Alexander Orbison (born May 25, 1975), also known as Orbi, is an American drummer, writer, director, and film producer. He is the president of Still Working Music Group, a publishing company. He is also president and co-founder of Roy's Boys LLC, which manages the legacy of his father, musician

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

; the organization also includes his brothers, Roy Orbison Jr. and Wesley Orbison.

Biography

Orbi is the youngest son of

and

Barbara Orbison Barbara Orbison (January 10, 1950 – December 6, 2011) was a German-born United States-based entrepreneur, music producer and publisher, and the second wife of American musician Roy Orbison. Biography Barbara Anne Marie Wellhöner Jakobs was ...

, born on May 25, 1975. He is their second born child, following Roy Kelton Orbison, Jr, born October 18, 1970. He has an older half-brother, Wesley Orbison. In addition, he had two older brothers from Roy's first marriage who died in a fire. They lived on Old Hickory Lake, next door to his god-parents

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

and

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior ...

Hendersonville, Tennessee Hendersonville is the largest city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 61,753 at the 2020 census. Hendersonville is the fourth-largest city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nashville, Murfreesboro, an ...

. Growing up in a musical household, Orbi's first instrument was violin, as his hands were too small for the guitar, followed by guitar and piano before landing on drums. After Roy travelled to California to co-write with

Jerry Lynn Williams Jerry Lynn Williams (1948–2005) was an American rock music singer and composer. He wrote such hits as " Forever Man", " See What Love Can Do", " Something's Happening", "Running on Faith" and " Pretending" for Eric Clapton. He contributed tw ...

and

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs "Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has won s ...

, Roy decided to move his family to Malibu in 1985. Following the death of his mother in 2011, Alex moved back to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, after promising her he'd "get down to Nashville and take care of business" following her battle with pancreatic cancer,. where he currently lives with his wife, Erika Wolf Orbison, and two dogs."Orbison Sons Take Over Roy's Legacy." Orbison Sons Take Over Roy's Legacy. N.p., n.d. Web.

Early musical career

In the early 1990s, Orbi made friends with Jerry Lynn Williams' son Chris Williams, co-founding a band called Backbone69. Guitarist-vocalist Williams and drummer Orbi, Backbone69 included guitarist Duane Betts, son of the

Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surname) ...

Dickey Betts Forrest Richard Betts (born December 12, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. Early in his career, he collaborated with Duane Allman, introducing melodic tw ...

, and bass player Berry Oakley Jr., son of

bassist Berry Oakley. In 1992, Orbi took his first professional position in publishing with Don Williams Music Group, but as Backbone gained popularity amongst the community, Orbi left his position in publishing to tour with Backbone69. Tragically, in 2001, Chris Williams was in a fatal car accident, which led to the dissipation of the band. As Betts described it, "It was like the tribe lost its chief." While Williams was alive, the members of Backbone frequently played as backing band for the son of

Lou Adler Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Ro ...

Cisco Adler Cisco Sam Adler (born September 6, 1978) is an American musician and record producer. Personal life Cisco is married to fashion model Barbara Stoyanoff; they have one child. He is the son of legendary record and film producer Lou Adler. Care ...

's project called

Whitestarr Whitestarr is an American rock band from Malibu, California, United States. The band has garnered attention owing to the members' family relationships and to their television series. Lead singer Cisco Adler is the son of the record producer Lou A ...

. After Williams' passing, Cisco invited the boys of Backbone to formally join the band. After signing with Atlantic Records in 2000 and a television series on VH1, Whitestarr disbanded in 2008.

Executive career

Since 2012, Alex has been president of the publishing company, Still Working Music Group and Roy's Boys LLC, managing his father's catalog with his brothers.

Mystery Girl Deluxe (2014)

Alex Orbison • Executive Producer, Liner Notes For the 25th anniversary of the posthumously released

Mystery Girl ''Mystery Girl'' is the twenty-second album by American singer Roy Orbison. It was his last album to be recorded during his lifetime, as he completed the album in November 1988, a month before his death at the age of 52, and it was released pos ...

, a Deluxe version was released with a new song "The Way is Love" . The record was mixed at the

Cabin, produced by

John Carter Cash John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970) is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. He is the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Maybelle Carter. Biography For several years after his birth, his fathe ...

