The classic song Roy Orbison wrote on The Beatles’ tour bus
The Beatles have not only influenced hoards of bands and artists for decades now, but even in their early days, as the four friends from Liverpool were only just on the rise, their spirit and musicality were already proving inspirational to their peers. In fact, their hit-making energy seemed to be infectious as Roy Orbison wrote his biggest track right then and then on their tour bus.
In 1963, just as the band’s debut album was released into the world and the name was quickly becoming one to note in the world of rock and roll, The Beatles and Roy Orbison set out on a joint tour around the UK. At the time, Orbison was also one of the biggest names around, so together, it was a hot ticket.
But while their shows were met with walls of screaming fans as Beatlemania began to break out and Orbison’s supporters were in a frenzy too, it was on their tour bus that the energy really got going as McCartney claimed that their tourmate got a strike of inspiration.
In his book, Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, the musician reflected on his early days and this early tour with Orbison. To him, it wasn’t just a moment where the band were getting more eyes on them but was a chance for them to mingle with other artists and find some friends and peers in the scene. “We were starting to meet other musicians then, and we’d start to see other people writing,” he recalled, suddenly able to see other people’s processes outside of the way he and Lennon worked.
“After that, on another tour bus with Roy Orbison, we saw Roy sitting in the back of the bus, writing ‘Pretty Woman,’” he said, recalling the moment. It seemed to move him to be let into the world of music-making beyond the one the band had built in their family kitchens. “It was lovely,” he said, remembering the inspirational atmosphere as he added, “We could trade off with each other.”
However, Orbison’s co-writer has a different story for the song’s origin, remembering a moment when the musician’s wife asked him for some money. “They walked off about 15 or 20 foot and it was all kissy-kissy whispering and, when he came back to the table, I was standing up with a guitar and I sang, ‘Pretty woman … don’t need no money’ and then he sang, ‘Pretty woman … walking down the street,’” Bill Dees said.
Perhaps it was that line that Orbison had initially scribbled down on the Beatles’ bus, or maybe he was fine-tuning the words that he and Dees had already got down while on tour. Either way, Orbison got a hit, and McCartney got a boost of inspiration by perhaps inspiring an artist that The Beatles had looked to for influence on their earliest tracks.
