0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm Alex Orbison, Roy Orbison's youngest son.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Along with my brothers Roy Jr and Wesley,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11we're here to tell you our family's story.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17# Pretty woman walking down the street... #
0:00:17 > 0:00:19It's a dramatic and emotional story
0:00:19 > 0:00:22that we still find difficult to tell.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Sometimes I know that I'm getting emotional
0:00:25 > 0:00:27and I want to veer away...
0:00:27 > 0:00:33..but I realise it's just best to let the emotions fly free.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36HE GROWLS
0:00:39 > 0:00:42# Pretty woman, stop on by... #
0:00:42 > 0:00:45They say that time...
0:00:45 > 0:00:48..makes it better
0:00:48 > 0:00:51but, you know, that's one of the biggest lies.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Time doesn't make it better.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56It just...time stops.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01# Pretty woman, look my way
0:01:01 > 0:01:07# Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me... #
0:01:07 > 0:01:10It's not like you think about it every day, all day
0:01:10 > 0:01:14but it's really just there and, then, when you visit it,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17it's just as fresh as it was,
0:01:17 > 0:01:18when it happened.
0:01:18 > 0:01:25# ..be mine tonight
0:01:27 > 0:01:29# Pretty woman, don't walk on by
0:01:29 > 0:01:34# Pretty woman, don't make me cry... #
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Our story starts in the spring of 1966.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43My dad's star was shining at its brightest.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45He'd had a string of top 10 hits around the world...
0:01:47 > 0:01:50..was married to his childhood sweetheart Claudette...
0:01:53 > 0:01:54..and, together, they lived in Nashville
0:01:54 > 0:01:57with their sons Roy Dewayne, Anthony King,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00and their new baby Wesley.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06I remember things in terms of, roughly,
0:02:06 > 0:02:11years where big events in my life happened.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16It started in '65 with being born.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19That's the biggest event.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Then, a year later, we lost my mother Claudette
0:02:23 > 0:02:25in a motorcycle accident. '66.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Claudette and I went riding on motorcycles.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32We were...
0:02:32 > 0:02:35..about six miles from home.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41I made a stoplight, and turned left and then stopped.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45And she wasn't behind me.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48So I turned around and went back
0:02:48 > 0:02:51and a pick-up truck had pulled out in front of her.
0:02:53 > 0:02:58So I came home and I had to tell the children.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01Told the oldest boy that his mother wasn't coming home.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I don't know much at all about her other than they say
0:03:07 > 0:03:08that she was very sweet.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11And a pretty woman.
0:03:11 > 0:03:18But I was always keen to ask my father, for instance...
0:03:19 > 0:03:20..and he would say,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23"That's a little hard for me to talk about, with you,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26"because you favour her so much," you know.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28"You remind me of her."
0:03:28 > 0:03:31"So, I don't mind talking about it,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35"but just... Just give me a minute," you know.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Most of my love just went to the children.
0:03:39 > 0:03:40Er...
0:03:43 > 0:03:45My world, sort of, centred around them.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49I didn't stop working, or anything.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52Working is...
0:03:54 > 0:03:56..is very therapeutic.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Right now, it's top of the bill time
0:03:58 > 0:04:01and we have just about America's most favourite visitor to our charts.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03I mean, the one and only Roy Orbison.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04APPLAUSE
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Now, what I did, I'd go through the motions
0:04:09 > 0:04:11of doing whatever I'd normally do.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I don't think you should analyse anything...
0:04:16 > 0:04:18..immediately after it happened.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22And I think you need to reflect just a little bit.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25# A candy coloured clown they call the Sandman
0:04:25 > 0:04:28# Tiptoes to my room every night
0:04:29 > 0:04:33# Just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper
0:04:33 > 0:04:37# Go to sleep, everything is all right
0:04:38 > 0:04:40# I close my eyes
0:04:43 > 0:04:47# Then I drift away
0:04:49 > 0:04:53# Into the magic night
0:04:53 > 0:04:57# I softly say
0:04:58 > 0:05:01# A silent prayer. #
0:05:01 > 0:05:04I was touring England in '68.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07And I had one more show to do,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12which was in Bournemouth, I think. It was on a Sunday.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19One of my best friends came to the room and all he said was that...
0:05:20 > 0:05:23He said, "Your house has burned."
0:05:23 > 0:05:27And he said, "You lost Roy and Tony."
0:05:27 > 0:05:31'68 we had a house fire and I lost my two older brothers.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Roy Dewayne and Anthony King.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39I remember wanting to go back.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44With all my might and...
0:05:46 > 0:05:50..Papaw stuck his hand on the top of my head
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and kept me from physically looking back,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57as we travelled to the neighbour's house, for shelter.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00The house blew up. There was an explosion.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03And my mother and father...
0:06:05 > 0:06:07..and little Wesley was blown outside in the yard
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and the other two children back into the house.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Both my hands were big, clear blisters.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16They looked like softballs.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22And I don't know if it was like a self-defence sort of thing
0:06:22 > 0:06:27but, yeah, my hands, they still are kind of shiny and hairless...
0:06:27 > 0:06:30..from those scars.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33# In dreams
0:06:33 > 0:06:36# I walk with you
0:06:39 > 0:06:42# In dreams
0:06:42 > 0:06:46# I talk to you... #
0:06:48 > 0:06:52There was a moment there where I have a clear memory
0:06:52 > 0:06:57of leaving from the fire but not before and not for days after.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02Other than the fact that we lived in a motel for about six months.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05There was a pool there, so that was good
0:07:05 > 0:07:08but we had to, kind of, stay indoors a lot.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12That got old really fast.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14I was looking for a yard to play in
0:07:14 > 0:07:16and they wouldn't let me go outside,
0:07:16 > 0:07:19you know, for, I guess, obvious reasons.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22I sure didn't understand it at the time.
0:07:23 > 0:07:29# Only in dreams
0:07:31 > 0:07:39# In beautiful dreams. #
0:07:42 > 0:07:47I would ask Mother about things and she would explain to me.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49She said, "Son, give it a couple of years
0:07:49 > 0:07:51"and you'll feel a little better."
0:07:52 > 0:07:55And, two years to the day,
0:07:55 > 0:07:57er, almost to the day,
0:07:57 > 0:07:58she was right.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02I was doing a tour of England...
