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American singer-songwriter known for his powerful, operatic voice, complex ballads of love and loss, and distinctive appearance often featuring dark sunglasses.Roy Orbison rose to fame in the early 1960s with a string of dramatic, orchestrated pop-rock hits. Despite profound personal tragedies, he maintained a successful career, experiencing a major resurgence in the late 1980s as a member of the supergroup Traveling Wilburys. He is celebrated as one of rock music's most unique and influential vocalists and songwriters.

• Orbison experienced devastating personal loss: his first wife, Claudette, died in a motorcycle accident in 1966. Just two years later, in 1968, two of his three young sons died in a house fire while he was touring in England.
• He was known for his extremely shy and reserved personality offstage, contrasting sharply with his powerful stage presence. His iconic dark sunglasses became a permanent part of his image partly due to severe stage fright and later due to poor eyesight.
• Orbison battled severe depression and career decline in the 1970s following the deaths in his family, but he persevered and gradually rebuilt his career.
• He achieved a remarkable career resurgence in the late 1980s. He recorded a successful new solo album ('Mystery Girl') and, crucially, co-founded the supergroup Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. This brought him renewed massive popularity and critical acclaim.
• Orbison died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988, at the age of 52. He had spent the day playing tennis with his sons and died at his mother's house in Hendersonville, Tennessee, just as his remarkable comeback was reaching its peak. The 'Mystery Girl' album and the Traveling Wilburys' first volume were both released posthumously to great success.