Roy Orbison / discography
This discography is an overview of the released records of the American singer Roy Orbison . According to sources and record awards, he has sold more than 10.9 million records to date, over 5.5 million of them in his home country alone. Orbison's most successful release is the album Mystery Girl with over 2.4 million units sold.
Albums
Studio albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1963 | Lonely and Blue | - | - | - |
UK14 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1961
Producer: Fred Foster |
1963 | Crying | - | - | - |
UK17 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1962
Producer: Fred Foster |
1963 | In dreams | - | - | - |
UK6 (58 weeks) UK |
US35 (38 weeks) US |
First published: July 1963
Producer: Fred Foster |
1964 | The Exciting Sounds of Roy Orbison | - | - | - |
UK17 (2 weeks) UK |
- | |
1964 | Oh, pretty woman | - | - | - |
UK5 (16 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: November 1964
|
1965 | There is only one | - | - | - |
UK10 (12 weeks) UK |
US55 (17 weeks) US |
First published: July 1965
Producers: Wesley Rose , Jim Vienneau |
1965 | Orbisongs | - | - | - |
UK40 (1 week) UK |
US136 (11 weeks) US |
First published: October 1965
Chart entry in UK only in July 1967 Producer: Fred Foster |
1966 | The Orbison Way | - | - | - |
UK11 (10 weeks) UK |
US128 (3 weeks) US |
First published: January 1966
Producers: Wesley Rose, Jim Vienneau |
1966 | The Classic Roy Orbison | - | - | - |
UK12 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: July 1966
Producers: Wesley Rose, Jim Vienneau |
1989 | Mystery girl |
DE4th
gold
(50 weeks)DE |
AT4 (16 weeks) AT |
CH3
gold
(14 weeks)CH |
UK2
platinum
(24 weeks)UK |
US5
platinum
(28 weeks)US |
First published: February 1989
Executive Producer: Barbara Orbison |
1992 | King of Hearts | - | - | - |
UK23 (4 weeks) UK |
US179 (2 weeks) US |
First published: October 1992
Executive Producer: Barbara Orbison |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More studio albums
- 1961: At the Rock House
- 1962: Orbiting With ( split album with Bristow Hopper)
- 1967: Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson (released January)
- 1967: The Fastest Guitar Alive (released June)
- 1967: Cry Softly Lonely One (release: October)
- 1969: Roy Orbison's Many Moods (release: May)
- 1969: The Original Sound
- 1970: Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way (release: August)
- 1970: The Big O
- 1972: Roy Orbison Sings (released May)
- 1972: Memphis (release: November)
- 1973: Milestones (release: September)
- 1976: I'm Still in Love with You
- 1977: regeneration
- 1979: Laminar Flow
- 1981: My Spell on You
- 1986: Class of '55 (with Johnny Cash , Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins ; release: May) - Grammy (best spoken or non-music recording) , for the interviews included
- 1987: Only the Lonely
- 2015: One of the Lonely Ones (release: December 4th)
Live albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1989 | A black and white night | - | - | - |
UK51 (3 weeks) UK |
US123 (12 weeks) US |
First published: November 1989
|
More live albums
- 1989: The Big O: Live Birmingham, Alabama
- 1997: Combo Concert: 1965 Holland
- 1998: Live at the BBC
- 2003: Live from the Queens Theater, Hornchurch, England (Recorded October 18, 1975)
- 2003: Live in Birmingham, Alabama, 1980 (recorded July 13, 1980)
- 2009: The Last Concert (recorded December 4th, 1988)
- 2013: The Last Concert (CD + DVD)
Compilations
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | |||
1963 | Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
DE31 (12 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK40 (1 week) UK |
US28
gold
(90 weeks)US |
First published: August 1962
Chart entry DE: February 1965 / UK: September 1967 |
1964 | More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits | - | - | - | - |
US19 (30 weeks) US |
First published: July 1964
|
Early Orbison | - | - | - | - |
US101 (11 weeks) US |
First published: October 1964
|
|
1966 | The Very Best of Roy Orbison | - | - | - | - |
US94 (10 weeks) US |
First published: July 1966
|
1973 | The All-Time Greatest Hits | - | - | - |
UK39 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: January 1973
|
1975 | The Best of Roy Orbison | - | - | - |
UK1
gold
(20 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: November 1975
|
1981 | Golden Days | - | - | - |
UK63
gold
(5 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: July 1981
|
1987 | In Dreams: The Greatest Hits | - | - | - |
UK86
silver
(2 weeks)UK |
US95
gold
(15 weeks)US |
First published: June 1987
Chart entry in US only in January 1989 |
1988 | The Legendary Roy Orbison | - | - | - |
UK1 × 2
(38 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: October 1988
|
1989 | For the Lonely: An Anthology, 1956-1965 | - | - | - | - |
US110 (13 weeks) US |