0:08:02 > 0:08:04..in 1968.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06I met Barbara.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11And she said she'd never heard of me
0:08:11 > 0:08:14and I didn't believe that.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17And then she told me a lot of things
0:08:17 > 0:08:18and I didn't believe her.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Roy saw me across the room and wanted to meet me
0:08:21 > 0:08:23- so the energy first came from him. - Yes.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27And I didn't know when I first talked to him
0:08:27 > 0:08:29that there was any interest,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33from him, except just a casual meeting.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35And we just started talking and really, really
0:08:35 > 0:08:39had something to talk about. I don't know.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Anyway, she said, "That's a terrible looking jacket you have on."
0:08:42 > 0:08:44I said, "Thank you very much."
0:08:44 > 0:08:46It was a Levi jacket.
0:08:46 > 0:08:47But, er,...
0:08:47 > 0:08:51I said, "I just borrowed this so I wouldn't catch cold.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53"It belongs to my friend there."
0:08:53 > 0:08:55And I said, "Come to the show tomorrow night
0:08:55 > 0:08:58"and I'll show you my finest suit."
0:08:58 > 0:09:02She came to the show and she said,
0:09:02 > 0:09:08"You know, if you were trying to impress me, then you did all right."
0:09:08 > 0:09:10And, then, we were married in 1969.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13My family didn't even know for the first three months,
0:09:13 > 0:09:17or two months. I was 17 and I don't think it would have gone over
0:09:17 > 0:09:21very well for me to have come home and said that I fell in love with
0:09:21 > 0:09:27a rock and roller that was, like, 15 years older, so I had to hide it.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30# Sweet dream, baby
0:09:31 > 0:09:34# Sweet dream, baby
0:09:36 > 0:09:39# Sweet dream, baby
0:09:41 > 0:09:46# How long must I dream? #
0:09:46 > 0:09:49So, after the home burned, we needed a place to stay.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55Dad was building a big old beautiful home for his new wife
0:09:55 > 0:10:00and he would be out surveying the progress
0:10:00 > 0:10:06and it was a custom home so it took a little longer than usual
0:10:06 > 0:10:08and it turned out really terrific.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10The house was fantastic.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14It was really like a time capsule of what you would imagine
0:10:14 > 0:10:17a rock star in 1969 building.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20The back overlooked the lake
0:10:20 > 0:10:23and there were several acres of land
0:10:23 > 0:10:26and each floor had a fantastic deck that would look out
0:10:26 > 0:10:29and you could tell that it was, you know,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31just the layout of it was a sanctuary for my dad.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37My mom left her family, her home in Germany, and her language.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41She gave birth to me when she was 19.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44So she gave up everything she was and had been for him
0:10:44 > 0:10:46and created a new life.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Because he lost the other two boys he was very afraid.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55My mom said that while she was pregnant with me
0:10:55 > 0:10:58that Roy was very apprehensive.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01You know, almost afraid to have another child that...
0:11:01 > 0:11:02..for what could happen.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Um, so he was very conflicted about that
0:11:07 > 0:11:12and I definitely got a lot of the love that was meant
0:11:12 > 0:11:16for the two brothers that died, and so I am aware
0:11:16 > 0:11:20I was the, the golden boy, that saved Roy's life,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23I was the energy that saved his life.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27The Orbison household was divided into two houses,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31so with Mamaw and Papaw and Wesley down the street.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Their house was just over the hill.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38It's really close but you can't see it over the horizon,
0:11:38 > 0:11:43but it's probably about a city block is as far away.
0:11:44 > 0:11:50Orbie Lee, Dad's father, he basically, he and Nadine together,
0:11:50 > 0:11:55they raised me and that's where I grew up, under their care.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59From their point of view they felt that,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02they felt to blame that they had let Roy's children die,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06and they felt they let him down so much, and so my grandmother
0:12:06 > 0:12:11in particular grabbed a hold of Wesley and never let go.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15She became like the momma alligator protecting the eggs.
0:12:15 > 0:12:21It didn't seem like that I was supposed to go with them.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25It felt like I was supposed to stay where I was, you know?
0:12:26 > 0:12:27It already felt like home.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39From '68 to '75, that little period was very protected,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42and when the family got a little bit bigger
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and he had Alex, it started to be fun again.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51The little boys are around, you know, things are really great
0:12:51 > 0:12:54cos they're so vibrant and full of life.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58So those guys, you know,
0:12:58 > 0:13:03would often come together to visit with their grandparents, you know?
0:13:03 > 0:13:05And myself.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08And just a glorious time.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11They seemed like they wanted to stay there
0:13:11 > 0:13:15even when it was time to go home for dinner or something like that,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18so it was a sad time for them to have to go back home.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24- How are you, huh?- Fine.- Fine. How was your day?- Fine.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28- You got a kiss for your daddy?- Yes.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Mwah, mwah.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33I think this is probably a work of art by Alex.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Oh, it's my house.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42There we go.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45"This is my house, by Alex."
0:13:47 > 0:13:49My dad had an incredible life.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54He was born in 1936, and when you look at history,
0:13:54 > 0:13:581936 was the dead bottom of the depression.
0:13:58 > 0:14:04The crash was '29, and then they had also over-farmed
0:14:04 > 0:14:07and it made the Dust Bowl and my dad was born and lived
0:14:07 > 0:14:10in West Texas, and so this would have been the driest,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13dustiest, hardest hit area of the depression,
0:14:13 > 0:14:18and the fact that my grandparents even had a son then,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21in this blackness, and that this guy grew up to be
0:14:21 > 0:14:25this legendary character, is stunning to me.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- I just dropped in. How are you doing there?- Fine. Doing fine.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31This is Dad, this is Papaw.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Yeah, this is... the headman around here.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37That's right! The number one.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Papaw was a guitar player and a great singer
0:14:40 > 0:14:44and he was also Roy's road manager for many years until his retirement.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47At a certain point Roy was making more per night then Papaw
0:14:47 > 0:14:51made in a year and so Papaw quit his job in the oilfields
0:14:51 > 0:14:54and working on cars and followed Roy around.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59You know, my dad was super engaging in the things that he knew
0:14:59 > 0:15:03and it was amazing that he seemed to be good at everything,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07and for whatever random thing I was into he would, you know,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10come either out of his bedroom or back from being on the road
0:15:10 > 0:15:13or whatever and I would think I had developed some new tricks
0:15:13 > 0:15:16and he was like, "Oh, let me see what you're doing there,"
0:15:16 > 0:15:19and then of course he already had it mastered.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22He did so many things so well and he was so blessed.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25I don't know how he crammed so much experience into a life so short,
0:15:25 > 0:15:2752 years.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29When did he have time to become such a good driver,
0:15:29 > 0:15:31such a good painter, such a good pool player?
