The musician Jeff Lynne called his ultimate hero: “The best singer I’ve ever heard”
In contrast to the majority of music scenes that had gone before, progressive rock was not all that concerned with vocals. While there was certainly no shortage of talented singers within the prog-rock era, the focus was always placed on the music itself. The innovative techniques and complex compositions of a group like the Electric Light Orchestra rendered singing all but secondary. Nevertheless, ELO frontman Jeff Lynne still managed to lend his voice to a multitude of the period’s most iconic and influential tracks.
Jeff Lynne is certainly not the most gifted vocalist of all time, but then the power of singing does not often come from technical ability. The most important vocalists throughout musical history have not been those with a three-octave range or classical training, but those who have been able to capture a certain feeling or emotion within their voice. In that sense, the ELO singer was right at home with the greatest vocalists of the prog-rock era, something he likely owes to his broad range of influences and keen interest in the work of figures like Roy Orbison.
Having first established himself within the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, Orbison boasted something of a universal appeal. Whereas the work of figures like Little Richard or Elvis Presley appealed almost solely to America’s youth market, the deep baritone voice of Roy Orbison transcended generations and genre conventions. As a result of this, Orbison’s career did not die out when early rock ‘n’ roll declined in relevancy. In fact, the singer enjoyed a remarkable run of success that lasted well into the 1980s, reflecting the timeless appeal of his work.
Growing up in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Lynne has been a disciple of Orbison since childhood. “He was such a big hero to me,” the songwriter once told Rolling Stone. “I used to listen to him for hours and hours as a kid.” It must have been a dream come true when Lynne got the chance to work alongside Orbison later in his career, both as a producer as well as a co-performer, during his stint with the Traveling Wilburys. “I produced three tracks on his last album (Mystery Girl) and co-wrote three tracks with him,” Lynne recalled.
An undisputed highlight of Lynne’s work with Orbison came on the track ‘You Got It’, which came to define the later period of Orbison’s career. “I wrote ‘You Got It’ with Roy and Tom Petty,” the ELO songwriter remembered. “For years before this, he’d just been going through the motions of recording and not working with people who were empathetic with him or who had put enough care and love into the music,” he explained. “I reminded him of who he was and how great he was, and that’s why I got a great performance out of him.”
Admittedly, getting a great performance out of Roy Orbison does not seem like the most difficult task on the planet. His entire discography was chocked full of great performances and groundbreaking tracks. However, it is certainly true that ‘You Got It’ is a notable highlight, particularly in the mind of Lynne.
“He was a beautiful guy,” Lynne recalled, “as well as the best singer I’ve ever heard.” High praise indeed, but then Orbison was among the greatest vocalists of his generation, with an impressive octave range and an unparalleled emotional weight to his singing.
Nevertheless, Lynne called the success of the song he co-wrote with Orbison “bittersweet”, owing to the fact that the singer passed away one month before the song was released. “It was just dreadful when I heard he had died,” he shared, “I got a call at like six in the morning, and all I heard was ‘Mr. Orbison has died,’ and then they hung up. I still have no idea who called me.” As a fitting farewell, ‘You Got It’ became a top ten single in both the US and the UK, reflecting the lasting impact of Orbison on popular music.