First published: December 1988
|
Blue Bayou: His 24 Most Beautiful Love Songs |
DE13 (17 weeks) DE |
- | - | - | - |
First published: May 1989
|
|
1990 | Ballads | - | - | - |
UK38 (10 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: October 1990
|
1996 | The Very Best of Roy Orbison |
DE75 (4 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK18th
gold
(11 weeks)UK |
US186 (1 week) US |
First published: November 1996
|
The Very Best of Roy Orbison: The German Collection (DE) The Austrian Collection (AT) |
DE77 (2 weeks) DE |
AT24 (5 weeks) AT |
- | - | - |
First published: September 2000
|
|
2001 | Love songs | - | - | - |
UK4th
gold
(11 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: January 2001
|
2004 | The Platinum Collection | - | - | - |
UK16
silver
(6 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: August 2004
|
2006 | The very best of | - | - | - |
UK20th
platinum
(6 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: October 2006
|
2011 | Great hits | - | - | - | - |
US104
gold
(10 weeks)US |
First published: February 2011
|
Opus Collection | - | - | - | - |
US65 (3 weeks) US |
First published: May 2011
|
|
The Monument Singles Collection | - | - | - |
UK87 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: June 2011
|
|
2017 | A love so beautiful | - | - | - |
UK2
platinum
(24 weeks)UK |
US151 (1 week) US |
First published: November 3rd, 2017
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
2018 | Unchained Melodies | - | - | - |
UK3
gold
(13 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: November 16, 2018
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
2019 | A Love So Beautiful / Unchained Melodies | - | - | - |
UK22 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: June 14, 2019
with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More compilations
- 1964: Exciting Sounds of Roy Orbison
- 1970: The Great Songs of Roy Orbison
- 1986: The Very Best of Roy Orbison
- 1989: The Collection
- 1989: The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison Volume One (US:platinum)
- 1989: The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison Volume Two (US:gold)
- 1996: Pretty Woman: The Best of Roy Orbison (UK:gold)
- 1998: The Big O: The Original Singles Collection (2 CDs) (UK:silver)
- 1999: 16 Biggest Hits (US:gold)
- 2001: Orbison 1955–1965 (7 CDs)
- 2002: 20 golden hits
- 2002: Big Hits from the Big O (UK:gold)
- 2003: The Hits Collection (3 CDs) (UK:silver)
- 2005: The Anthology (UK:gold)
- 2006: The Essential Roy Orbison
- 2008: Playlist: The Very Best of Roy Orbison
- 2013: Anthology (3 CDs)
- 2014: The Sun Years 1956–1958
- 2015: Roy Orbison Sings
- 2015: The Real ... (3 CDs)
- 2015: The MGM Years 1965–1973
- 2016: The Ultimate Collection (UK:gold)
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | [↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DE | AT | CH | UK | US | R&B | ||||
1956 | Ooby Dooby At the Rock House |
- | - | - | - |
US59 (8 weeks) US |
- |
First published: May 1956
with The Teen Kings Authors: Wade Moore, Allen Penner |
|
1960 | Up Town Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - | - |
US72 (6 weeks) US |
- |
First published: November 1959
Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
|
Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel) Lonely and Blue |
- | - | - |
UK1 (24 weeks) UK |
US2 (21 weeks) US |
R&B14 (7 weeks) R&B |
First published: May 1960
Grammy Hall of Fame 234th place on Rolling Stone 500 (2011 list) Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
||
Blue Angel Lonely and Blue |
- | - | - |
UK11 (16 weeks) UK |
US9 (14 weeks) US |
R&B23 (4 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 1960
Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
||
I'm hurtin ' lonely and blue |
- | - | - | - |
US27 (8 weeks) US |
- |
First published: November 1960
Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
||
1961 | Running Scared Crying |
- | - | - |
UK9 (15 weeks) UK |
US1 (17 weeks) US |
- |
First published: March 1961
Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
|
Candy Man Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - | - |
US25 (24 weeks) US |
- | |||
Cryin ' crying |
- | - | - |
UK25 (9 weeks) UK |
US2 (16 weeks) US |
- |
First published: July 1961
Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
||
1962 | Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK2 (14 weeks) UK |
US4 (12 weeks) US |
- |
First published: February 1962
Author: Cindy Walker |
|
The Crowd Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK40 (4 weeks) UK |
US26 (10 weeks) US |
- |
First published: May 1962
Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
||
Workin 'for the Man More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK50 (1 week) UK |
US33 (11 weeks) US |
- |
First published: September 1962
Author: Roy Orbison |
||
Léah More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - | - |
US25 (10 weeks) US |
- |
B-side of Workin 'for the Man
Author: Roy Orbison |
||
1963 | In Dreams In Dreams |
- | - | - |
UK6 (23 weeks) UK |
US7 (13 weeks) US |
R&B19 (3 weeks) R&B |
||
Falling More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK9 (11 weeks) UK |
US22 (8 weeks) US |
- |
First published: May 1963
Author: Roy Orbison |
||
Mean Woman Blues More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK3 (19 weeks) UK |
US5 (13 weeks) US |
R&B8 (6 weeks) R&B |
|||
Blue Bayou In Dreams |
- | - | -[UK: ↑] |
US29 (10 weeks) US |
R&B26 (3 weeks) R&B |
B-side of Mean Woman Blues
# 85 in Songs of the Century (BMI 1999 list) Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
|||
Pretty Paper More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
DE28 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK6 (11 weeks) UK |
US15 (7 weeks) US |
- |
First published: November 1963
Chart entry UK: November 1964 / DE: February 1965 Author: Willie Nelson Original: Steve Lawrence , 1963 |
||
1964 | Borne on the Wind More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK15 (10 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: February 1964
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
|
It's Over More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits |
- | - | - |
UK1 (18 weeks) UK |
US9 (11 weeks) US |
- |
First published: March 1964
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
Oh, pretty woman orbisongs |
DE1
gold
(18 weeks)DE |
AT5 (4 weeks) AT |
- |
UK1
silver
(18 weeks)UK |
US1
gold
(15 weeks)US |
- |
First published: August 1964
Grammy (Best Pop Vocal, Male) (posthumously 1990) 224th place on the Rolling Stone 500 (2011 list) Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
1965 | Goodnight orbisongs |
DE29 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK14 (9 weeks) UK |
US21 (7 weeks) US |
- |
First published: January 1965
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
|
(Say) You're My Girl Orbisongs |
- | - | - |
UK23 (8 weeks) UK |
US39 (7 weeks) US |
- |
First published: June 1965
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
Ride Away There Is Only One |
- | - | - |
UK34 (5 weeks) UK |
US25 (10 weeks) US |
- |
First published: August 1965
Author: Roy Orbison |
||
Crawlin 'Back The Orbison Way |
- | - | - |
UK19 (9 weeks) UK |
US46 (7 weeks) US |
- |
First published: October 1965
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
Let the Good Times Roll Orbisongs |
- | - | - | - |
US81 (3 weeks) US |
- | |||
1966 | Breakin 'Up Is Breakin' My Heart The Orbison Way |
- | - | - |
UK22 (6 weeks) UK |
US31 (8 weeks) US |
- |
First published: January 22, 1966
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
|
Twinkle Toes The Classic Roy Orbison |
- | - | - |
UK29 (5 weeks) UK |
US39 (6 weeks) US |
- |
First published: March 1966
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
Lana crying |
- | - | - |
UK15 (9 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: May 1966
Authors: Joe Melson, Roy Orbison |
||
Too Soon to Know Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson |
- | - | - |
UK3 (17 weeks) UK |
US68 (5 weeks) US |
- |
First published: July 1966
Author and original: Don Gibson , 1957 |
||
There Won't Be Many Coming Home The Fastest Guitar Alive |
- | - | - |
UK12 (9 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: November 1966
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
Communication Breakdown Cry Softly Lonely One |
- | - | - | - |
US60 (7 weeks) US |
- |
First published: November 1966
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
1967 | So good |
- | - | - |
UK32 (6 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: February 1967
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
|
Cry Softly Lonely One Cry Softly Lonely One |
- | - | - | - |
US52 (6 weeks) US |
- |
First published: July 1967
Authors: Don Gant, Joe Melson |
||
1968 | Walk On Roy Orbison's Many Moods |
- | - | - |
UK39 (10 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: June 1968
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
|
Heartache Roy Orbison's Many Moods |
- | - | - |
UK44 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: September 1968
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
||
1969 | My Friend The Great Songs of Roy Orbison |
- | - | - |
UK35 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: March 1969
Authors: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison |
|
Penny Arcade The Big O |
- | - | - |
UK27 (14 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: August 1969
Author: Sammy King |
||
1980 | That Lovin 'You Feelin' Again Emmylou Harris: Duets |
- | - | - | - |
US55 (8 weeks) US |
- |
First published: May 21, 1980
with Emmylou Harris from the soundtrack of the film Roadie Grammy (Best Country Duo) Authors: Chris Price, Roy Orbison |
|
