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A Black & White Night Live (1989)

Where the lyrics of A Black & White Night Live take you, and where it was really made.

This live album was recorded not in a stadium but in a hotel nightclub: the Coconut Grove at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Key places

Coconut Grove, Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles (1987)

Recording site Ambassador Hotel — The live recording took place at the Coconut Grove nightclub inside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, according to Japanese Wikipedia. The dot shows the listed location of the nightclub and should be read as approximate. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• A Black & White Night Live: posthumous live album by Roy Orbison
• Issued by Virgin Records, taken from the HBO special Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night
• The special was filmed in 1987 and broadcast in 1988
• Released in October 1989, according to the authorised Roy Orbison biography
• Includes "Blue Bayou", which had been cut from the televised broadcast for time reasons

Background

• The album was released after Orbison's death, so it stands as a posthumous document of his live work
• On piano: Glen D. Hardin, who had played piano for Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley
• Lead guitarist James Burton, drummer Ronnie Tutt and bassist Jerry Scheff also came from Presley's group
• Male backing vocals and some guitars: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, JD Souther and Steven Soles
• Female backing vocals: k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt

Recording

• Recorded live at the Coconut Grove nightclub inside the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles
• The recording date is given as 30 September 1987
• Some celebrities in the audience can be seen in the footage

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Roy Kelton Orbison (born April 23, 1936, Vernon, Texas; died December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.
• He began singing in a country-and-western band as a teenager in Wink, Texas, formed the Wink Westerners in 1949 and later the Teen Kings.
• He was signed to Sun Records by Sam Phillips in 1956.

Career

• Known for a distinctive, powerful voice, complex song structures and dark, emotional ballads.
• Signed to Monument Records; from 1960 to 1966, 22 of his singles reached the Billboard top 40.
• Wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own top-10 hits, including "Only the Lonely", "Running Scared", "Crying" and "Oh, Pretty Woman".
• Suffered personal tragedies after the mid-1960s, including the deaths of his first wife Claudette and two sons, and his career faltered.
• Revived in the late 1980s after cover versions of his songs; co-founded the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne in 1988.
• Died of a heart attack in December 1988 at age 52.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

Reappraisal

• AllMusic (Bruce Eder): called it the best-recorded Roy Orbison live disc issued, with VIP guests such as Springsteen and Costello
• AllMusic: described the performances as splendid, and the good feelings of the event as part of the appeal
• American Songwriter (Grant Britt): rates the album 4 out of 5 stars
• American Songwriter: calls Black and White Night one of the best rock shows ever filmed
• Rolling Stone (Ryan Reed): in a backstage interview, Costello called Orbison the greatest, and explained how he first heard Orbison's music second-hand through the Beatles
• Billboard (Gary Graff): calls the show a pivotal event in Orbison's late-1980s comeback
• Billboard: places the show before Orbison's involvement with the Traveling Wilburys
• Billboard: says the show put a spotlight on Orbison's classic hits, with help from Elvis Presley's TCB Band and the guest list

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Glimpses of celebrities in the audience include David Lynch, Kris Kristofferson, Patrick Swayze, Billy Idol and Sandra Bernhard
• David Lynch hired the then-unknown Harry Goaz as his driver for the evening
• Blue Bayou was cut from the televised broadcast because of time constraints but is on the album
• The Cinemax cable broadcast of the show came in January 1988, before the album's release
• Discogs notes list several guests as appearing courtesy of their labels, including Bruce Springsteen with CBS Records

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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