Editing Roy Orbison (section)

===Voice quality===
{{Quote box
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 | quote = What separates Orbison from so many other multi-octave-spanning power singers is that he can hit the biggest notes imaginable and still sound ''unspeakably sad'' at the same time. All his vocal gymnastics were just a means to a powerful end, not a mission unto themselves. Roy Orbison didn't just sing beautifully—he sang brokenheartedly.
| source = —[[Stephen Thompson (journalist)|Stephen Thompson]], [[NPR]]<ref name="NPRsongswelove">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/04/28/135734524/roy-orbison-songs-we-love |title=Roy Orbison: Songs We Love |author=NPR staff |website=NPR |date=April 27, 2011 |access-date=April 29, 2011}}</ref>
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Orbison admitted that he did not think his voice was put to appropriate use until "Only the Lonely" in 1960, when it was able, in his words, to allow its "flowering".<ref>Lehman, p. 50.</ref> Carl Perkins, however, toured with Orbison while they were both signed with Sun Records and recalled a specific concert when Orbison covered the [[Nelson Eddy]] and [[Jeanette MacDonald]] standard "[[Indian Love Call]]", and had the audience completely silenced, in awe.<ref>Lehman, p. 49.</ref> When compared to the Everly Brothers, who often used the same session musicians, Orbison is credited with "a passionate intensity" that, according to ''The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll'', made "his love, his life, and, indeed, the whole world [seem] to be coming to an end—not with a whimper, but an agonized, beautiful bang".<ref name=decurtis155/>

Bruce Springsteen and [[Billy Joel]] both commented on the otherworldly quality of Orbison's voice. [[Dwight Yoakam]] stated that Orbison's voice sounded like "the cry of an angel falling backward through an open window".<ref>Lehman, p. 22.</ref> Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees went further to say that when he heard "Crying" for the first time, "That was it. To me that was the voice of God."<ref name="hall">Hall, Mark. (director) ''In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story'', Nashmount Productions Inc., 1999.</ref> Elvis Presley stated Orbison's voice was the greatest and most distinctive he <!--check who 'they' are---> had ever heard.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p175,193}} Orbison's music and voice have been compared to opera by Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and songwriter [[Will Jennings]], among others.{{sfn|Lehman|ref=none|p=21}} Dylan marked Orbison as a specific influence, remarking that nothing like him was on radio in the early 1960s:<ref>Dylan, p. 33.</ref>{{Which|reason=Which source is this referring to?|date=October 2019}}

{{blockquote|With Roy, you didn't know if you were listening to mariachi or opera. He kept you on your toes. With him, it was all about fat and blood. He sounded like he was singing from an Olympian mountaintop. [After "Ooby Dooby"] he was now singing his compositions in three or four octaves that made you want to drive your car over a cliff. He sang like a professional criminal&nbsp;... His voice could jar a corpse, always leave you muttering to yourself something like, "Man, I don't believe it". | Bob Dylan}}

Likewise, Tim Goodwin, who conducted the orchestra that backed Orbison in Bulgaria, had been told that Orbison's voice would be a singular experience to hear. When Orbison started with "Crying" and hit the high notes, Goodwin stated: "The strings were playing and the band had built up and, sure enough, the hair on the back of my neck just all started standing up. It was an incredible physical sensation."<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p184}} Bassist [[Jerry Scheff]], who backed Orbison in his [[Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night|A Black and White Night]] concert, wrote about him, "Roy Orbison was like an opera singer. His voice melted out of his mouth into the stratosphere and back. He never seemed like he was trying to sing, he just did it."<ref>Scheff, Jerry (2012). ''Way Down: Playing Bass with Elvis, Dylan, the Doors & More.'' Backbeat Books. p. 33.</ref>

His voice ranged from [[baritone]] to [[tenor]], and music scholars have suggested that he had a three- or four-octave range.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Grady |first=Terence J. |date=February 2000 |url=http://www.anb.org/articles/18/18-02294.html |title=Orbison, Roy |website=American National Biography |url-access=subscription |access-date=May 20, 2009}}</ref>

Orbison's severe stage fright was particularly noticeable in the 1970s and early 1980s. During the first few songs in a concert, the [[vibrato]] in his voice was almost uncontrollable, but afterward, it became stronger and more dependable.<ref name="Lehman, p. 24">Lehman, p. 24.</ref> This also happened with age. Orbison noticed that he was unable to control the tremor in the late afternoon and evenings, and chose to record in the mornings when control was possible.<ref>{{Citation|last=Townsend|first=Paul|title=Roy Orbison, March 1967, Colston Hall, Bristol|date=January 2, 2014|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/11707869923/|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref>