Maps of Music

Milestones (1973)

Where the lyrics of Milestones take you, and where it was really made.

Orbison's last album for MGM was a set of contemporary pop covers, and it entered no chart.

Place unknown

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Orbison signed with MGM in 1965
Recorded during his MGM years, when he worked with contemporary pop material
In 1966 his wife Claudette died in an accident
In 1968 a fire destroyed his house and killed two of his three sons
Milestones came out after these personal tragedies, at the end of his MGM contract

1	I Wanna Live	2:35
2	You Don’t Know Me	3:23
3	California Sunshine Girl	3:36
4	Words	3:13
5	Blue Rain (Coming Down)	3:17
6	Drift Away	3:44
7	You Lay So Easy on My Mind	2:58
8	The World You Live In	2:36
9	Sweet Caroline	3:03
10	I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (to Stop Now)	3:36
11	The Morning After (Song From "The Poseidon Adventure")	3:03

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.

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.

Bruce Eder of AllMusic wrote that the album included a lot of excellent covers, among them Sweet Caroline, I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now), Drift Away and the Bee Gees' Words.
The album's covers were the main point of the critical praise in the source

Milestones did not enter any chart, similar to Orbison's earlier 1970s albums
The singles Blue Rain (Coming Down) and I Wanna Live did not chart either
Milestones was released on MGM Records in 1973, the label Orbison left after this album

The Morning After was featured in the film The Poseidon Adventure in Orbison's version.
The album was Orbison's last with MGM, and he then signed with Mercury Records.
The track list includes Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline and Otis Redding and Jerry Butler's I've Been Loving You Too Long.
Words, covered from the Bee Gees, was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.