''There Is Only One Roy Orbison'' is the seventh album recorded by Roy Orbison, and his first for MGM Records, released in July 1965. It features his studio recording of " Claudette", an Orbison-penned song which had become a hit for

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

in 1958. Ironically, at the time he recorded the song in 1965, he had divorced his wife Claudette, who had inspired the lyrics. Orbison later re-recorded the song for '' In Dreams: The Greatest Hits'' in 1985. (They later reconciled in 1966, before her death in a motorcycle accident in June of that year near Galatin, Tennessee.) The single taken from the album was "Ride Away", which reached no. 25 in the US charts, no. 12 in Australia and no. 34 in the UK. '' Cash Box'' described "Ride Away" as a "rhythmic teen-angled ode about a somewhat ego-oriented lad who cuts-out on romance."

History

In 1965, Roy Orbison was riding high with the hit single "

Oh, Pretty Woman "Oh, Pretty Woman" or simply "Pretty Woman" is a song recorded by Roy Orbison, written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 f ...

", which was No. 1 globally, when word got about that his Monument contract was due to expire in June. Orbison was interested in Hollywood and signed to MGM Records for $1 million for three albums per year from 1965-1985. Half of the money went to

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

's London Records. He also was looking for freedom when he signed with the label. His producer for

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

Fred Foster Fred Luther Foster (July 26, 1931 – February 20, 2019) was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also ...

and Orbison's manager

Wesley Rose Wesley Rose (born February 11, 1918 – April 26, 1990) was an American music industry executive and record producer. Biography The son of songwriter Fred Rose, he was born in Chicago and studied to become a chartered accountant. He eventu ...

were having disagreements about whether or not to keep Orbison. This album charted at No. 10 in the UK and No. 55 (No. 41 on ''Cash Box'', while reaching the Top 30 on '' Record World'') in the US. It was recorded at the RCA Studios in Nashville.

Track listing

Produced by

Jim Vienneau James Francis Vienneau (born September 18, 1926) is an American retired music producer. He is best known for producing "It's Only Make Believe" by Conway Twitty. Childhood Jim Vienneau was born on September 18, 1926, to Marian Catherine "Mary" ( ...

References

Roy Orbison albums 1965 albums Albums produced by Wesley Rose MGM Records albums {{1960s-rock-album-stub