Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night
Encyclopedia
Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night is a 1988 Cinemax
television special originally broadcast on January 3, 1988 starring Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Roy Orbison
. The special was filmed entirely in black and white. A live album was released following the broadcast.
, filmed on September 30, 1987, approximately a year before his death. Three songs, "Blue Bayou
", "Claudette", and "Blue Angel", were filmed but not included in the original broadcast due to time constraints.
Put together by musical director T-Bone Burnett
, Orbison was accompanied by a supporting backing band which included many notable musical performers. All were fans who volunteered to participate in the special. Other celebrity admirers of Orbison were in the audience, including Billy Idol
, Patrick Swayze
, Sandra Bernhard
, and Kris Kristofferson
. The backing band was the TCB Band
, which accompanied Elvis Presley
from 1969 until his death in 1977: Glen D. Hardin
on piano, James Burton
on lead guitar, Jerry Scheff
on bass, and Ronnie Tutt on drums. Male background vocalists, some of whom also joined in on guitar, were Bruce Springsteen
, Tom Waits
, Elvis Costello
, Jackson Browne
, J.D. Souther, and Steven Soles
. The female background vocalists were k.d. lang
, Jennifer Warnes
, and Bonnie Raitt
. During the end credits, several of the band members are shown talking about how Orbison influenced them.
The song "Oh, Pretty Woman
" from this performance, which features dueling guitar solos between Springsteen and Burton, was nominated for a Grammy Award
for best live performance. Re-released as part of a CD bearing the same title as the motion picture, the song won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
.
The audio from this special was released as an album
by Virgin Records
in 1989, titled A Black & White Night Live
.
, Laserdisc
, DVD
, HD DVD
, and Blu-ray
. The soundtrack has been released on CD, SACD
that features both Stereo and Multi Channel Mixes, and DVD-Audio
.
The Laserdisc and DVD releases both contain the two previously unreleased songs "Blue Bayou" and "Claudette". The HD DVD, released in 2007, and the Blu-ray, released in September 2008, include those two songs as well as the previously-unreleased song "Blue Angel" as a bonus track.
The DVD features standard definition 480i video in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio and three lossy soundtracks: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1
The Blu-ray features high definition 1080i video in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and two lossless
soundtracks: DTS-HD Master Audio
5.1 and LPCM 2.0
The HD DVD features high definition 1080i video in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and at least one lossless soundtrack: Dolby TrueHD
5.1 Surround
, was compiled and released posthumously from the television special. The album was released in February 1989 and included the songs "Blue Bayou" and "Claudette" that were cut from the original broadcast for time. However it did not include the song "Blue Angel" which was cut from the original broadcast for the same reason.
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
television special originally broadcast on January 3, 1988 starring Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
. The special was filmed entirely in black and white. A live album was released following the broadcast.
Background
The special consisted of a performance of many of Orbison's hits at the then Ambassador Hotel's Cocoanut Grove nightclub (Los Angeles) in Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, filmed on September 30, 1987, approximately a year before his death. Three songs, "Blue Bayou
Blue Bayou
"Blue Bayou" is the title of a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison.-Roy Orbison version:A plaintive ballad, it was originally released by Orbison as a 45rpm single on the Monument Records label in August 1963 ."Blue Bayou" also appears on Orbison's 1963 album, In Dreams...
", "Claudette", and "Blue Angel", were filmed but not included in the original broadcast due to time constraints.
Put together by musical director T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
, Orbison was accompanied by a supporting backing band which included many notable musical performers. All were fans who volunteered to participate in the special. Other celebrity admirers of Orbison were in the audience, including Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, Patrick Swayze
Patrick Swayze
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
, Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard
Sandra Bernhard is an American comedian, singer, actress and author. She first gained attention in the late 1970s with her stand-up comedy in which she often bitterly critiques celebrity culture and political figures. Bernhard is number 97 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest standups of...
, and Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
. The backing band was the TCB Band
TCB Band
The TCB Band was a group of professional musicians who formed the core rhythm section of Elvis Presley’s band from August 1969 until his death in 1977. TCB stands for Taking Care of Business, a personal motto Presley adopted in the early 1970s...
, which accompanied Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
from 1969 until his death in 1977: Glen D. Hardin
Glen Hardin
Glen D. Hardin is an American piano player, songwriter and arranger. He has performed and recorded with such notable artists as Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, John Denver, Ricky Nelson and many others.-Career:...
on piano, James Burton
James Burton
James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
on lead guitar, Jerry Scheff
Jerry Scheff
Jerry Obern Scheff is an American bassist, perhaps best known for his work with Elvis Presley in the early 1970s as a member of his TCB Band and his work on The Doors' final recordings....
on bass, and Ronnie Tutt on drums. Male background vocalists, some of whom also joined in on guitar, were Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, J.D. Souther, and Steven Soles
Steven Soles
Steven Soles is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and guitarist.Known also as J. Steven Soles, he was asked by Bob Dylan to join the band for his 1975-1976 "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour, and he also played with Dylan on Street Legal and the following tour, including the live album Bob...