0:15:31 > 0:15:36How did he know about art in Europe and the Louvre in France
0:15:36 > 0:15:38and John Paul Sartre?
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Being his son that only got limited kind of visitation,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47he also had this intuition.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51He could look at you and say,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56"Hi, yeah, you know, I'm sorry I've been gone or whatever
0:15:56 > 0:15:59"but always remember that I love you," you know,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02"and you're on my mind all the time,"
0:16:02 > 0:16:07and it just kind of made everything better, just knowing
0:16:07 > 0:16:11that he was carrying a little part of you with him, you know?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15When you're in the middle of it,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19the amazing thing is how ordinary hanging out at the house
0:16:19 > 0:16:23seemed to me, because I never knew anything else
0:16:23 > 0:16:28and so, you know, you'd look over and there's Dad,
0:16:28 > 0:16:34passed out on a lounger chair, except Dad is Roy Orbison,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and he's this legendary character who you never imagine
0:16:37 > 0:16:41just sun-tanning and sitting around and having a life.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44We were the only people besides Elvis
0:16:44 > 0:16:46and Johnny Cash that had a satellite dish.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52We had motorcycles, go-karts,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55whatever kind of fad came along in the '70s.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59We had a kiddie pool and when we changed it to a permanent pool,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03we were left with all these pipes and we would use those pipes
0:17:03 > 0:17:06to shoot bottle rockets at the boats that passed by.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11And Alex and I were out there shooting at the boats,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Dad came out and we thought he was going to be mad at us, and he snuck
0:17:15 > 0:17:19down behind us and started shooting bottle rockets at the boats too.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22He always had attached to him this kind of this
0:17:22 > 0:17:26sad man of rock and roll, or the tragic man of rock and roll,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30but if you ask anybody that was around Roy for more than 10 minutes,
0:17:30 > 0:17:34they always remember the humour and that laugh.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38# Immanuel Kant was a real pissant who was very rarely stable
0:17:38 > 0:17:40# Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
0:17:40 > 0:17:43# Who could think you under the table
0:17:43 > 0:17:46# David Hume could out-consume Schopenhauer and Hegel
0:17:46 > 0:17:48# And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
0:17:48 > 0:17:51# Who was just as sloshed as Schlegel. #
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Seeing him do Monty Python skits with Roy
0:17:54 > 0:17:57was like the funniest thing you've ever seen.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00He really, you know...
0:18:00 > 0:18:02..really nailed it down, you could see.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure now,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10and it has done for many years, to introduce a young man who's become
0:18:10 > 0:18:13quite a personal friend of mine, and I do mean that, Roy Orbison!
0:18:18 > 0:18:23# Just runnin' scared
0:18:23 > 0:18:27# Each place we go
0:18:29 > 0:18:32# So afraid
0:18:33 > 0:18:36# That he might show... #
0:18:36 > 0:18:40We couldn't go anywhere or do anything ever.
0:18:40 > 0:18:45We had to have bodyguards and our dogs were, you know,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49we went through 13 dogs - they would be stolen by the fans.
0:18:49 > 0:18:50So you couldn't blink,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53you couldn't walk into an airport without everything stopping.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Complete silence.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57And...
0:18:57 > 0:19:00We got to do certain things, we got to go to Disneyland.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02They closed it down for Michael Jackson
0:19:02 > 0:19:05and then they closed it down for Roy, we were the next ones.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Michael Jackson got a private kind of tour and they kept it open
0:19:08 > 0:19:12- and they did that for us when I was little.- Ta-da!
0:19:12 > 0:19:15It was fully operational for two hours and we got to run around
0:19:15 > 0:19:17so you couldn't feel more special than that.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- He just walks at him. - Like menacing!- Menacing.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25But I thought everyone was like that. That's...
0:19:25 > 0:19:27If your dad was a plumber he was king of the plumbers,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and all of the other plumbers would come to see you.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33I actually didn't understand the mathematics that there could
0:19:33 > 0:19:35only be one Roy Orbison.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37This is the old writing couch.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39I'd like to get rid of it.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Two of them I've worn the thing down so it has a nice comfy spot in it,
0:19:44 > 0:19:46from sitting for hours and hours...
0:19:48 > 0:19:50..and doing no good.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I don't normally sit around and sing for anybody.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02There's a reason for that - I'm basically an introvert.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06And also, I never give a performance
0:20:06 > 0:20:09except in the studio when we make a record.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18In recent years I had...
0:20:20 > 0:20:22..I'd accepted the fact that a man should be able to cry
0:20:22 > 0:20:24when he wants to cry and...
0:20:25 > 0:20:28..that didn't bother me professionally,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30and evidently didn't bother me at all but that's why
0:20:30 > 0:20:34if I seem a little nervous when I play in the writing room,
0:20:34 > 0:20:39it's because I'm not alone, and these songs are such a part of me
0:20:39 > 0:20:44that you're aware of everything and everything around you.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47# I was all right for a while
0:20:47 > 0:20:49# I could smile for a while
0:20:49 > 0:20:51# I saw you last night
0:20:51 > 0:20:56# You held my hand so tight as you stopped to say hello
0:20:56 > 0:20:58# You wished me well
0:20:58 > 0:21:02# You couldn't tell that I'd been crying... #
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Like that, so...
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Still nervous. But...
0:21:06 > 0:21:11People always said "Roy, you wrote these sad songs,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13"you must be this sad guy,"
0:21:13 > 0:21:18and it would seem like the tragedies would happen
0:21:18 > 0:21:22and then you'd write Crying, or It's Over,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25but truthfully my dad wrote those songs
0:21:25 > 0:21:30when he was in a much better place and after the tragedies happened,
0:21:30 > 0:21:36that put my dad at a disconnect with his songwriting craft.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39So you have to back off just enough when you're performing...
0:21:40 > 0:21:44..or you'll get too involved and you'll break down and
0:21:44 > 0:21:46if you're crying you can't sing, you know? It doesn't work that way.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49If you're crying you can't sing Crying.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52If you're crying you can't sing Crying, so you just
0:21:52 > 0:21:55back off just a little bit and then give it all you've got.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58In the middle of the '70s it puts Roy
0:21:58 > 0:22:02alone in the middle of a world that had changed so far from what
0:22:02 > 0:22:08he knew and the hope of getting the new songs that he would write
0:22:08 > 0:22:13in front of people and getting the reaction that he had always got,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15it totally withered away.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18All of that happening, you know, that puts you
0:22:18 > 0:22:22around the time that I'm born, with him very happy that his present
0:22:22 > 0:22:27family is flourishing, but outside that everything had fallen apart.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34- Excuse me, Mr Orpington?- Yes?
