Almost Wordless Wednesday: A Glimpse of Duluth Culture Revealed in 7 Posters of Coming Events

 A random batch of current posters on the library bulletin board.

Roy Orbison was truly one of the greats. Check this out:
Seven Anecdotes from the Roy Orbison/Beatles Tour

Proof positive that we're not just flyover country.

This weekend Duluth Dylan Fest will commence.  Be there or be square.

I saw them my freshman year in college... a fun memory way back when.

First class shows for those who love live theater.

It's becoming a Northland tradition.

Looks interesting. Should we come with an appetite?

It's safer than snake-handling in Kentucky.

Seven Anecdotes from the 1963 Roy Orbison/Beatles Tour

Orbison in 1987

Tuesday, when I wrote about Tim Hatfield's When We Find Ourselves In Times of Trouble, an anecdote came to mind related to Roy Orbison when he toured England with The Beatles in 1963. Naturally this sent me on a search to find and share it. It didn't take long to find what I had recalled. It was also fun to find some additional memorable gems.

When I was young, I did not immediately take to Roy Orbison. I put him in a box with all those other 50s stars who seemed from a different era--guys like Elvis (whose B-movies were silly to me), Jerry Lee Lewis (who married his 13-year-old cousin) and (I'm sorry) Johnny Cash. Over time, however, I heard stories about Orbison's influence. For example, Bruce Springsteen said he learned how to write songs from Roy during a 15 hour ride in the back of a truck. In the 90s I myself eventually came under his spell. Yes, I was late to the party, but that cat could sing.

Here are seven short stories from that 1963 tour that speak volumes. For context, the Beatles' U.S. tour began in early 1964.

Orbison’s Initial Bewilderment: “What’s a Beatle?”
When Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, invited Roy Orbison to tour with the band, Orbison reportedly asked, “What’s a Beatle?” Fresh off hits like “Only the Lonely” (1960), “Crying” (1961), and “In Dreams” (1963), Orbison was a major star in the UK but unfamiliar with the Fab Four’s quirky name and Mersey Beat style. His fan club president wrote to him, explaining that the Beatles were No. 1 in England and the tour would boost his exposure. The rapid cultural shift toward Beatlemania--and the British Invasion that followed--caught even established artists off guard.

Orbison’s Sunglasses Become Iconic

Orbison 1965

Orbison’s trademark dark sunglasses, now synonymous with his persona, were cemented during this tour. Due to poor vision (hyperopia, astigmatism, and strabismus), Orbison relied on corrective lenses. He had lost his regular glasses on a flight to Alabama before the tour and performed in prescription sunglasses. In England, he continued wearing them onstage because he hadn’t replaced his regular pair yet. Photos from the tour appeared in newspapers, and his management embraced the look, making it a permanent fixture. This accidental style choice shaped Orbison’s enigmatic image, contrasting with the Beatles’ youthful, clean-cut appearance. The takeaway: chance events can define a public persona.

Orbison Silences Screaming Beatles Fans
I thought this to be an impressive story. Each night, Orbison faced roaring crowds of Beatles fans clamoring for their idols. To counter this, he ingeniously instructed his band to play the opening song very softly, forcing the audience to hush to hear him. Once quiet, Orbison captivated them with his powerful three-octave voice and emotional ballads like “Crying” or “In Dreams.” 

George Harrison recalled standing backstage, listening to Orbison perform encore after encore, thinking, “How are we going to follow this?” Ringo Starr was more blunt: “It was terrible, following Roy. He’d slay them and they’d scream for more.” In Glasgow, the crowd chanted “We want Roy!” so fervently that John Lennon and Paul McCartney physically held Orbison back to prevent more encores, allowing the Beatles to take the stage. 

This is the anecdote that I was looking for initially, showcasing Orbison’s commanding stage presence and the Beatles’ anxiety as they navigated their ascent, revealing the tension between established talent and emerging stardom.

By way of contrast, it brings to mind a story about Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees. In Jimi's first U.S. road tour his band was the opening act for a Monkees tour. During the 8th show Hendrix couldn't take it any more and walked off the stage mid-act as the teeny-boppers screamed for their TV stars. 

Songwriting Rivalry on the Tour Bus

The tour bus became a creative battleground where Orbison’s songwriting sparked friendly competition with the Beatles. Paul McCartney recalled watching Orbison at the back of the bus, strumming his guitar and crafting songs like “Pretty Woman” (released in 1964). McCartney said, “He would play us his song, and we’d say, ‘Oh, it’s great, Roy. Have you just written that?’ But we’d be thinking, ‘We have to have something as good.’” 

This rivalry inspired McCartney to begin composing “All My Loving” on the bus, later refining it on a venue’s piano. John Lennon, influenced by Orbison’s earnest delivery, modeled “Please Please Me” (released 1963) on Orbison’s “Only the Lonely,” though it was sped up for the final recording. Orbison’s presence pushed the Beatles to elevate their craft, contributing to their early songwriting evolution. It also reflects the collaborative yet competitive spirit of the early 1960s music scene.

Jellybeans Pelt the Beatles
Beatlemania was in full swing, and fans expressed their fervor uniquely. After George Harrison mentioned in an interview that he liked jellybeans (likely jelly babies in the UK), fans began pelting the Beatles with them onstage. During the tour, the band was bombarded nightly, with jellybeans raining down as they performed hits like “Twist and Shout” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” This became a hallmark of their 1963 performances, both painful and amusing, as the candies stung when thrown with force.

Nevada Bob Gordon, a Seattle police officer in the 60s, has some fun stories about when he was assigned to protect the Beatles at their Seattle concert on their first U.S. tour in '64. The jelly bean bombardment evidently followed them to America it seems, as he reports in this account of that night: Nevada Bob Meets The Beatles and 14,000 Screaming Beatles Fans.

