Elvis held Roy Orbison is very high regard, publicly stating that Roy had ' most perfect voice' and referring to him as the 'greatest singer in the world' during one of his Vegas concerts.
And Roy's respect was mutual, he went to Elvis' concerts from 1954 to 1976.
Roy was the only artist to OPEN for both
The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
Great post!!!
Elvis never recorded one of Roy Orbison's songs, a clear mark of respect in that he did not believe he could better him. The closest he came was one line of 'Running Scared' while recording 'Tomorrow Never Comes' for his classic
Elvis Country LP in June 1970. Although legend has it that Roy turned up at the gates to Graceland with a song he has written for Elvis, 'Only The Lonely', however Elvis was not home and Roy went on to record the song which was his first smash hit. In 1979 Roy recorded a tribute song to Elvis, 'Hound Dog Man'.
On June 1, 1956 Elvis made a surprise visit to the
Overton Park Shell in Memphis where old friends
Johnny Cash and
Carl Perkins and new Sun artists
Roy Orbison and Warren Smith were performing.