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Why do you wear your sunglasses when it's not sunny?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Same reason you wear your hat when it's not raining.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48We'd like to do the new record for you, it goes like this. OK?
0:22:50 > 0:22:54# Da da-da-da da-da
0:22:54 > 0:22:56# Da-da-da da-da
0:22:56 > 0:22:59# Da-da-da da-da
0:22:59 > 0:23:04# Sweet Mama Blue... #
0:23:04 > 0:23:09Well, I was spreading myself too thin.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13I was making too many records and I was doing too much touring.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16# That woman sings
0:23:16 > 0:23:22# And plays piano like a dream... #
0:23:22 > 0:23:26It's so funny cos people say, "Oh, well, Roy didn't do so well in the '70s."
0:23:26 > 0:23:30You know, "He was off the map and his records weren't selling."
0:23:31 > 0:23:35His new records didn't sell as well as his old records but
0:23:35 > 0:23:39the guy literally had sold millions of his Greatest Hits records
0:23:39 > 0:23:43and was one of the highest-paid entertainers.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Discover all the spine-tingling, immortal songs of
0:23:45 > 0:23:48the most dynamic voice in the history of popular music.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52# Blue angel... #
0:23:52 > 0:23:55He really didn't have to prove himself for anything
0:23:55 > 0:23:58because, you know, as a young man he had done exactly
0:23:58 > 0:24:01what he wanted to do, so we just had a great time.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04My dad was this car guy.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I mean, every kind of car you could imagine, you know,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09four T-birds, Corvettes,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Cadillacs, Excaliburs,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15there's a car we still can't figure out the name of it and
0:24:15 > 0:24:21literally you look in our driveway and there's a fire truck from 1925.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24If I'm going to be of any value to my family
0:24:24 > 0:24:29I have to be sort of selfish and write my songs and go tour,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33and earn a living,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36else they're not provided for.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40There's nothing you can do on tour except travel.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44Land, sea or air, one way or the other, and that's always a bind.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48If you're in a bus or an aeroplane
0:24:48 > 0:24:50and you play cards or something like that.
0:24:55 > 0:25:01You know, I listened to Dad's records a lot -
0:25:01 > 0:25:04that's how I visited with him,
0:25:04 > 0:25:09and I always really loved his voice and those recordings.
0:25:09 > 0:25:16We had a really terrific... receiver that we had salvaged
0:25:16 > 0:25:22from the house fire, and had a terrific sound to it,
0:25:22 > 0:25:28and so I would have favourites that I would play like really a lot,
0:25:28 > 0:25:33maybe obsessively, listening to the nuances of his voice
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and singing along a little bit, you know.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39# Yeah, running scared
0:25:41 > 0:25:44# Afraid to lose
0:25:46 > 0:25:50# If he came back
0:25:51 > 0:25:56# Which one would you choose?
0:25:56 > 0:26:01# Then all at once he was standing there
0:26:04 > 0:26:09# So sure of himself, his head in the air
0:26:12 > 0:26:15# Well, my heart was breaking
0:26:15 > 0:26:18# Which one would it be?
0:26:18 > 0:26:20# You turn around
0:26:20 > 0:26:26# And walk away with me. #
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Well, in my case, when you see me perform,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35what happens is that I sing and the audience watches me do that.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41I remember when I first played a nightclub in England,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I had just done concerts, and I was asked to do this
0:26:45 > 0:26:47very famous nightclub
0:26:47 > 0:26:50and everyone said, "What are you going to do?" You know?
0:26:50 > 0:26:52I said, "I'm going to sing."
0:26:52 > 0:26:57So that's about all I really do, is sing a few songs.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01My dad hung out in that place where your voice breaks.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06If you listen to Only The Lonely and Crying,
0:27:06 > 0:27:11those lines, the place where every man wants to stay away from,
0:27:11 > 0:27:13it's where your voice goes...ah!
0:27:13 > 0:27:15It's where your voice cracks.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20# You got to take
0:27:20 > 0:27:24# If your lonely heart breaks... #
0:27:24 > 0:27:27That is where Roy Orbison lived, that was his stronghold.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31There, like the most sensitive bare place,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35that's where he displayed his power, and he hung out in places
0:27:35 > 0:27:40that were like embarrassing for people vocally.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43I started singing this way because I was writing songs...
0:27:44 > 0:27:49..and I, I wrote the melody that I heard in my head and I...
0:27:49 > 0:27:53So then I had to sing those notes as well and I didn't know how high
0:27:53 > 0:27:56or low you were supposed to go so I went where I wanted to.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01There was a show in Memphis that Dad went to probably in the '70s
0:28:01 > 0:28:05and Elvis called him out in the audience and, you know,
0:28:05 > 0:28:09said that his good friend was here
0:28:09 > 0:28:12and the greatest singer in the world,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14and he introduced Roy Orbison.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18The first show I ever did in Memphis, my record was number one,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22and Elvis came along and was introduced at intermission.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27Of course he stole the show but we had a talk, a chat afterwards,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31and from then until his death we were very, very close.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35When Elvis died, some of the fans stole his body.
0:28:35 > 0:28:41And Roy started to get his gun and then started thinking,
0:28:41 > 0:28:43and I could see that he was thinking something
0:28:43 > 0:28:46and what he was thinking is that there was only two directions
0:28:46 > 0:28:48these guys could have gone in that car, and he knew that
0:28:48 > 0:28:51if they went east they would be driving through Nashville,
0:28:51 > 0:28:54and he was going to get his car and go wait on the highway
0:28:54 > 0:28:58because they had shown what the station wagon probably looked like.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02He thought he could go out there and get Elvis...
0:29:02 > 0:29:05..from these people. And he was going to do it.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09I try to remain innocent and very, very young as long as I can,
0:29:09 > 0:29:13but those reminders, like with Elvis,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16and John, I have known all these people
0:29:16 > 0:29:21and we were very close so that hurts a great deal.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25And...and is a reminder, even when you want to try and stay young.
0:29:25 > 0:29:31So here we go, '78, my father has a massive heart attack,
0:29:31 > 0:29:36triple bypass surgery. You know, are we going to lose him?
0:29:37 > 0:29:41And just really unexpected, you know, he's 42 - gosh.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49And...now it's...