. The female background vocalists were k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
, and Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
. During the end credits, several of the band members are shown talking about how Orbison influenced them.
The song "Oh, Pretty Woman
Oh, Pretty Woman
"Oh, Pretty Woman" is a song, released in August 1964, which was a worldwide success for Roy Orbison. Recorded on the Monument Records label in Nashville, Tennessee, it was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100...
" from this performance, which features dueling guitar solos between Springsteen and Burton, was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for best live performance. Re-released as part of a CD bearing the same title as the motion picture, the song won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was awarded between 1966 and 2011...
.
The audio from this special was released as an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
in 1989, titled A Black & White Night Live
A Black & White Night Live
A Black & White Night Live is a Roy Orbison music album made posthumously by Virgin Records from the HBO television broadcast, Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night. The album was released in 1989 and included the songs "Blue Bayou" and "Claudette" that because of time constraints had...
.
Releases
The concert has been released in several home video formats, including VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
, Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, HD DVD
HD DVD
HD DVD is a discontinued high-density optical disc format for storing data and high-definition video.Supported principally by Toshiba, HD DVD was envisioned to be the successor to the standard DVD format...
, and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
. The soundtrack has been released on CD, SACD
Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
that features both Stereo and Multi Channel Mixes, and DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
.
The Laserdisc and DVD releases both contain the two previously unreleased songs "Blue Bayou" and "Claudette". The HD DVD, released in 2007, and the Blu-ray, released in September 2008, include those two songs as well as the previously-unreleased song "Blue Angel" as a bonus track.
The DVD features standard definition 480i video in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio and three lossy soundtracks: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1
The Blu-ray features high definition 1080i video in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and two lossless
Lossless data compression
Lossless data compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. The term lossless is in contrast to lossy data compression, which only allows an approximation of the original data to be reconstructed, in exchange...
soundtracks: DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD Master Audio
DTS-HD Master Audio is a lossless audio codec created by Digital Theater System. It was previously known as DTS++. It is an extension of DTS which, when played back on devices which do not support the Master Audio or High Resolution extension, degrades to a "core" track which is lossy. DTS-HD...
5.1 and LPCM 2.0
- Also features the lossy soundtrack Dolby Digital 5.1 and, by extension, the lossy DTS core of the DTS-HD MA
The HD DVD features high definition 1080i video in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and at least one lossless soundtrack: Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD
Dolby TrueHD is an advanced lossless multi-channel audio codec developed by Dolby Laboratories which is intended primarily for high-definition home-entertainment equipment such as Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. It is the successor to the AC-3 Dolby Digital surround sound codec which was used as the...
5.1 Surround
Soundtrack
Black & White Night, the live albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, was compiled and released posthumously from the television special. The album was released in February 1989 and included the songs "Blue Bayou" and "Claudette" that were cut from the original broadcast for time. However it did not include the song "Blue Angel" which was cut from the original broadcast for the same reason.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Roy Orbison; except where indicated- "Only The LonelyOnly the Lonely"Only the Lonely " is a 1960 song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. Recorded by Orbison, it became his first major hit. As an operatic rock ballad, it was a sound unheard of at the time, described by the New York Times as expressing "a clenched, driven urgency". It is seen as a seminal event...
" (Orbison, Joe MelsonJoe MelsonJoe Melson , is an American singer and a BMI Award–winning songwriter.Melson was born in Bonham, the seat of Fannin County in northeast Texas. He was reared on a farm until he was sixteen. He attended high school in Gore, Oklahoma, and in Chicago before he returned to Texas to study at the two-year...
) - "Dream BabyDream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"Dream Baby " is the title of a song written by Cindy Walker which was first recorded and released by Roy Orbison in 1962....
" (Cindy WalkerCindy WalkerCindy Walker was a prolific American songwriter, as well as a country music singer and dancer. As a songwriter Walker was responsible for a large number of popular and enduring songs recorded by many different artists. She adopted a craftsman-like approach to her songwriting, often tailoring...
) - "Blue BayouBlue Bayou"Blue Bayou" is the title of a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison.-Roy Orbison version:A plaintive ballad, it was originally released by Orbison as a 45rpm single on the Monument Records label in August 1963 ."Blue Bayou" also appears on Orbison's 1963 album, In Dreams...