Orbison’s Amplifiers from Jim Marshall
A lesser-known but significant moment involved Jim Marshall, founder of Marshall Amplifiers. During the tour, Marshall gave Orbison two amplifiers, which were later shipped to the U.S., becoming the first Marshall amps in America. This gesture reflects Orbison’s influence as a respected artist, bridging UK and U.S. music scenes. For the Beatles, who later used Marshall amps extensively, this moment foreshadowed their adoption of cutting-edge equipment to amplify their sound amid screaming crowds. It also underscores the tour’s role in connecting musical technologies across continents.

Backstage Bonding and Lifelong Friendship

Despite the competitive undertones, the tour fostered genuine friendship. A backstage photo from May 1, 1963, shows the Beatles, Orbison, and Gerry and the Pacemakers posing together, with Ringo visibly thrilled to be near Orbison, his idol. The Beatles admired Orbison’s voice and songwriting, having covered his “Dream Baby” in a 1962 BBC radio performance. Orbison, in turn, was impressed by their energy and encouraged them to tour the U.S., though he declined to manage their 1964 American tour due to scheduling conflicts. 

This bond later culminated in George Harrison inviting Orbison to join the Traveling Wilburys in 1988, alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. According to Orbison’s son, Roy Jr., Harrison knelt humbly to ask Orbison to join, a gesture of deep respect. Their mutual admiration transcended the tour’s rivalry, shaping long-term collaborations.

Sources:
KUTX 98.9--This week in Texas music history
Beatles Anthology
with a little help from ChatGT

Behind the Shades: A Few Memorable Roy Orbison Anecdotes

This past weekend there was a Roy Orbison tribute at the Greysolon Ballroom here in Duluth. Unfortunately the show coincided with one of our Dylan Fest events, but thinking about it brought to mind a few anecdotes that I was aware of from the life of Roy Orbison.

A lot of people don't realize what a big deal Orbison was in his day. Maybe a few of these vignettes will give you a little perspective.

The first is a story about Bruce Springsteen. When Springsteen was first starting out he was doing a tour with Orbison. This was before the advent of decked out buses and all that have become commonplace today. Springsteen was in the back of a semi for 15 hours with Roy during which time Orbison shared with Springsteen insights about telling stories in song. Springsteen fans will readily recognize how his songs are stories. Credit belongs, in part, to this 15 hour ride in the back of a semi.

* * *

As "In Dreams" was released in April 1963, Orbison was asked to replace Duane Eddy on a tour of the UK in top billing with the Beatles. When he arrived in Britain, however, he realized he was no longer the main draw. He had never heard of the Beatles, and annoyed, asked rhetorically, "What's a Beatle, anyway?" to which John Lennon replied, after tapping his shoulder, "I am."

On the opening night, Orbison opted to go onstage first, although he was the more established act. The Beatles stood dumbfounded backstage as Orbison simply played through 14 encores. Finally, when the audience began chanting "We want Roy!" again, Lennon and Paul McCartney physically held Orbison back. Ringo later said, "In Glasgow, we were all backstage listening to the tremendous applause he was getting. He was just standing there, not moving or anything." 

Through the tour, however, the two acts quickly learned to get along, a process made easier by the fact that the Beatles admired his work. Orbison felt a kinship with Lennon, but it was George Harrison with whom he would later form a strong friendship.

* * * 

The thing that most sticks with me are the tragedies he's endured. Orbison (like Dylan, Brad Pitt and many others) enjoyed a love of motorcycles. In June 1966 Orbison and his wife Claudette were riding home from Bristol, Tenn, when she struck the door of a pickup truck that pulled out in front of her. She was killed instantly.

In 1968, an ever greater tragedy struck. While on tour in Britain his home in Tennessee burned down and his two eldest sons were killed. It's hard to imagine what he must have gone through.

* * *

The payoff from his friendship with George Harrison came with the creation of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys featuring frontmen Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Orbison. You can read here the backstory on how this legendary coming together came about.

* * *

"To Roy."

Bridge Over Troubled Water: Interpretations of a Classic

It's easy to see why people keep going back to the music of the Sixties. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" is another of the classics from that time, by Simon & Garfunkel. According to Wikipedia the song features lead vocals by Art Garfunkel and a piano accompaniment influenced by gospel music with a "Wall of Sound"-style production. 

The song received five Grammy Awards (I didn't know one song could win that many, but one of them was for being part of the Grammy-winning album of the year by the same name.)

The instrumentation was produced by L.A.'s famous session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew.  The vocals were recorded in New York.

Inspirations for the song came from some interesting places. The concept of the bridge over deep waters was taken from Claude Jeter's 1959 song "Mary Don't You Weep." Another portion of the melody was drawn from the classic hymn "O Sacred Head Now Wounded." It's no wonder that the song can find a home in both secular settings and religious ones.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Paul Simon compared the instrumentation here with the Beatles' "Let It Be." I find it interesting that both albums took their name from these two songs, and also that for each group it was their last studio album before their breakups.

While listening to some Roy Orbison songs on YouTube last night I was quite moved by the song's power in this great vocalist's hands. Which led  me to check out some other artist's renditions. Wow! What a great song. Roy, Elvis and Whitney each knock it out of the park. (Forgive me the cliche metaphor, but Paul Simon likes to wear a baseball cap, so please excuse me.) Make time to enjoy these if you can.

Roy Orbison

Elvis gives it his all.

     

Whitney Houston and CeCe Winans... feel the power.

        

And Art, at the Concert in Central Park

For a big finish, here's one more.
Art and Paul at Madison Square Garden.