0:29:52 > 0:29:55..more fragile than before.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59I always thought, you know, maybe when he retires, you know,
0:29:59 > 0:30:04maybe in those retirement years we would get to be closer and he
0:30:04 > 0:30:11would have more time and I could be more, more handy for him, you know?
0:30:11 > 0:30:15Instead of a little needy kid I could, you know, be an adult
0:30:15 > 0:30:19and we could do adult things, but now some of this was in jeopardy.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24I think the little one's coming pretty soon.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30- Yeah.- So you'd rather not be smoking on camera then?
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Uh...
0:30:33 > 0:30:36No, if we get something that you really love though and I've got
0:30:36 > 0:30:39a cigarette in my mouth all the time, you know,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43that's not going to fit in well when I explain to people
0:30:43 > 0:30:46that I've had open heart surgery, you know?
0:30:46 > 0:30:48They are going to say, "Well, you've got a death wish
0:30:48 > 0:30:51"or something." You know? And then they get the wrong impression.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55My dad had his first heart attack in '77, '78.
0:30:55 > 0:31:00That puts my mom where... beside having kids,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03she'd never done anything with her life.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08And with the vulnerability of the heart attack and being at home for
0:31:08 > 0:31:11longer periods of time, you know,
0:31:11 > 0:31:16my mom had started to cope more with that with drinking,
0:31:16 > 0:31:20and so she had started drinking a little bit more
0:31:20 > 0:31:25and I think it played into her insecurities and she became
0:31:25 > 0:31:31agoraphobic, where leaving the house at all seemed terrifying to her.
0:31:32 > 0:31:38For me what was normal no longer was normal. You know, it changed.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42There was a seismic shift in the home life in our house
0:31:42 > 0:31:46and so that can all be terrifying...
0:31:48 > 0:31:50..for a young child.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54# Hey, hound dog man
0:31:54 > 0:31:59# Where you been now, where you been?
0:32:00 > 0:32:03# I wish that you were back
0:32:03 > 0:32:08# It was too good to ever end
0:32:08 > 0:32:12# Once in a while someone like you... #
0:32:12 > 0:32:17When Austin City Limits was filmed that guy was my best friend...
0:32:17 > 0:32:21# Hey, hound dog man... #
0:32:21 > 0:32:26..the way his voice had a sort of vulnerability and the vibrato
0:32:26 > 0:32:29was different than in early, it wasn't quite as confident
0:32:29 > 0:32:33as early years, and wasn't quite as mature as it was in the later years.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35It's very vulnerable.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40# You gave the world a whole lot of joy... #
0:32:40 > 0:32:43On the Austin City Limits concert there was one song that
0:32:43 > 0:32:46he didn't record anywhere else, it wasn't taped,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49and so that we have film of Hound Dog Man.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54# The way you sang rock and roll and blues... #
0:32:54 > 0:32:57Hound Dog Man is the best Elvis tribute song there is.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00It's just so beautiful and it's there on that video.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04# And the memory that it brings
0:33:04 > 0:33:08# Hey, hound dog man
0:33:08 > 0:33:12# My old friend, play it again. #
0:33:13 > 0:33:16Time is very important.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19A lot of brilliant people through the ages have written that
0:33:19 > 0:33:25time is the most important thing, but if you take that literally
0:33:25 > 0:33:28you get very paranoid and say, you know,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31"I might not be around tomorrow, I'd better hurry up today
0:33:31 > 0:33:34"and do everything I'm going to do today."
0:33:34 > 0:33:37When it became time for my dad to want to reclaim his throne
0:33:37 > 0:33:41because there was a time when the record industry had changed
0:33:41 > 0:33:45and we had had record deals and publishing deals go sour
0:33:45 > 0:33:49and my dad consciously just said, "I'm not playing that game
0:33:49 > 0:33:51"because I tour, I'm Roy Orbison
0:33:51 > 0:33:53"I make enough money to have a happy life
0:33:53 > 0:33:56"and I don't like disco music anyway."
0:33:56 > 0:34:01And a lot of things happened around 1984, and my dad started
0:34:01 > 0:34:07to want to make a run for the top again, and this very much involved
0:34:07 > 0:34:13my mom becoming his manager and them seeing this thing through together.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Roy was signed to Virgin Records
0:34:16 > 0:34:20and all of a sudden by meeting with me, they just said, "Listen,
0:34:20 > 0:34:22"you need to help us, you need to manage Roy,"
0:34:22 > 0:34:25so that's the way it came about, because I had a vision
0:34:25 > 0:34:28and they have the same vision and it was just magic, you know?
0:34:33 > 0:34:37In a way my dad was a man with a plan
0:34:37 > 0:34:39before my mom quit drinking,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43and then having Barbara totally on board
0:34:43 > 0:34:46and moving into a management role officially...
0:34:48 > 0:34:52..Barbara finds her voice as a human being
0:34:52 > 0:34:56and together they push through and the plan is working.
0:34:57 > 0:35:03When you're young and you walk into a life that is so big, yeah,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06you lose yourself, but then when it was time for me
0:35:06 > 0:35:09to sort of understand who I was
0:35:09 > 0:35:15and what I wanted to do with my life, luckily it happened
0:35:15 > 0:35:19that Roy could really hear me to give me that place.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24Moving to California was another bold move, you know.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Roy sold the house that we had lived in for 30 years.
0:35:27 > 0:35:28I still look back and I go like,
0:35:28 > 0:35:33"I don't know why we sold the house," but this was a real break.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35The strange thing about California
0:35:35 > 0:35:38was that my parents went to California for a writing session.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40I'm ten years old
0:35:40 > 0:35:44and they went in the last couple of weeks of summer
0:35:44 > 0:35:48and they never came back and so I started school in the fifth grade
0:35:48 > 0:35:51with no parents at home.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55I would get myself ready and go down and have the driver drive to school.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59Then there was a phone call.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03My mom and dad said, "Well, we're in Malibu and we love it here.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08"What would you say if we said do you want to move to Malibu?"
0:36:08 > 0:36:12And I literally just screamed out loud
0:36:12 > 0:36:15and I couldn't believe what was happening.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18It sounded like a dream.
0:36:18 > 0:36:23So, now we have the family moving to Malibu.
0:36:25 > 0:36:31Mamaw was already bedridden by this point.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34She had crushed one of her hips
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and had to have reconstructive surgery
0:36:37 > 0:36:41and so we couldn't make the move.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47He started hanging out with U2 and David Lynch
0:36:47 > 0:36:50and T Bone Burnett and Jeff Lynne
0:36:50 > 0:36:53and from those projects, we had the Wilburys,
0:36:53 > 0:36:55we had the Mystery Girl album
0:36:55 > 0:36:58and we had the Black and White Night with Bruce Springsteen.
