Tune Tuesday

It was on this day in 1987 that Roy Orbison got some friends together and recorded A Black and White Night. It would air on Cinemax in January of 1988.

The performance was recorded at the Ambassador Hotel’s Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles California. It would include many of Roy’s early hits and, as the title suggests, it was filmed entirely in black and white.

Appearing with Roy or Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, JD Souther, Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Warnes, and kd Lang. The performance was almost lost.

The following day in Los Angeles an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the Los Angeles area. The earthquake caused some of the chandeliers to fall on the master video that recorded the entire evening. Thankfully, after they went in to clear the debris, they found that no damage had been done to the recording. It remains one of the last, if not the last, of Roy’s performances as he passed away about 14 months later.

One of the things I love to see in this performance, is the respect and awe that the other performers felt. You can see that especially When Roy performs Ooby-Dooby.  Bruce Springsteen for example not only looks like he’s having fun, but he almost can’t believe he’s performing with Roy Orbison.