1985 | Wild Hearts (… Time) Shape of the Universe: A Souvenir of Insignificance |
- | - | - |
UK76 (4 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First release: May 1985
from the soundtrack of the film Insignificance. Authors: Will Jennings , Roy Orbison |
|
1989 | You Got It Mystery Girl |
DE9 (18 weeks) DE |
AT4 (16 weeks) AT |
CH9 (11 weeks) CH |
UK3
silver
(10 weeks)UK |
US9 (18 weeks) US |
- | ||
She's a Mystery to Me Mystery Girl |
- | - | - |
UK27 (5 weeks) UK |
- | - | |||
California Blue Mystery Girl |
DE34 (15 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK77 (3 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: June 1989
Authors: Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison Producer: Jeff Lynne |
||
1992 |
I Drove All Night King of Hearts |
DE52 (10 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK7 (12 weeks) UK |
- | - | ||
Crying King of Hearts |
- | - | - |
UK13 (6 weeks) UK |
- | - | |||
Heartbreak Radio King of Hearts |
DE69 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK36 (3 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: October 26, 1992
Authors: Frankie Miller, Troy Seals Original: Frankie Miller , 1980 |
gray hatching : no chart data available for this year
More singles
- 1956: Rockhouse (released September 24th)
- 1957: Sweet and Easy to Love (with The Roses; released January 24th)
- 1957: Chicken-Hearted (release: December)
- 1958: Seems to Me (release: October)
- 1959: Almost Eighteen (released January)
- 1959: Paper Boy (release: September)
- 1960: Sweet and Easy to Love (release: November 25th)
- 1967: Sweet Dreams (released June)
- 1967: She (release: October)
- 1968: Born to Be Loved by You (release: January)
- 1969: She Cheats on Me (release: November)
- 1970: So Young (love theme from Zabriskie Point ; release: April)
- 1971: (Love Me Like You Did It) Last Night (Release: August)
- 1972: God Love You (release: February)
- 1972: Remember the Good (released June)
- 1972: Memphis, Tennessee (released September)
- 1973: Blue Rain (Coming Down) (release: February)
- 1973: I Wanna Live (released September 23)
- 1974: Sweet Mamma Blue (release: August)
- 1975: Spanish Nights (release: February)
- 1975: It's Lonely (release: October)
- 1976: Belinda (release: February)
- 1976: (I'm A) Southern Man (released September)
- 1979: Easy Way Out (release: May)
- 1979: Poor Baby (release: October)
- 2001: Domino
Video albums
- 1988: A Black and White Night (UK:platinum, US: gold)
- 1989: Live Texas 86
- 1992: I Drove All Night: Starring Jason Priestley (released May 19)
- 1998: Combo Concert: Holland 1965 (release: January 13th)
- 1999: The Anthology
- 1999: In Dreams (released November 30th)
- 2001: Live at Austin City Limit (out April 10)
- 2003: Live at Austin City Limits August 5, 1982 (released March 18)
- 2003: Greatest Hits (release: July 15th)
- 2005: Live from Australia (released April 5th)
- 2007: In Dreams (released July 30th)
- 2007: The Legend Lives On (released December 7th)
statistics
Chart evaluation
|
|
Awards for music sales
|
|
|
Note: Awards in countries from the chart tables or chart boxes can be found in these.
Country / Region | silver | gold | platinum | Sales | swell |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Awards for music sales (country / region, awards, sales, sources) |
|||||
Australia (ARIA) | - | 2 × gold2 | 22 × platinum22nd | 520,000 | aria.com.au |
Belgium (BEA) | - | gold1 | - | 25,000 | ultratop.be |
Germany (BVMI) | - | 2 × gold2 | - | 750,000 | musikindustrie.de |
Finland (IFPI) | - | gold1 | - | 48,518 | ifpi.fi |
Canada (MC) | - | 2 × gold2 | 5 × platinum5 | 510,000 | musiccanada.com |
New Zealand (RMNZ) | - | gold1 | 2 × platinum2 | 37,500 | nztop40.co.nz |
Netherlands (NVPI) | - | - | platinum1 | 100,000 | nvpi.nl |
Sweden (IFPI) | - | gold1 | platinum1 | 110,000 | sverigetopplistan.se |
Switzerland (IFPI) | - | gold1 | - | 25,000 | hitparade.ch |
Spain (Promusicae) | - | gold1 | platinum1 | 150,000 | mediafire.com |
United States (RIAA) | - | 7 × gold7th | 2 × platinum2 | 5,550,000 | riaa.com |
United Kingdom (BPI) | 6 × silver6th | 9 × gold9 | 6 × platinum6th | 3,090,000 | bpi.co.uk |
All in all | 6 × silver6th | 28 × gold28 | 40 × platinum40 |
swell
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources: Singles Albums DE UK US
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
- ↑ a b c RS500 Songs (List 2011)
- ↑ BMI (list 1999)
- ^ Günter Ehnert: Hit balance sheet - German chart singles 1956-1980 . 1st edition. Verlag popular music-literature, Norderstedt 2000, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 445 .
- ↑ Gold for You Got It in Australia
- ↑ Gold for Mystery Girl in Sweden (PDF file) ( Memento from May 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ 3 × platinum for Mystery Girl in Australia
Web links
- Roy Orbison at Allmusic (English)
- Roy Orbison at Discogs (English)