Saturday, April 20, at the Dekker Centre for The Performing Arts in North Battleford.
The聽Big O聽was unmistakable with his trademark sunglasses, distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions and dark emotional ballads. From 1960 to 鈥�64,聽Roy Orbison聽landed 22 songs on the聽Billboard Top 40, including 鈥淥nly The Lonely,鈥� 鈥淐rying鈥� and 鈥淥h, Pretty Woman.鈥� His impassioned voice, bridging the gap between baritone and tenor, coupled with his signature arrangements ensured the charting of the hits 鈥淒ream Baby,鈥� 鈥淥oby Dooby,鈥� 鈥淏lue Angel,鈥� 鈥淏lue Bayou,鈥� 鈥淵ou Got It鈥� and 鈥淚n Dreams鈥�.聽Mike Demers聽delivers a spot-on performance of Orbison鈥檚 signature sound.
As a part of聽The Travelling Wilburys, Orbison brought us 鈥淓nd of the Line,鈥� 鈥淗andle With Care鈥� and 鈥淵ou're Not Alone Anymore鈥�.聽A prolific writer, Orbison pitched 鈥淐laudette鈥� to聽The Everly Brothers. The track was a聽co-number one聽with the Everlys鈥� 鈥淎ll I Have to Do is Dream.鈥澛� Orbison and The Everly Brothers tore the house down on TV鈥檚聽Shindig聽performing Roy鈥檚 鈥淲hat鈥檇 I Say.鈥�
The Everly Brothers聽charted聽31 singles on the Hot 100, including聽12 top 10 hits.聽Billboard聽ranked the pair as the聽No. 66 biggest act聽in the Hot 100鈥檚 55-year history.聽 The Everly Brothers are the chart鈥檚聽third-biggest duo ever聽and their influence has been incredibly wide-ranging. Because their career predates the Hot 100鈥檚 launch, some of their best-known hits aren鈥檛 on the list, including 鈥淏ye Bye Love,鈥� 鈥淲ake Up Little Susie,鈥� and 鈥淎ll I Have to Do Is Dream.鈥澛燭he Lonely聽delivers their single biggest hit, 鈥淐athy鈥檚 Clown,鈥� in a stellar performance.
The Lonely聽delivers a sensitive and dynamic tribute to the one and only聽Roy Orbison聽plus the hits of聽The Traveling Wilburys and聽The Everly Brothers. Veteran Mike Demers leads this group of musical journeymen in their mutual and deep appreciation of the timeless music of an era.聽THE LONELY聽approaches the music with a humble spirit and sincere desire to recreate the sounds and feel of the original recordings. The band has been selling out shows right from their debut.
鈥淔or four decades I worked in the music industry. The one constant has been the music of Roy Orbison. When I heard that a Roy Orbison Tribute was coming to town I said, 鈥榃ell this I have to see.鈥� THE LONELY聽blew me away,鈥� says David Chesney,聽Publisher White Rock Sun, Canada鈥檚 First Internet Newspaper.
Tickets are $47.50 (plus facility fee and service charges) at the Box Office. Charge by phone at 306-445-7700 or online at聽dekkercentre.com. Doors open at 7 p.m., show is at 7:30 p.m.
