With his unique velvety voice, signature sunglasses and rockabilly/pop crossover style, Roy Orbison was one of the most widely-loved singers of the 20th Century. Born in Texas in 1936, he came up in the same circle of Sun Records musicians that yielded superstars such as Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Originally, Orbison struggled to find his niche, as he lacked the charisma and sex appeal of the aforementioned artists. Soon, however, people couldn't help but acknowledge the purely operatic abilities he possessed, which when coupled with his bittersweet ballads and rockabilly tunes, made for a unique combination the music world had never heard. Orbison's quavering style, eventually adapted by the likes of Chris Isaak, lent powerful emotional weight to dreamy hit singles such as "Crying," "Pretty Woman" and "In Dreams" throughout his prolific run in the 1960s. With a handful of Grammys to his name and entrances into both the Nashville Songwriters and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Orbison remained an important and influential singer right up until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1988 at the age of 52.
