Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash; A Story of Friendship

Roy Orbison had the voice of a lonely angel locked out in the cold, desperately pleading to be allowed inside where it was safe and warm.

 

For many years, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash were close friends and Memphis neighbors. 

In 1966,  Roy and his wife, Claudette, (for whom Roy wrote the eponymous hit for The Everly Brothers), were riding motorcycles together when she was struck and killed by a truck that ran a stop light.

Two years later, while he was away on tour, two of Roy's three young sons were at home playing with matches and an aerosol can, which exploded. The fire spread so quickly that when the boy’s grandparents opened the door to the room, the resulting blast knocked them to the other side of the house. The children were lost. By the time Roy made it home, all that was left of the home was the chimney.

Roy moved in with his parents and became a recluse, refusing to see or talk to anyone. When Johnny visited, he found Roy sitting in his room staring at a television, with no sound on. Cash told him that he loved him and was there for him. Orbison said he did not know how to cope with his grief.

Eventually, Johnny Cash bought the burned lot where he planted an orchard in memory to the Orbison children. 

In 1969, Orbison remarried and had two more sons. Johnny and June Carter Cash were the boys' godparents. 

Roy's career went into a long eclipse until a younger generation of performers including Bruce Springsteen* took note of his influence and the unique power of his music and brought him to the attention of their audiences, . 

In December, 1988 just as his star was rising once again, Orbison spent the night visiting with his eldest surviving son, Wesley, from whom he had been estranged. The two stayed up all night singing together and writing songs. The following day, Roy died of a sudden heart attack. He was 52 years old.

Several years after Roy's death, Johnny Cash saw Wesley standing in the orchard on the lot where his brothers died. Cash asked Wesley why he was there. Wesley replied that it comforted him. Together, they gathered fruit from the orchard that Wesley took with him. 

Soon afterwards, John and June gifted the lot to Wesley, who maintains the orchard to this day. 

*“Roy Orbison was the true master of the romantic apocalypse you dreaded, and knew was coming after the first night you whispered ‘I Love You’ to your first girlfriend. You were going down. Roy was the coolest uncool loser you’d ever seen. With his Coke-bottle black glasses, his 3-octave range, he seemed to take joy sticking his knife deep into the hot belly of your teenage insecurities.” - Bruce Springsteen

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