Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story

by Ellis Amburn

Overview

This biography reveals the rock music legend’s dramatic life story, from his Texas youth and rise to stardom to his personal tragedies and untimely death.

A true legend of American popular music, Roy Orbison perfected the soulful rock ballad, recording such perennial hits as “Only the Lonely” and “Crying.” In Dark Star, biographer Ellis Amburn reveals the stories behind his achingly beautiful sound. Amburn explores Orbison’s rockabilly roots, his first deal with Sun Records, and his numerous Billboard Top 40 hits.

Amburn then delves into the personal tragedies, including the sudden deaths of his wife and two of his children, that led to his obscurity. His return to stardom is also covered in detail, including his work with the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys and his posthumous hit single “You got It.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635768367
Publisher:	Diversion Books
Publication date:	06/06/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	283
Sales rank:	484,835
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Ellis Amburn worked as a reporter-researcher at Newsweek before becoming a book editor at Putnam, where he edited John le Carré and Jack Kerouac. Amburn was also an editor-in-chief at Delacorte and William Morrow. He worked as a ghostwriter with Priscilla Presley, Shelley Winters, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Sammy Davis, Jr. He wrote several biographies including Buddy Holly: A Biography, Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story, The Sexiest Man Alive: A Biography of Warren Beatty, Subterranean Kerouac, and Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin. He died after a long illness on August 18, 2018 at the age of 85.

Editorial Reviews

From his rockabilly roots in West Texas, Roy Orbison perfected the operatic rock ballad (``Only the Lonely,'' ``Crying'') delivered in a quavering voice that could ``scream away the pain of heartbreak.'' And there was heartache aplenty to sing about: his teenage first wife, whom he began dating when she was 14, died in a motorcycle accident in 1966; two years later, two of his sons died in a fire that destroyed the family home. Already addicted to sleeping pills, amphetamines and fast motorcycles, according to this account, Orbison married a German teenager in 1969 as his personal life spun out of control and his career fell into near-total eclipse. His comeback, cresting in a collaborative album with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison, was cut short by his death in 1988. This well-researched bio provides vivid glimpses of the workaholic rocker's early years with Sun Records, his tours with the Beatles, his self-destructive tendencies. Amburn has collaborated on autobiographies with Shelley Winters and Priscilla Presley. Photos. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

It is not ironic that Roy Orbison, the man possessing one of pop music's most thrilling voices, sang tear-jerking ballads and hid behind dark glasses. As seen in Amburn's biography, Orbison's life reflects a full range of rock 'n' roll emotions: he rose to stardom in the 1960s, tragically lost his wife and two children, sunk into obscurity, reemerged to great acclaim, was voted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, then worked himself to death on the crest of a huge comeback. This evenly paced, unbiased, well-researched account of the singer's life is based on recollections of family, friends, and colleagues and material gleaned from print and electronic media. Orbison's transcendence of generations of rock, pop, rhythm and blues, and country music will give this book wide appeal.-- Donald W. Maxwell, Carmel Clay P.L., Ind.

Library Journal