Rock and Roll Martini Group celebrates Roy Orbison

Dave Parker

The house band for the May meeting of the Rock and Roll Martini Group was Susan and Barry Joyce. As with tradition, the house band gets to pick the featured artist for the month. Susan and Barry picked the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Roy Orbison. It was a hard feat to be the next house band up after the one year anniversary celebration on the Grill patio arranged by Darryl and Deb Williams, but the Joyces pulled it off. Barry Joyce, dressed in Roy Orbison clothing and glasses, delivered a complete and fascinating biography of this great artist. Roy Kelton Orbison was born on April 23, 1936 in Vernon, Texas. A year before Beatlemania overtook the United States in 1964, the four lads from Liverpool invited Orbison to open for them on their English tour. On his first night, Orbison performed 14 encores before the Beatles even made it on stage. In the words of Elvis Presley, Orbison was simply “the greatest singer in the world.” On a fateful day during his 1963 tour with the Beatles, Orbison left his glasses on the plane before a show, which forced him to wear his unsightly prescription sunglasses for that night’s show. Although he considered the incident embarrassing, the look became an instant trademark. Orbison died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988. His posthumously released comeback album, Mystery Girl, reached No. five on the charts, becoming the highest-charting solo album of his career. The Rockers (members) enjoyed Pretty Woman and Running Scared martini’s. Appetizers filled the counters including a chicken cheese dip from Rocker Charlsee Cotner that was over the top. It was another wild night of music, martinis, friendship, fun and rockin’ the Ranch. Until next month, rock on!

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