Customer Reviews

Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my first real read about Roy Orbison, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Living in middle TN, I knew the Orbisons lived north of Nashville. I was so into the subject that I drove to Nashville to find some of the sites mentioned in the book! (Nashville is a big place, and so far I have only visited Claudette and her children's grave at Woodlawn Cemetery). A few times, I did feel like the book threw out a lot of names to keep up with, but the index helped me with any quick refreshers. I recommend reading this book and then read Rave On, about Buddy Holly and you'll get a good idea of the early rock music activity in west Texas.

Dark Star chronicles the life of the big O from boyhood. It doesnt jump about like some biographies that get lost on the way. There are comments from those who not only new and liked him but also those who were slightly put out by some decisions that were made, by others, on his behalf. Not that he agreed with those decisions e.g. going from The Candymen to Roy Orbison and the Candymen. All in all a very informative book which includes a bibliography of his singles at the back.
John Keeble U.K.

After reading this book Roy s music took on a whole new meaning to me. What a tradgic life for a remarkable man who was admired and respected by his peers. A person and voice we could only dream of having. I also need a copy,can anyone help me?

This is a book that should be read by anyone that ever wondered what the private life of Roy Orbison was like. He was an unlikely superstar that will be remembered for his heartfelt ballads and songs of young love. This is a must read.

I am happily reading this book at the moment. Roy Orbison was a truly unique talent. Everyone should own at least one of his tapes or CD's. This book is well written and tugs at my heart. I plan to keep it in my personal library 'til death do us part.'

This was a good book about a singer I liked. It gave some insight into his personal life and how he was not always there for his children, his younger children. But it was a fast read and I would recommend it to all Roy Orbison fans.

One of the most peculiar biographies I've ever read. The whole thing felt distanced. Interviews with friends and very few family members produced a few tales of specific events, but I never got the feeling the author had much understanding of Orbison's personality. Repeatedly the author would tell a story about Roy's success or his ability to produce songs, then conclude the paragraph with, what I can only call, a 'snarky' comment. While we know Orbison experienced many problems in his life, perhaps some of them of his own making, it almost seemed the author was clumsily trying to inject doubt into his legend. The earlier part of the book about Roy's raising in TX was better. As the book wanders into his stardom the book takes a sarcastic turn and over and over comments about perceived selfishness, drug abuse, indifference to others, or egotism. Problem is - there is very little to support these claims. Was this Orbison's real personality? Without more facts (and there were precious few) it's hard to tell. But I found it weird to read this much material, twisted to the negative, yet still not see any true interest in the subject on the part of the author. It read almost like a senior paper with topic assigned.

I was also surprised that this book received so many great reviews. I am a huge Roy Orbison fan, and I was very disappointed by this biography. I found a lot of the book to be very negative, and it was contradictory to everything else I have read and heard about this great artist. The author talks about alcohol and drug abuse that seems unsubstantiated. Orbison is also described here as lazy and an egotist. To me, it seems that the author took the opinion of those he wanted to believe and stated these as fact, instead of reporting all opinions and letting the reader make his own decision. I was disappointed in this book, since I felt I could not tell which information was true, and much of it was very negative.

This book was excellent! I have been a Roy Orbison fan since I was 12 years old & I am 54 now. Once you start reading this book, you just can not put it down. You will feel like you know Roy as if he were your next door neighbor. This book shows every aspect of Roy's life, how he made mistakes in his life and was not perfect. His life was sad & tragic at times, and the author shows his will to make his comeback into the spotlight, and Roy was on top once again, when he passed away so suddenly. I have actually read it twice, because the book is so outstanding. If you love Roy Orbison, as I do, buy this book. You will treasure it for the rest of you life.

At first I thought this biography was a little one-sided in favor of the famous rock singer but then, the warts on Roy Orbison also were presented, leaving a pretty balanced account. I guess we can all make up our own mind about this mysterious loner who possessed one of the unique voices in rock 'n roll history.

The more I have listened to Orbison the past 20 years - thanks in large part to the incredible "A Black And White Night" concert video - the more I appreciate his talents and was glad the man got his due before he died.

The book gives you an idea of the incredible roller coaster of a ride this man led: so many ups-and-downs, tragedies and high points. It seems to go with the territory of those early "rockabilly" stars of the '50s; they led amazing (and usually short-lived) lives. Orbison is no exception, which makes this an interesting read.