, remastered by Richard Dodd and released on

Sony Legacy Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In ...

. The bonus track "The Way is Love" includes guitar, vocals and drumming by the Orbison brothers – Alex, Roy Jr. and Wesley with the vocal by their father.

One of The Lonely Ones (2015)

Alex Orbison • Producer, Executive Producer, Liner Notes One of The Lonely Ones, recorded between January and August 1969, was previously unreleased due to a "logjam of releases". The album was mixed at the

Cabin, produced by Alex and Chuck Fleckenstein, remastered by Richard Dodd and released on

The MGM years 1965–1973 (2015)

Alex Orbison • Producer, Executive Producer, Liner Notes The MGM Years box set was a complete reissue of all 13 records made during Roy Orbison's deal with

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Records. All 13 records were re-mixed at the

Cabin, produced by Alex and Chuck Fleckenstein, remastered by Richard Dodd and released on

."Interview: Alex Orbison on Roy Orbison's MGM Years-part One." Superdeluxeedition. N.p., n.d. Web. December 4, 2016.

Roy Orbison: The Ultimate collection (2016)

Alex Orbison • Producer, Executive Producer "Roy’s son, Alex Orbison, painstakingly selected songs that were most representational of his father’s vast catalog, which totals 27 studio albums, four live albums, and over 60 singles, 22 of which placed in the U.S. Billboard Top 40 chart. Narrowing it down was no easy task. "It is a great honor for me and my brothers, Wesley and Roy Jr., to finally and definitively distill our father’s entire career onto a single disc as best one can possibly do and, certainly, as never done before," said Alex. "It is the result of years of research, archiving and listening, and it is with supreme and heartfelt pleasure that we will be able to share it with the world.""

Black & White Night 30 (2017)

The remastered version of the '' Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night'' was released February 27, 2017, with Orbison as producer.

The Authorized Roy Orbison (2017)

The estate-authorized biography was released October 17, 2017. The book is written by Alex, his brothers Roy Jr. and Wesley Orbison alongside Jeff Slate.

A Love So Beautiful (2017)

A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was released November 17, 2017. Alongside the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, Alex, contributed to the making of this record. The philharmonic recorded in

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

Only The Lonely (2018)

Alex Orbison • Co-Producer Alex and his brothers signed on for the first ever estate authorized biopic, written by Ray Gideon and Bruce A. Evans. The film will be co-produced by Alex Orbison alongside

Marty Katz Marty Katz is a motion picture and television producer. In October 1992, following an eight-year association with The Walt Disney Studios that included the position as Executive Vice President, Motion Pictures and Television Production, he fo ...

and Roy Kelton Orbison Jr., executive produced by Chuck Fleckenstein, Wesley Orbison and Ron Moore.

The Beatle Who Vanished

Alex Orbison • Co-Producer Alex, along with close friend

Ashley Hamilton Ashley George Hamilton (born September 30, 1974) is an American actor, comedian and singer-songwriter. He made his acting debut in the 1993 film ''Beethoven's 2nd''. He has since starred in films such as '' Lost in Africa'' (1994), '' Off K ...

secured the rights to "The Beatle Who Vanished", the 2013 book by Jim Berkenstadt about Jimmie Nicol who filled in for

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

for 13 days during Beatles' 1964 world tour.

Discography

with Roy Orbison

* A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2017) * Roy Orbison: Black & White Night 30 (2017) * Roy Orbison: The Ultimate collection (2016) * The MGM Years (2015) * One of The Lonely Ones (2015) * Mystery Girl: Deluxe 25th Anniversary Edition (2014)

with Whitestarr

*''Fillith Tillith'' (2007) *''Luv Machine'' (2006)

with Backbone69

*"Backbone69" (1999, re-issued 2016)

Filmography

* ''Roy Orbison: Mystery Girl – Unraveled'' (2014) * ''Roy Orbison: One of the Lonely Ones'' (2015) "Roy Orbison's 'Lost' Album Debuting as Part of 'MGM Years' Box." Ultimate Classic Rock. N.p., n.d. Web. * ''Roy Orbison: Black and White Night 30'' (2017) * ''Only the Lonely'' (2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orbison, Alex 1975 births Living people Roy Orbison Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee 20th-century American drummers American male drummers American people of German descent 21st-century American drummers