" (Orbison, Joe Melson) - "The Comedians" (Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
) - "Ooby Dooby" (Dick Penner, Wade Moore)
- "Leah" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
- "Running Scared"Running Scared (song)"Running Scared" is a 1961 American pop song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison. An operatic rock ballad, the song was released as a 45rpm single by Monument Records in March 1961 and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Running Scared" also reached #9 in the...
(Orbison, Joe Melson) - "Uptown" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
- "In DreamsIn Dreams (song)Recorded in Monument's Nashville studios in early 1963, "In Dreams" peaked at number 7 on Billboards Hot 100 and spent 13 weeks on the charts in the U.S. During the five months the song was on the charts, Orbison replaced guitarist Duane Eddy on a tour of England. He was immensely popular in...
" (Orbison) - "Crying" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
- "Candy Man" (Fred NeilFred NeilFred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...
, Beverly "Ruby" RossRonald & RubyRonald & Ruby were an American interracial pop vocal duo, best known for their 1958 hit single "Lollipop".The duo's members were the black Ronald Gumm and the white Beverly "Ruby" Ross; interracial pop groups were a rarity at this time, and the group did not appear in public or in major press and...
) - "Go Go Go (Down the Line)Go Go Go (Down the Line)"Go Go Go " is a song by Roy Orbison, released in 1956.It has been covered by Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Hollies and Cliff Richard among others...
" - "Mean Woman BluesMean Woman Blues"Mean Woman Blues" is a 12-bar blues song written by Claude Demetrius. It was recorded by Elvis Presley as part of the soundtrack for his 1957 motion picture, Loving You. Presley also released the song on Side 2 of a four-song EP record...
" (Claude DemetriusClaude DemetriusClaude Demetrius was an African American songwriter.Born in Bath, Maine, by his early twenties he was in New York City writing music for and/or with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Witherspoon and B.B. King. Demetrius wrote the 1945 musical comedy short film Open the Door, Richard...
) - "(All I Can Do is) Dream You" (Billy BurnetteBilly BurnetteWilliam Beau "Billy" Burnette III is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter who was part of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1987 to 1995. Burnette also had a brief career in acting.-Family background:...
, David Malloy) - "Claudette" (Orbison)
- "It's Over" (Orbison, Bill DeesBill DeesWilliam "Bill" Dees is an American musician most famous for his song writing collaborations with singer Roy Orbison.-Career:...
) - "Oh, Pretty WomanOh, Pretty Woman"Oh, Pretty Woman" is a song, released in August 1964, which was a worldwide success for Roy Orbison. Recorded on the Monument Records label in Nashville, Tennessee, it was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100...
" (Orbison, Bill Dees)
Personnel
- Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
: lead vocals, guitar, harmonica - Glen D. Hardin: piano
- James BurtonJames BurtonJames Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...
: lead guitar - Jerry ScheffJerry ScheffJerry Obern Scheff is an American bassist, perhaps best known for his work with Elvis Presley in the early 1970s as a member of his TCB Band and his work on The Doors' final recordings....
: upright bass - Ronnie Tutt: drums
- Jackson BrowneJackson BrowneJackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
: backing vocals - T Bone Burnett: acoustic guitar; musical director
- Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
: acoustic guitar, electric organ, harmonica - k.d. langK.D. LangKathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
: backing vocals - Bonnie RaittBonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
: backing vocals - J. D. SoutherJ. D. SoutherJohn David Souther is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written numerous hits songs recorded by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Glenn Frey of the Eagles.-Singing career:...
: backing vocals; acoustic guitar; vocal arrangements - Steven SolesSteven SolesSteven Soles is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and guitarist.Known also as J. Steven Soles, he was asked by Bob Dylan to join the band for his 1975-1976 "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour, and he also played with Dylan on Street Legal and the following tour, including the live album Bob...
: backing vocals - Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
: guitar, vocals - Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
: electric organ, acoustic guitar - Jennifer WarnesJennifer WarnesJennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
: backing vocals - Alex AcuñaAlex AcuñaAlejandro Neciosup Acuña aka Alex Acuña is a Peruvian drummer and percussionist, in the Afro-Cuban jazz style.Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands from the age of ten, and moved to Lima as a teenager. At the age of eighteen he joined the band of Perez Prado, and in 1967 he moved...
: percussion - Michael UtleyMichael UtleyMichael Utley, often credited as Mike Utley, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. He is the musical director of the band...
: keyboard
External links
- review by Ian Grant http://www.epinions.com/content_103463489156
- review by Colin Jacobson http://www.dvdmg.com/orbison.shtml