Maps of Music

Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson (1967)

Where the lyrics of Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson take you, and where it was really made.

Orbison recorded this album of another writer's songs, though he wrote most of the songs he sang, and one of its tracks was banned by the BBC.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Tribute album by Roy Orbison for MGM Records
Released January 1967, in both stereo and mono
Collection of songs written by Don Gibson
Gibson, like Orbison, often wrote about the loneliness and sorrow that love can bring
Single "Too Soon to Know" reached no. 3 in the UK in September 1966
Same single reached no. 4 in Ireland and no. 27 in Australia
In Canada the song reached only no. 71
Released on CD by Edsel Records on 27 September 2004, paired with Orbison's 1970 album Hank Williams: The Roy Orbison Way
Included in the 2015 box set The MGM Years 1965–1973

Orbison and Gibson were labelmates at MGM Records at the time
Orbison's 1965 signing with MGM was made with film acting in mind
Orbison's first wife Claudette died in a motorbike accident in June 1966
Some songs had been recorded before Claudette's death
The album was put on hold while Orbison filmed The Fastest Guitar Alive
"Too Soon to Know" was banned by the BBC for being too personal about Claudette's death
The album includes a new re-recording of "(I'd Be) A Legend in My Time", first heard on his 1960 album Lonely and Blue

Arranged by Bill McElhiney
Engineer: Val Valentin
Recording of the album was partly done before June 1966
Work on the album resumed after the pause for the film
Songs on side A and side B are all written by Don Gibson
Side A: "(I'd Be) A Legend in my Time", "(Yes) I'm Hurting", "The Same Street", "Far, Far Away", "Big Hearted Me", "Sweet Dreams"
Side B: "Oh, Such a Stranger", "Blue Blue Day", "What About Me?", "Give Myself a Party", "Too Soon to Know", "Lonesome Number One"

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.

Billboard selected the album for a "Pop Special Merit" review and said Orbison "Does much better when he sticks to fresh, good material"
Cashbox, in its February 1967 review, said the album "shows off his singing ability to good advantage"
Record Mirror wrote that "the combination of Roy's mellow, mature, and traditional tunes and the wonderful country-blues songs of Don Gibson comes across well on the album"
Disc and Music Echo said that "Roy's super-dramatic delivery suits them well"

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said the album showed "Orbison's inspiration to go into the studio and record an entire LP of songs by Gibson"
Ruhlmann added that Gibson's writing style suited Orbison's taste in heartbreak ballads

The album was a tribute to Don Gibson, a fellow MGM artist and a Country Music Hall of Fame singer and songwriter.
Orbison wrote most of the songs he recorded, so this album of another writer's material was unusual for him.
The BBC banned "Too Soon to Know" because it felt the song was too personal about Claudette's death.
Orbison also included a new version of "(I'd Be) A Legend in My Time", which had first appeared on his 1960 album Lonely and Blue.
The album was once titled Sweet Dreams in Africa.