Roy Orbison ‘learned the blues before he had pair of shoes’

Singing superstar Roy Orbison had a guitar before he had a pair of shoes, according to his son.

The star, nicknamed The Big O, came from a poor background and achieved success through sheer persistence, his son Alex Orbison said.

The 40-year-old said having Orbison as a father was “very cool” and that he never gets tired of hearing his big hit ‘Oh Pretty Woman’ which was written in less than an hour.

The musician, who died in 1988 aged just 52, is the subject of a documentary, told through his own voice and featuring unseen performances and home movies, which will be broadcast on BBC Four tonight.

Speaking ahead of the programme, Alex Orbison said: “When people think of Roy Orbison they just think of ‘Pretty Woman’ and my dad already being famous.”

He added: “I don’t think he had a pair of shoes until he was 11 years old.

“He had a guitar before he had a pair of shoes.

“My dad, in his own voice, speaks of my grandparents walking from Oklahoma to Texas, which in European terms would be like walking from Paris to Madrid or something like that.

And they walked, and they were happy because they found a cigarette they were able to share on the side of the road.”

Alex Orbison, whose godfather is Johnny Cash, said his father and songwriting partner Bill Dees knew they were on to something special.

“He said the best songs take under an hour and the worst ones never get finished.”

Roy Orbison: One Of The Lonely Ones is on BBC Four at 9pm tonight.