There are singers who make you feel their pain, and then there was Roy Orbison — a man whose own life was so marked by loss that it’s hard to separate the ballads from the biography. He lost his wife in a motorcycle crash, two sons in a house fire, and died at just 52, all while wearing dark glasses that hid more than just his eyes.
Born: April 23, 1936 ·
Died: December 6, 1988 ·
Cause of death: Heart attack ·
Spouses: Claudette Frady (1957–1966), Barbara Orbison (1969–1988) ·
Children: 3 (Roy Jr., Wesley, and Alexander)
Quick snapshot
1Confirmed facts
- Roy Orbison died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988, at age 52 (Britannica)
- First wife Claudette died in a 1966 motorcycle accident (
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Daniel HarperStaff WriterDaniel Harper is Editor-in-Chief at Coast Monitor, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and corrections.