George Solti once said that he was able to believe in God because Mozart once lived and composed. How could one not believe in God, after all, after hearing Mozart?
I feel the same way about Roy Orbison. He died of a heart attack twenty-two years ago tonight, but every time I hear him sing, I inevitably think, Yes, there must be a God, a very benevolent God. The richness of his voice, the emotion that is constantly simmering an inch below the surface -- passion, or lonesomeness, or glorious admiration, or melancholy -- how can I listen to all that, coupled with what I've read about the tragedies the man endured as a husband and father, and not believe there was something sacred in his voice?
Here's a link to two songs from the album he recorded a month before his death in 1988: "She's a Mystery to Me" and ""You Got It." Say a prayer, if you will, for Roy's eternal peace, then go tell someone you love that you love them while you still can.
[I cribbed part of this post from the review I wrote last week on Amazon for Orbison's last album, Mystery Girl. What a great listening experience that entire album is.]
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