(Credit: Jack de Nijs for Anefo)
John Lennon once famously stated: “Before Elvis, there was nothing”. In this comment, the former Beatle noted the revolutionary impact of the performer, who struck a chord with the world on the cusp of a globalised music industry. Though Elvis Presley favoured performance over songwriting, he was never short of willing writers.
In December 1957, Presley was drafted into the US Army. “The Army can do anything it wants with me,” he famously stated at the time, dutifully declaring that he didn’t want any special treatment. After one deferment, allowing him to complete his movie King Creole, Presley was sworn in as an army private in Memphis in March 1958.
After serving most of his term as an armour intelligence specialist in Germany, Presley was honourably discharged in March 1960, just in time for the century’s most culturally explosive decade. Soon to arrive were The Beatles and their associative British Invasion wave.
In 1956, Roy Orbison was signed by Sun Records, Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis’ formative label, and swiftly began to make a name for himself. Unlike Presley, Orbison generally wrote his own lyrics, and one of his early ambitions was to have The King sing one of his songs. In 1960, when Presley returned from his military duties, Orbison made his move.
Understandably, Orbison saw Presley as the perfect man to voice his new lyrical creation, ‘Only the Lonely’. After getting in contact with the star, however, he was disheartened to receive a polite rejection. Sadly, Orbison received a similar response after pitching the track to The Everly Brothers. In the end, Orbison sang and released the track as a single of his own accord in May 1960.
On October 20th, 1960, Orbison’s iconic croon saw that ‘Only the Lonely’ struck the top of the UK singles chart after reaching a peak at number two in the US. Needless to say, Presley felt a few pangs of regret as he reviewed the stats but was ultimately delighted for his fellow Sun Records alumnus.
The pair’s friendship blossomed through the 1960s, and during one of Presley’s famous Las Vegas concerts, he described Orbison as having the “perfect voice”, calling him the “greatest singer in the world”.
In return for such humbling praise, Orbison reflected upon seeing Presley perform in Odessa for the first time in February 1955. “His energy was incredible; his instinct was just amazing,” he recalled in a 1980 interview with Glen Baker. “I just didn’t know what to make of it. There was just no reference point in the culture to compare it.”
Listen to Roy Orbison’s ‘Only the Lonely’ below.
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