ROY ORBISON's 70th Birthday!!

Ok, young punks: you all familar with Roy Orbison? If not, you are missing a true treasure. What a voice! Did you know he wrote many of his most memorable songs? An inspiration for countless singers, a difficult life, a trouper til the end. "Anything you need, you got it." And he continues to give to his public.

For some of us, he WAS the man in black. According to liner notes from the Rhino release, "Roy Orbison, For the Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits," he wore black to set himself apart from another early southern rocker, Elvis Presley.

As Bruce Sringsteen said, while inducting him into the second Rock Hall of Fame Awards, "Everybody knows that nobody sings like Roy Orbison . . . Roy's ballads were always the best when you were alone and in the dark . . . they addressed the underside of pop romance. They were scary. His voice was unearthly."

Is that punk enough for you?

I grew up during the height of surf and motown, the British invasion, summer of love, glitter, then finally punk. Roy Orbison's voice, soul, lyrics, and arrangements were the one constant voice, the one who always stunned me with his poignancy, brillance, and even now, writing these words, I'm fighting tears for all the emotions Roy tapped.

He let us know "only the lonely knows how he feels." Aren't we all lonely and alone, really? Isn't the heart a lonely hunter? (from another southern writer, Carson McCullers).

Happy Birthday, Mr. Orbison!!