0:36:58 > 0:36:59And then you go...
0:36:59 > 0:37:00# Sweet... #
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- You might want to go... - Yeah, I may have to.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06- # Sweet dreams, baby - Baby... #
0:37:06 > 0:37:08- After four of those. - After four of those.
0:37:08 > 0:37:10- So, we do the first breakdown.- Yeah.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12- VOICEOVER:- I'm a bit overwhelmed.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14- VOICEOVER:- I'm very grateful
0:37:14 > 0:37:19that all these wonderful people came by to help me out.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Hup!
0:37:21 > 0:37:26# Sweet dreams, baby
0:37:27 > 0:37:31# Sweet dreams, baby
0:37:33 > 0:37:38# Sweet dreams, baby
0:37:39 > 0:37:44# Sweet dreams, baby
0:37:44 > 0:37:51# Oh, how long must I dream? #
0:37:56 > 0:38:00CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:38:00 > 0:38:02The amazing thing is that this isn't a granted
0:38:02 > 0:38:05that Roy Orbison's actually going to have a comeback
0:38:05 > 0:38:08and the fact that everything started to click
0:38:08 > 0:38:11and you had these crazy things, like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...
0:38:11 > 0:38:15In '75, we went into the studio to make Born To Run.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17I wanted to make a record with words like Bob Dylan
0:38:17 > 0:38:19that sounded like Phil Spector, but most of all,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22I wanted to sing like Roy Orbison.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Now, everybody knows that nobody sings like Roy Orbison.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29So, all I want to say is congratulations,
0:38:29 > 0:38:33thanks for the inspiration and, ohhhh, mercy!
0:38:37 > 0:38:41David Lynch used In Dreams in a movie.
0:38:41 > 0:38:47# In dreams, I walk with you... #
0:38:49 > 0:38:53There was nothing cooler in pop history for teenagers
0:38:53 > 0:38:59and adults alike than David Lynch to feature In Dreams in a movie.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01I mean, it was so shocking and crazy and different
0:39:01 > 0:39:06and it changed the pop culture where all of a sudden, everyone,
0:39:06 > 0:39:09and literally everyone, wanted a piece of my dad, you know,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12just like young teenage girls trying to mob him
0:39:12 > 0:39:17to get his signature and so Roy's on top of the world again.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21# California blue
0:39:21 > 0:39:23# California blue... #
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Roy was working with Jeff Lynne in the studio
0:39:26 > 0:39:32and Tom Petty and George came to America to cut a song for his album
0:39:32 > 0:39:35and they phoned Bob and there they were.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42# Been beat up and battered around... #
0:39:43 > 0:39:47In May of that year, he had called for my birthday
0:39:47 > 0:39:51and they were in the studio and he said, "I've got somebody that I want
0:39:51 > 0:39:53"to have wish you happy birthday,"
0:39:53 > 0:39:56and on the phone,
0:39:56 > 0:39:59- ENGLISH ACCENT: - "Hello, Wes, happy birthday."
0:39:59 > 0:40:02The next guy sounds like he's imitating the first guy.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06"Hello, Wes, happy birthday!" And he starts cracking up.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09By the time the third guy's on the phone, they're laughing so hard
0:40:09 > 0:40:12that they can't even talk any more.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15# Happy birthday to you! #
0:40:15 > 0:40:18And so Dad gets on the phone just giggling.
0:40:18 > 0:40:23"Oh, man, that was Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, George Harrison."
0:40:23 > 0:40:25I'm like, "Oh, my goodness!"
0:40:25 > 0:40:27These are some of my terrific heroes, you know.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30These are rock and rollers, you know.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32This is a band, are you kidding?
0:40:32 > 0:40:34That's, like, the coolest thing I've ever heard.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37The Wilburys weren't the saving grace,
0:40:37 > 0:40:40you know, my dad was at zero and pulled him out.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Everything in my dad's life was already working
0:40:44 > 0:40:48and as a result of that, the Wilburys happened
0:40:48 > 0:40:51and my dad's at top form.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56# Won't you show me that you really care?
0:40:59 > 0:41:02# Everybody's got somebody
0:41:02 > 0:41:07# To lean on
0:41:07 > 0:41:10# Put your body next to mine
0:41:10 > 0:41:14# And dream on... #
0:41:16 > 0:41:24He was able to orchestrate this high note
0:41:24 > 0:41:28that we get from some of his songs, you know.
0:41:28 > 0:41:35It's like the sad songs happened before the tragedies
0:41:35 > 0:41:37and then the renaissance happened
0:41:37 > 0:41:39before the end of the song, you know.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42So, Roy Orbison is alive and kicking, as they say in English.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Alive and well and I guess I've never been busier
0:41:45 > 0:41:47or more successful. It's amazing.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50- Are you happy? - Very, very happy, yeah.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Roy and I had been in Europe for just a pleasure trip
0:41:53 > 0:41:55and we said goodbye in England
0:41:55 > 0:42:00and he was going to fly to tour one more night in Boston
0:42:00 > 0:42:01and Akron, I guess two more nights,
0:42:01 > 0:42:04and go home to Nashville to wish his mum
0:42:04 > 0:42:08and our other kid Wesley merry Christmas
0:42:08 > 0:42:11and then we were going to join and spend Christmas somewhere else.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14When he comes to the house for the visit,
0:42:14 > 0:42:20he's really excited about the new project
0:42:20 > 0:42:23and, "I've got a little time to hang out with you, man,
0:42:23 > 0:42:28"just me and you, and I've got the new record."
0:42:28 > 0:42:32And things are really going great, you know.
0:42:32 > 0:42:33For about an hour.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39Then he's unresponsive in the bathroom.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Didn't want to check on him.
0:42:43 > 0:42:50But I had this sense, something didn't feel right.
0:42:50 > 0:42:56I mean, it really didn't feel right. What could be wrong, you know?
0:42:58 > 0:43:01"Hey, Dad," you know? No answer.
0:43:02 > 0:43:09I was like, "OK. Hey, Dad?"
0:43:09 > 0:43:14No answer so I had to run and get a phone
0:43:14 > 0:43:18and I was too freaked out.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20They phoned in the middle of the night and they woke me up
0:43:20 > 0:43:26in the middle of the night and then my mom just told me
0:43:26 > 0:43:29pretty quickly in one sentence...
