#1 for week of June 5th, 1961.
It's been quite a long time coming but we finally have a Roy Orbison song on this list. In terms of truly unique and talented vocalists, Roy was not only one of the greatest singers to ever walk the planet, to some he is the best, and if people want to make that claim, I wouldn't disagree with them.
My favorite two Roy Orbison songs are "Oh Pretty Woman" and especially the masterpiece "Crying". I should mention my first exposure to his music was a greatest hits album which exclusively contained re-recorded versions of his hit songs. Out of the 19 tunes on the compilation, all but "In Dreams" were recorded in one single day in 1985 and even though he was pushing 50, Roy not only still sounded incredible but in some cases, he sang the songs even better than before.
Though "Running Scared" is only a little bit over two minutes long, that's all the time Roy needs to make it known just how good his voice was. Starting off almost as a gentle plea with a very Bolero-sounding music pattern, and gradually building up to an emotional climax where he hits a high "A" note, Roy absolutely nails it with no sense of vocal strain and zero-falsetto. Most people would have had trouble hitting that note and staying in pitch, but for Roy, it was a piece of cake.
Every song Roy sang can rank among the greatest vocal performances of all time. "Running Scared" perfectly captures that feeling of tension and emotional release in both the music and lyrics. For that, I'd certainly name it one of the best songs on this list so far.
Many years later in 1988 when Roy Orbison joined The Traveling Wilburys, he would contribute what could be his swan song, "Not Alone Any More" which proved that even during the last year of his way too short life, his voice still had the same power and emotion as in the 1960's. I guarantee that if Roy was still alive today, even at 77 his voice would have sounded exactly the same.
Final Verdict - Easily among the top vocalists of all time, and easily one of the best songs of all time as well. An essential listen which deserves to be in your music collection!
Coming Up Next - "Moody River" by Pat Boone.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock, and I'm always running scared.
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