"Crying" is a song written by

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

and Joe Melson for Orbison's third studio album of the same name (1962). Released in 1961, it was a number 2 hit in the US for Orbison and was covered in 1978 by

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

, whose version reached number 1 in the UK in 1980.

Composition

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born ) is an American music critic and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of '' Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone'', and has published num ...

calls the song a "

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

" with "blaring strings, hammered tympani, a ghostly chorus, the gentle strum of a guitar, nda hint of

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

". ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' observes an "expressive reading" on the "

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

-flavored ballad." The personnel on the original recording included Orbison session regulars

Bob Moore Bob Moore may refer to: * Bob Moore (musician) (1932–2021), American session musician * Bob Moore (executive) (1929–2024), co-founder of Bob's Red Mill * Bob Moore (American football) (born 1949), American football tight end * Bob Moore (Au ...

on bass;

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "whole-step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatur ...

on piano;

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman studied music at Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. He returned to Nashville ...

on drums; and

Boudleaux Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were be ...

Harold Bradley Harold Bradley may refer to: Others * Harold Bradley (guitarist) (1926–2019), American country and pop guitarist * Harold Bradley (pianist) (1906–1984), Canadian pianist * Harold Bradley (trade unionist) (1895–1979), British trade union leade ...

, and

Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic ...

on guitar.

Release and reception

The song was released as a 45-rpm single by

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label co-founded in 1958 by Fred Foster. Originally founded in Washington, D.C., the label moved to Nashville in 1960, and experienced success over the next two decades with a number of artists including ...

in mid-July 1961 and reached No. 1 on the United States '' Cashbox'' chart for a week on October 7, 1961. On the rival ''Billboard'' Hot 100 it peaked at No. 2, where " Hit the Road Jack" by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

and his Orchestra kept it from No. 1. Despite not reaching the summit in the latter publication, ''Billboard'' ranked the record as the No. 4 song of

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. In 2002, "Crying" was honored with a

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. In 2010, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked it 69th on their list of the "

500 greatest songs of all time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Don McLean version

's recording of the song went to No. 5 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1981. It also reached No. 2

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

and No. 6 Country. It fared even better in the UK, where it reached No. 1 in 1980, spending three weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart. "Crying" was taken from his 1978 album, '' Chain Lightning''. It became his second biggest hit in America.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

Roy Orbison and k.d. lang version

Orbison rerecorded the song as a duet with Canadian singer-songwriter

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

as part of the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the motion picture '' Hiding Out'' and released it as a single in 1987. Their collaboration won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. It reached No. 2 in Lang's native Canada, and No. 28 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart and No. 42 on the

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in the US. In 1992, it reached the charts in the UK and Ireland, peaking at No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 9 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. It returned to the US Adult Contemporary chart in 1993, peaking at No. 40.

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single (1987, 1992) # "Crying" (with k.d. lang) – 3:48 # "Falling" – 2:22 UK CD1 and Australian CD single (1992) # "Crying" (with k.d. lang) # "Falling" # "

Oh, Pretty Woman "Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and 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, '' ...

" # "

She's a Mystery to Me "She's a Mystery to Me" is a song by Roy Orbison, written by Bono and the Edge of U2. It was released on Orbison's final (posthumous) album, ''Mystery Girl'' (also inspiring the album title), and as the album's second single in March 1989. The s ...

" UK CD2 (1992) # "Crying" (with k.d. lang) # "Falling" # " Only the Lonely" # " It's Over"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Notable cover versions

* A version by Jay and the Americans reached No. 25 in the US in 1966. * Three other cover versions made country music charts over time. Charting with the song were: ** Arlene Harden (No. 28 in 1970), **

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, h ...

(No. 79 in 1976) ** Stephanie Winslow (No. 14 in 1980). * Rebekah Del Rio performed an

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

version of the song entitled "Llorando" in the 2001

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

film '' Mulholland Drive''.Taubin, Amy (September–October 2001). "In Dreams", Film Comment, 37 (5), p. 51–55.

References

External links

"Crying"
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crying (Song) 1960s ballads 1961 songs 1961 singles 1980 singles 1987 singles 1992 singles Country ballads Monument Records singles Virgin Records singles Songs written by Roy Orbison Songs written by Joe Melson Roy Orbison songs K.d. lang songs Billy Joe Royal songs Don McLean songs Jay and the Americans songs Arlene Harden songs Ronnie Milsap songs Stephanie Winslow songs Cashbox number-one singles RPM Country Tracks number-one singles of the year Irish Singles Chart number-one singles UK singles chart number-one singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Rock ballads Torch songs Male–female vocal duets Song recordings produced by Fred Foster Song recordings produced by Don Was Song recordings produced by Pete Anderson Millennium Records singles Songs about loneliness Breakup songs