Hootie & the Blowfish’s catchy songs were rooted in the same elements that make great country music. In fact, Rucker says, “We talked about being a country band, and I just got outvoted! They also used to kid me about how I always was bringing them country songs that they had to turn into rock songs . . .” Therefore, making his first country CD was not so much a big leap for Rucker as simply a slight shift in Rucker’s musical evolution. As Billboard magazine noted, “There’s a sense of purpose that makes Rucker feel like a member of the country family, rather than an interloper…Sounds like country may have a shining new star.”

As a student of great songwriting, Rucker earned his advanced degree while working on Learn To Live. “Writing with those songwriters was like going to Songwriting University,” he says. His professors/co-writers included such legendary writers as Rivers Rutherford (Brad Paisley, Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson); Frank Rogers (Brad Paisley, Trace Adkins) and Clay Mills (Diamond Rio, Reba McEntire). “So many people in pop try to write all these psychedelic crazy lyrics, and I’m sure I’ve been part of that - but that’s something you don’t find in country music. The thing I like most about country songs is that they keep it simple. I love that, and I love the melodies.”

Fellow South Carolina native Rogers also served as the album’s producer, a job he secured immediately after meeting Rucker: “In the first 30 minutes, we wrote ‘All I Want.’ The label asked if I wanted to meet the other [potential producers] and I said, ‘Never mind. I met my guy’.”

The success of first single, the bittersweet “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” shows that Rucker had country fans at hello. The single, co-written by Rucker with Clay Mills, soared into the top 15 at radio even more quickly than anticipated. “It just breaks your heart,” says Rucker of the song. “And it was country enough that it wouldn’t be perceived as me being pop and just putting fiddle on a song.”

That song and the universal emotion it evokes typifies the stripped-bare nature of Learn To Live. “I want people to take away a sense of realness,” Rucker says. “I want everybody to find a song on it that they can relate to and go, ‘Wow, I did that, too.’ ”

For Rucker, the welcome mat that country radio has laid out for him has been extraordinarily gratifying. “The reception has been unbelievable,” he says. But smart programmers know that teens raised on Hootie are now confirmed country listeners, so hearing Rucker is like hearing an old friend. “People listen to country music because they know it’s where you can find songs.”

While Hootie & the Blowfish are an ongoing project, Rucker’s solo career is taking center stage for the foreseeable future. He is devoted to promoting Learn To Live. “We’re taking a long time off,” he says. “It’s not, ‘make one record and go back to Hootie,’” Rucker says. “I’m making country music.”

Darius Rucker’s current hit, "Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It," has broken territory in country music that hasn’t been broken in two decades.

The Hootie + Blowfish singer is the first African-American artist to appear in country music’s Top 10 since Charley Pride last did that in 1988. In fact, the song Charley did it with has a title that now seems somewhat appropriate, "Shouldn’t It Be Easier Than This."

Ending that particular drought was not Darius’ intent.

"I was just trying to make a record that people wanted to hear," he told the Associated Press.

Darius didn’t particularly expect to become a country star, though he certainly liked the music. In fact, he did a Burger King commercial a few years ago dressed in a western suit while singing the country classic "Big Rock Candy Mountain." And in some ways, the transition to country has a bit of logic to it from his standpoint. He says Dwight Yoakam and Foster & Lloyd were both influential on his songwriting when he was coming up as a musician.

"Back in the day," he said, "I wrote a lot of country songs and we turned them into rock ‘n’ roll songs. Now I get to write those songs and play them as country."

www.dariusrucker.com

Our thoughts: Much has been made of Darius' transition to country music, but this new direction is unlikely to surprise long-term Hootie fans. Rucker has already long since proved himself an able contender in the country arena with songs like 'Desert Mountain Showdown' and 'One By One' from the band's 'Musical Chairs' album. Nevertheless, recording in Nashville has brought out the best in Darius' warm, rich vocals and pop sensibilities. The songs are catchy and sweet - though riddled with country cliches (i.e. what I learned on my father's knee, cautionary tales of drinkin' too much and waking up with an ex-girlfriend, driving away from her on a dusty highway) but its all so charmingly executed, it's impossible to dislike.