0:43:29 > 0:43:32There was no beating around the bush, just like everybody...
0:43:32 > 0:43:37It's always so abrupt, there's no real way to say it so she said,
0:43:37 > 0:43:39"Roy Kelton..."
0:43:41 > 0:43:44I don't even know how she said it.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47She said, "Roy Kelton, your dad died last night."
0:43:49 > 0:43:54# I was all right for a while
0:43:54 > 0:43:58# I could smile for a while
0:43:58 > 0:44:01# But I saw you last night
0:44:01 > 0:44:04# You held my hand so tight
0:44:04 > 0:44:09# As you stopped to say hello
0:44:09 > 0:44:12# Oh, you wished me well
0:44:12 > 0:44:14# You couldn't tell... #
0:44:14 > 0:44:19You can't describe what it's like to lose someone that special
0:44:19 > 0:44:24and so quickly and so, you know,
0:44:24 > 0:44:29it was earth-shattering for me as a son.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Something kind of beautiful happened that night
0:44:31 > 0:44:36because my mom was far away and the press was attacking so much,
0:44:36 > 0:44:42the record company, Virgin, and all the record companies, they...
0:44:43 > 0:44:47They hired limousines to form a wall down the street
0:44:47 > 0:44:48so the press couldn't get there
0:44:48 > 0:44:53so they blocked off the whole street with 30 or 40 long limousines
0:44:53 > 0:44:56so we had a wall of limousines protecting us from the press
0:44:56 > 0:45:00and then my mom got the next flight out
0:45:00 > 0:45:03and she flew and came to be with us.
0:45:03 > 0:45:09Getting to hear the record was a little less than happy news.
0:45:09 > 0:45:16It was kind of, you know, this heavy, heavy bit of music
0:45:16 > 0:45:22that was new, but it was also kind of a...
0:45:25 > 0:45:28..an end, as well.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32This was all of the new music he was going to do.
0:45:32 > 0:45:38This was kind of maybe a gift, if you will.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47So, I didn't get to listen to it with him.
0:45:49 > 0:45:54It took a couple of days for the dust to settle,
0:45:54 > 0:46:02then I put it on and, of course, the first track is You Got It.
0:46:02 > 0:46:07And, man, oh, man... Gosh, it was...
0:46:10 > 0:46:18You know, just so wonderful to hear how good...
0:46:20 > 0:46:23# Anything you want
0:46:23 > 0:46:25# You got it
0:46:25 > 0:46:28# Anything you need
0:46:28 > 0:46:29# You got it
0:46:29 > 0:46:31# Anything at all
0:46:31 > 0:46:36# You got it, baby
0:46:39 > 0:46:43- # Anything at all - You got it
0:46:43 > 0:46:44# Baby... #
0:46:44 > 0:46:46When I see the home videos,
0:46:46 > 0:46:49the one thing it really drives home is we were so loved.
0:46:49 > 0:46:57There's a little footage of my dad following me over to the beach
0:46:57 > 0:47:04and he's videotaping and he's trying to get a candid shot of me,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07I want to jump up and down and do all this stuff.
0:47:07 > 0:47:12There's one chance that he gets when I'm looking at the waves
0:47:12 > 0:47:15and he's filming me and, er...
0:47:15 > 0:47:17ROY LAUGHS
0:47:20 > 0:47:25It's... It's all there in one moment. It's really, er...
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Cos I felt loved and I do feel loved,
0:47:30 > 0:47:35but it's been a long time and you forget a little bit.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39For 20 years, we were together and at the time when he passed away,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42we had found a way of living where we concluded each day
0:47:42 > 0:47:47with one another so there was not that...lots of regrets.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52There weren't any and I always said that I told Roy everything
0:47:52 > 0:47:54that I needed to tell him during those 20 years, you know,
0:47:54 > 0:47:57whether I loved him or what I didn't like about him
0:47:57 > 0:48:02and we laughed lots so there was a feeling of completeness
0:48:02 > 0:48:04when he passed away,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07- which kind of helps with the grief, you know.- Absolutely.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12And I have incredible boys and I feel more sad for them
0:48:12 > 0:48:17because I don't think they got to conclude
0:48:17 > 0:48:20because they were 13 and 18 and 22.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24After my dad had died, we looked at photos
0:48:24 > 0:48:27and laid them all over the floor
0:48:27 > 0:48:30and so they had all these wedding pictures
0:48:30 > 0:48:33and it was probably the first time in my life I had ever thought
0:48:33 > 0:48:37about someone other than myself and I just thought, "Holy shit!"
0:48:37 > 0:48:43You know, "Holy crap, what my mom is going through at this time!"
0:48:43 > 0:48:47And then these things keep happening -
0:48:47 > 0:48:50the Grammy for Pretty Woman...
0:48:50 > 0:48:53- Roy Orbison. - CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:49:00 > 0:49:02I know it was one of the great honours of Barbara's life
0:49:02 > 0:49:06to accept the Grammy Award on Roy's behalf in 1991.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08I was there, too.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11I got up on stage and stood just a little to the right
0:49:11 > 0:49:15and every achievement was another milestone.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19It was kind of like that part was a game, that was the game.
0:49:19 > 0:49:24And Mom had accepted Dad into this Songwriters Hall of Fame.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26This is truly an honour to be here tonight
0:49:26 > 0:49:30and accept this award on behalf of Roy the songwriter.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35Her first thought was probably that there was a song...
0:49:35 > 0:49:37There was an outtake of Careless Heart
0:49:37 > 0:49:40and she started looking for this outtake of Careless Heart
0:49:40 > 0:49:43and she realised that there were enough outtakes
0:49:43 > 0:49:45that she could make a great album.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48I didn't even know if I wanted to finish this album
0:49:48 > 0:49:50and I arrived at the studio
0:49:50 > 0:49:56and everybody had gone and just Don and the engineer were at the studio
0:49:56 > 0:50:00and I looked around and it was very quiet and at that moment,
0:50:00 > 0:50:04Don turned on the controls
0:50:04 > 0:50:08and I heard the words that Roy was singing -
0:50:08 > 0:50:11"reach out and let it touch your soul".
0:50:13 > 0:50:16# And give in to love... #
0:50:16 > 0:50:18And I don't know what happened to me.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22I knew that the album would be all right without Roy actually
0:50:22 > 0:50:26checking every little detail.
0:50:26 > 0:50:31For us as a family, my mom was going to live forever.
