There is only one Roy Orbison. And there are many.

Blue-Haired Rockabillys, Japanese leather rockers, All-American college girls whose favorite m...

There is only one Roy Orbison. And there are many.

Blue-Haired Rockabillys, Japanese leather rockers, All-American college girls whose favorite movie is Pretty Woman, Elvis-lovers, country music fans, 15-year-old Goths who paint their fingernails black, Pavarotti and classical music buffs, Ramones punk rockers, Johnny Cash disciples, and good old fashioned Roy Orbison diehards who have stood by him from the beginning.

They all see a different Roy Orbison. They all see their own Roy Orbison.

Roy Orbison stands alone on a lofty branch in the Family tree of Rock And Roll. Yet in the history of recorded music, He was closer to the roots. By the time He cut his first single, "Ooby Dooby" (Sun 242), in May of 1956 at Sam Phillips' Mecca of Rock & Roll, Sun Studios, Orbison was already a veteran musician. With his own radio show for ten years, and a television show in Texas with his band, The Teen Kings, his largest audience was over ten-thousand people by the time He was 17.

His musical world was equal parts country and blues, with a few extra elements added in. The regional Mexican music that seeped in on the airwaves left an indelible stain on him very early in life (the Mexican music, itself a mixture of Spanish and American-Indian music, had dramatic rhythms and smoothly sung melodies). Another necessary ingredient was the profound effect of American cinema. John Wayne actually had a generation of kids like Elvis, Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison believing they could do anything they set their minds to.

And do they did. (from the liner notes by Roy Orbison, Jr)

The Soul Of Rock And Roll is a brand new box set - the first of its kind - to completely survey the career of Roy Orbison. From his very first band The Teen Kings through the legendary Sun sessions to the massive Monument hits, his tenure at MGM, and his amazing Virgin albums - with many rare and previously unreleased tracks woven in between. Never before has Roy's complete body of work been given the care and attention it is now with this comprehensive box set.

HIGHLIGHTS
•107 songs on 4 CDs
•Includes all of Roy's best known songs - from "Ooby Dooby" to "Only The Lonely" to "You Got It" AND Roy's signature Traveling Wilburys song "Not Alone Any More"
•Features 12 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED tracks
•Includes 8 unheard Acuff/Rose publishing demos
•For the first time - "It's Over" from Roy's very last concert
•Limited Edition DELUXE box set covered in white linen
•80 page book includes new liner notes from Barbara Orbison, Fred Foster, Joe Melson, Roy Jr and a host of testimonials from friends and fans.

Roy Orbison - The Soul of Rock and Roll will be available everywhere on September 30.