Joe Melson (1935-2026), Roy Orbison's Collaborator

With the passing of Orbison's co-writer, I revisit the man with the golden voice and ubiquitous sunglasses

The passing of Joe Melson last week made me revisit Roy Orbison, one of pop’s most fascinating songwriters who also had one of the most beautiful singing voices of the 1960s. His music style blended rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, doo-wop and country, and Melson was Orbison’s songwriting partner on many hits. In all, they wrote more than 200 songs together—both of them weighing in on the words and music. Today, a deep dive into Orbison and 10 video clips. [Photo above of Joe Melson and Roy Orbison, courtesy of RoyOrbison.com]