0:50:31 > 0:50:38She was just a tank and she was so, you know...
0:50:38 > 0:50:43When she pursued something, she pursued it so wholeheartedly
0:50:43 > 0:50:47and she would just get the answer that she wanted a lot of times
0:50:47 > 0:50:51and so you see Roy Orbison in these amazing places and, yeah,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55he's the most incredible singer ever known to man,
0:50:55 > 0:50:57but a lot of those situations were just
0:50:57 > 0:51:05because Barbara wouldn't take no for an answer and so, you know,
0:51:05 > 0:51:09people don't know because my mom didn't tell anyone
0:51:09 > 0:51:12that she was sick, but she died super-unexpectedly,
0:51:12 > 0:51:16like the same thing happens again, you know?
0:51:16 > 0:51:21We think that we're getting her out of the hospital and we're not.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27# Golden days before they end
0:51:29 > 0:51:33# Whisper secrets to the wind
0:51:35 > 0:51:43# Your baby won't be near you any more... #
0:51:43 > 0:51:49The first time that Wesley and Roy and I had actually seen each other,
0:51:49 > 0:51:53we were just so happy to be alive and to love each other as brothers
0:51:53 > 0:51:59and so the obvious thing would be to carry the torch
0:51:59 > 0:52:04and to do what our family has done
0:52:04 > 0:52:09since 1944.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11She had, you know, five or six big things
0:52:11 > 0:52:12that we had worked on for 20 years,
0:52:12 > 0:52:16things that my dad had worked on and not quite completed
0:52:16 > 0:52:19so she felt this obligation to him
0:52:19 > 0:52:22to make sure that this man's great works were completed
0:52:22 > 0:52:26and now we have the same obligation to her.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29There was a really dark time after Barbara had died
0:52:29 > 0:52:32where literally everyone was wondering,
0:52:32 > 0:52:36"Are these guys going to pull this off?"
0:52:36 > 0:52:40And, I mean, everything. You could see there was just like a...
0:52:40 > 0:52:46And slowly but surely, I think that we've been doing well.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48- Listen, guys, shall we play that take back?- Yeah, yeah.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51It sounded great, I thought.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53Things are really going good for us
0:52:53 > 0:52:57and it's wonderful to be working with my brothers,
0:52:57 > 0:53:04telling the story and expanding the legacy, having children
0:53:04 > 0:53:08and being a family together.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12The latest project with the Royal Philharmonic
0:53:12 > 0:53:16is another one I'm really, really proud of.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20We got to play with the orchestra and be with my brothers.
0:53:20 > 0:53:21It's really terrific.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27# Pretty woman, talk a while
0:53:27 > 0:53:32# Pretty woman, give your smile to me
0:53:34 > 0:53:37# Pretty woman, yeah, yeah, yeah
0:53:37 > 0:53:42# Pretty woman, look my way... #
0:53:42 > 0:53:48With the Royal Philharmonic project, the sessions were so amazing.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52I mean, we're talking Number 2 Room at Abbey Road.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55That's The Beatles' room and then in Nashville,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58Wesley, Roy and I got together
0:53:58 > 0:54:03at the studio that my dad owned when I was born.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07This is the place that my dad would have spent the most other time
0:54:07 > 0:54:10besides at home playing with us kids
0:54:10 > 0:54:15and so here we are, 40 years later, all together.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17In the middle of all of this,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20baby Roy had a suit that looked similar to this.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22It was like a little vest or something, you know.
0:54:22 > 0:54:27The kid is so talented at keeping time and clapping.
0:54:27 > 0:54:32We need to have him on the record and so Papa Roy,
0:54:32 > 0:54:35in this case, which is Roy Orbison Jr,
0:54:35 > 0:54:38gets a guitar and puts it on the floor
0:54:38 > 0:54:42and the guitar's perfectly tuned and Baby Roy strums the guitar.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48And it's the first thing that you hear on Oh, Pretty Woman
0:54:48 > 0:54:52and so you have these, like, three generations of Orbison men
0:54:52 > 0:54:56and you have all three Roys on this one recording
0:54:56 > 0:54:59and it's a surreal feeling.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11My dad would say, "I love you," and I would say, "I love you, too."
0:55:11 > 0:55:13One time, he told me really seriously,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16he said, "Son, you'll never know how much I love you..."
0:55:18 > 0:55:21He said, "Son, you'll never know how much I love you
0:55:21 > 0:55:23"until you have a son of your own."
0:55:23 > 0:55:27And I didn't fully realise what he meant
0:55:27 > 0:55:30until I saw little Baby Roy playing music
0:55:30 > 0:55:33on this Royal Philharmonic song Pretty Woman
0:55:33 > 0:55:36and it was like a chain of lightning that...
0:55:36 > 0:55:39You know, I felt that that's that torch we're talking about,
0:55:39 > 0:55:41that's that music.
0:55:41 > 0:55:44I felt that chain of lightning going through me as I looked at him
0:55:44 > 0:55:47and through that, I know what he would have seen
0:55:47 > 0:55:50by Alex and Wesley and I playing on this album.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52He would have shed a tear over that, for sure.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56# There goes my baby
0:55:56 > 0:55:59# And there goes my heart... #
0:55:59 > 0:56:03He was just really a terrific person to have known
0:56:03 > 0:56:08and those of us who were lucky enough to love him,
0:56:08 > 0:56:10we really got something special, you know.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15# Know why I-I
0:56:15 > 0:56:18# I cry... #
0:56:18 > 0:56:21To experience life through the prism of those songs,
0:56:21 > 0:56:25they were the lessons that we learned about relationships
0:56:25 > 0:56:26and love and heartbreak.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30They were the soundtrack to our lives
0:56:30 > 0:56:36and we ended up living the sadness in those songs.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40# Only the lonely
0:56:40 > 0:56:43# Only the lonely... #
0:56:43 > 0:56:49It's crazy to find your real calling later in life
0:56:49 > 0:56:53and, you know, I'm a drummer by trade, but...
0:56:56 > 0:57:00..looking after my dad and my brothers is my true calling.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05# Maybe tomorrow
0:57:05 > 0:57:09# A new romance... #
0:57:09 > 0:57:14They would always ask him, "Roy, how would you like to be remembered?"
0:57:14 > 0:57:18And he would just say, "I would just like to be remembered."
0:57:18 > 0:57:23# You gotta take
0:57:23 > 0:57:28# If your lonely heart breaks
0:57:28 > 0:57:31# Only the lonely. #
0:57:38 > 0:57:41CHEERING