Remember When: The Stars Came Out to Pay Tribute to Roy Orbison in ‘A Black and White Night’

In the final few years of his life, Roy Orbison enjoyed a surge of activity after a long fallow period in his career. He also started to receive recognition from his peers, who understood just how much Orbison meant to music.

In September 1987, Orbison got together with some of the brightest lights in music for a concert in Los Angeles. The show, later dubbed A Black and White Night: Roy Orbison and Friends because black and white film was used in the video of the performance, solidified the legend’s return to prominence. Sadly, it would also act as a kind of farewell, because by the time the wider public saw the show on TV and video, the music legend had passed away.

An Orbison-ian Revival

Because we remember so well the impressive string of successes in which Roy Orbison basked at the end of his life, it’s easy to forget how far off the radar he had been for almost two decades prior to that. It seemed he was doomed to be an oldies act and nothing more, which, considering the status of his catalog, was nothing to sneeze at.

But as the ‘80s progressed, Orbison’s name and music started to creep back into the cultural conversation. Cover versions of his classics by artists as diverse as Don McLean and Van Halen popped up on the Billboard charts. David Lynch’s unforgettable use of the song “In Dreams” in the film Blue Velvet captured the otherworldly qualities of his music. Popular artists called Orbison in for duets.

That set the tone for 1987, which is when the comeback really hit its stride. It started with his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which came with Bruce Springsteen giving a moving speech on Orbison’s behalf. Orbison also began work on a new album, his first since 1979.

The show that would be called A Black and White Night took place on September 30, 1987, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. It was an invite-only event, and it wasn’t a typical concert in that there were occasional retakes to get everything right for the video special. What really set it apart from a typical show were the performers who joined Orbison on stage.

Roy’s Backing Band

Short of Live Aid, it was rare to find as much talent on one stage during that era as the group that joined Orbison that unforgettable evening. Among those in the band, either playing instruments or just singing backup: Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Tom Waits, and Bonnie Raitt. Elvis Costello was also out there, and he had the honor of hearing Orbison do a stirring rendering of Elvis’ “The Comedians.”

But the stars were just window dressing. The night belonged to Orbison, as he took a stroll through his incredible catalog of hits, many of which he had also written. Of course, that meant he sang his showstopping ballads: “Crying,” “In Dreams,” “Running Scared,” and “It’s Over.” Orbison hit every one of the operatic high notes on those songs without even seeming to strain.

The big names on the stage with him added vocals or occasional guitar licks, but mostly they stood by in adoration of Orbison’s songs and performances. It was a show that sustained Orbison’s sudden momentum, which was about to pick up in a big way.

Triumph, Then Tragedy

The broadcast of A Black and White Night debuted on American television in January 1988. Orbison continued to put together his new solo album, with an incredible roster of heavyweights helping hm to do it. One of those top names was ELO’s Jeff Lynne, and as the two men were having dinner together one night in the spring, George Harrison reached out to ask for help on a song.

That led to the creation of the Traveling Wilburys, which only drove up the anticipation for Orbison’s new album, Mystery Girl. Sadly, before that album could be released, he died of a heart attack on December 6.

It was a crushing twist of fate that the world had to say farewell to Roy Orbison just as he was reintroducing himself in such a major way. But at least he completed A Black and White Night, a performance that encapsulated everything that made him so special.

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