Roy Orbison: Invention Of An Alternative Rock Masculinity (Sound Matters) [Paperback]

Peter Lehman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Sound Matters | Publication Date: June 13, 2003

Roy Orbison's music - whether heard in his own recordings or in cover versions of his songs - is a significant part of contemporary American culture despite the fact that he died almost a generation ago. Few of today's listeners know or remember how startlingly unique he seemed at the height of his career in the early 1960s. In this book, Peter Lehman looks at the long span of Orbison's career and probes into the uniqueness of his songs, singing, and performance style, arguing that singer/songwriters no less than filmmakers can be considered as auteurs. Unlike other pop stars, Orbison was a constant presence on the Top 40, but virtually invisible in the media during his heyday. Ignoring the conventions of pop music, he wrote complex songs and sang them with a startling vocal range and power. Wearing black clothes and glasses and standing motionless on stage, he rejected the macho self confidence and strutting that characterized the male rockers of his time. He sang about a man lost in a world of loneliness and fear, one who cried in the dark or escaped into a dream world, the only place his desires could be fulfilled. This was a man who reveled in passivity, pain, and loss. Lehman traces Orbison's development of this alternative masculinity and the use of his music in films by Wim Wenders and David Lynch. Widely admired by fellow musicians from Elvis to Jagger, Springsteen and Bono, Orbison still attracts new listeners. As a devoted fan and insightful scholar, Lehman gives us a fascinating account of 'the greatest white singer on the planet', and a new approach to understanding individual singer/songwriters. Author note: Peter Lehman is Director of the Interdisciplinary Humanities Program at Arizona State University. He is the author of "Running Scared: Masculinity and the Representation of the Male Body (Temple)", and the editor of "Masculinity Bodies/Movies/Culture".

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book offers a fascinating study of Roy Orbison (1936-1988) as both an auteur and a valuable model for the study of popular culture artists...Lehman generally displays virtuosic interpretative skills...[his] book offers an excellent model for writing about popular culture artists. Avoiding the pitfall of a fan's obsessive recounting of biographical and recording trivia, he conveys an admirer's enthusiasm and a humanist's interpretative skills in lively and clear prose." Men and Masculinities "a bravura analysis of Roy Orbison's 'persona'...smart, provocative, eminently readable" American Studies "Peter Lehman's Roy Orbison probes the mind and psyche of American pop music's mystery man better than anything I've ever read. By exploring the depths of Roy Orbison's talents and tracking a remarkable but uncharacteristic career path, Lehman instills new passion for the man's music. Yet we are left in awe by this dark and obsessive artist whose humble beginnings belie his creative genius. To borrow a time-worn cliche, there will never be another Roy Orbison--and there may well never be another book as penetrating and revealing as this." --Terry Lickona, Producer, Austin City Limits "In what is essentially an extension and expansion of his Running Scared: Masculinity and the Representation of the Male Body, Lehman here dissects Orbison, his 1957-87 oeuvre, and his influence in exacting--and often excruciating--detail. Caveat: this is not a biography of Orbison per se. Instead, using the language and the tools of poststructuralism, Lehman proffers an analysis of Orbison's locus within the black/white, effeminate/macho, rock/pop dialectics that are so often (and perhaps too readily) used to define popular singers of the late Fifties and early Sixties--a locus, which Lehman fails to note, shared with the equally popular and influential Buddy Holly. " --Bill Piekarski, Lackawanna, NY, Library Journal "Lehman sheds new light on Orbison's elusive character...this is a skillfully written book dealing with Orbison's darker, masochistic side." --Record Collector Magazine, 4-star (out of 5) review

From the Publisher

Fans called this singer/songwriter "The Voice"

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press; 1 edition (June 13, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592130372
• ISBN-13: 978-1592130375
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my thoughts on Lehmer's book about Roy Orbison, September 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Roy Orbison: Invention Of An Alternative Rock Masculinity (Sound Matters) (Paperback)

I have finished reading this book. It is hard for me
to imagine a stronger case ever made in favor of Roy
Orbison. The author clearly loves Roy Orbison's music
with a passion. Rather than present the usual
chronological biographical narative, the author has
written a scholarly analysis of Roy's:
a) personality
b) music composing style
c) lyric content
d) stage presentation
e) media image
with a psychological analysis of each component listed
above. Throughout he continually stresses that during
Roy's musical formative era (the Sun label period of
the 1950s) and the hit making era (the Monument label
period of the first half of the 1960s) Roy, by virtue
of his own personality and lyrical content did not
reflect the usual masculine mainstream personality so
common at the time. By offering a different approach
and style to masculinity he was something of a godsend
to those men and women who did not conform to or
particularly appreciate the prevailing style of
masculinity. What an original approach to presenting
the life story of Roy Orbison!

I particularly like the emphasis on the idea that the
commonly held visual image of Roy with the dark
clothes, hair, and glasses DID NOT become fully
cultivated until AFTER his hit making era was OVER. I
have always thought that this was a particularly
important point and the author clearly shared this
viewpoint.

I throughly enjoyed reading this book. I recommend it
to other fans of Roy Orbison.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and interesting analysis, May 30, 2006

By 

T. Sable "Media Fan" (Bay Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Roy Orbison: Invention Of An Alternative Rock Masculinity (Sound Matters) (Paperback)

As an Orbison fan since 1960, when I was ten, I was happy to see a recent book about The Big O. Few really have been written since his untimely death. This one presents, rather than a biography, an analysis of his music as it relates to what became known as a rather dark persona. The book was fascinating to me as a long time Orbison fan, and I found it difficult to put down. I often agreed with Lehman's conclusions and thought he himself had to be a bigger fan than me (which I didn't think was possible) to write such in-depth analyses of Orbison's music.

The only issues I take with the book is that its readability slows down greatly in the chapter devoted to David Lynch's use of "In Dreams" in the movie Blue Velvet. This was overanalyzed and boring if one hasn't seen the movie. Secondly, I would have dismissed in a page or two the perverted use of "Oh, Pretty Woman" by 2 Live Crew and the surrounding court cases. To me, legal and fair use arguments aside - no matter how important legally - to devote a chapter to a vulgar, perhaps racist rap group that saw the original song as "white bread" (and didn't get it that it wasn't about a prostitute to begin with) to belittle and make fun of, is to give them too much credibility and legitimacy. They will long be forgotten before Orbison.

Otherwise, it's a good and interesting read and worth the time for Roy's fans.

11 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Personal Review of Peter Lehman's book, July 17, 2003

By 

C. BRAZIL (San Jose, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Roy Orbison: Invention Of An Alternative Rock Masculinity (Sound Matters) (Paperback)

I truly felt that Mr Lehman's writing was way too analytical. He analyzed to the hilt the songs Roy wrote, the way he dressed, etc. I think Mr Lehman read way too much into the way Roy Orbison performed his songs...the writing of his songs.

I believe Roy knew what listeners of the time liked and wanted. I believe the dark glasses and dark clothing were just the way he wanted to market himself....to stand out from the crowd....not because of some deep dark pain as Mr. Lehman suggests.....

But, then again, I thought (mistakenly) this book was going to be an biography, not an analytical writing.

Sorry about that..

~Cissy