Why did Roy Orbison often wear dark glasses?

When in doubt Jimmy Wales it.

“Lacking the photogenic looks of many of his rock and roll contemporaries, Orbison eventually developed a persona that did not reflect his personality. He had no publicist in the early 1960s, no presence in fan magazines, and his single sleeves did not feature his picture. ‘Life’ magazine called him an “anonymous celebrity.” After leaving his thick eyeglasses on an airplane in 1962 or 1963, Orbison was forced to wear his Ray-Ban Wayfarer prescription sunglasses on stage and found that he preferred them. His biographers suggest that although he had a good sense of humor and was never morose, Orbison was very shy and suffered from severe stage fright; wearing sunglasses helped him hide somewhat from the attention. The black clothes and desperation in his songs led to an aura of mystery and introversion. Years later, Orbison said “I wasn’t trying to be weird, you know? I didn’t have a manager who told me to dress or how to present myself or anything. But the image developed of a man of mystery and a quiet man in black somewhat of a recluse, although I never was, really.””

Roy with a different pair of shades on.

Thank-ya!

Interesting you should ask this, I went looking for answers to this question a few months ago. I love Roy’s voice and music.

Like @everephebe I found he did have poor eyesight but his decision to wear dark glasses was a style thing and to stand out. He had quite a traumatic life at times.

” He had quite a traumatic life at times.”

I wonder if there is a biography out there. I’d love to read it.

Not sure. I would like to read it too. We should look and let each other know what we find. Sad that he died so soon after becoming involved with the Travelling Wilburies (not sure if that’s the right spelling). I think ‘Crying’ is one of my all time favourite songs. Amazing voice.

@Bellatrix I’ll let you know if I find anything. “In Dreams” is my favorite.

Speaking of trauma,^ I did karaoke once for a contest.

I sang a really obscure slow (6 minutes long or so) and emotive ballad, I have a good voice but I don’t know how to use it. It was awful. Then the next guy gets up, and does a Roy Orbison song, and nails it. I mean, he won the contest. It sucked. I don’t think I’ll ever do karaoke again, unless I am wearing sunglasses and I am very drunk.

lol@Everephebe. You would get my vote for having the guts to stand up and sing! This will get modded for being off topic. Roy rocks though!

@Jude There are bios, but the books—from the reviews I’ve read—are so-so. There was a special biographical DVD/show on PBS or biography of his life. It was tragic, and traumatic.

At the height of his fame in 1966, Roy’s wife, Claudette, died in a motorcycle accident. Two years later two of his three sons died when his Nashville home caught fire. Roy married again in 1969 and had two more sons. source

I always thought the glasses were an odd look, but then again, he was odd. To me his music doesn’t fit anybody else’s style. He’s unique.

So this question sent me looking for some youtubes, and I found a really great version of Crying that must have been recorded very late in his his life. Dang, he still had it. He kills me! Leaves me crying, you might say. And you might recognize some of his backup band. Link

Here’s Roy doing Only the Lonely without shades. I think he looks cute and his appearance adds vulnerability to his performance.

@Brian1946 The girl at 0:53 with the glasses cracks me up. Sweet clip. :)

Look what I found. :)

Grab your gee-tars and head on over to Social.

One of my favorite artists of all time.

@Brian1946 That Only the Lonely was beautiful.

Is this question going social? Is it safe to link stuff like this?

Crying – The Roy Orbison Show – 1964 Somethings in my eye. Must be dusty in here.

Go, Go, Go 1988 He died later that year but was still ROCKING OUT!!

Check him out at the beginning of the clip with the Traveling Wilburys. Brilliant.

It’s Over: My favorite song of his

@cletrans2col I love that one, too.

I am watching the Traveling Wilburys documentary and they just showed the video for “End of Line”. Roy had passed away before they made the video. In the video, they had a rocking chair with Roy’s guitar in it, rocking. Then they showed a framed photo of Roy. Gave me goosebumps.

Jeff Lynne has a great voice, too.

Better than Elvis here (imo).

Roy Orbison – In Dreams – live acoustic

Roy Orbison recorded the songs that Elvis could not, because of the high range in some songs that Elvis could not reach.

I was fortunate enough to have been the drummer in Roy Orbisons band way back in the early 60s. We were the opening band for his shows.

Roys songs were recorded at Monument Studios in Hendersonville, Tn. This is a suburb of Nashville. The studio is now occupied by an insurance company.

Oh my goodness @john65pennington. That is so cool!! Roy Orbison’s drummer. Go you! Do you still play the drums?

Bellatrix….yes, every once in a while. It’s mostly for fun and not for money.