A Black & White Night Live

A Black & White Night Live
A Black & White Night Live
Live album by Roy Orbison
Released	October 23, 1989
Recorded	September 30, 1987
Venue	Coconut Grove Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles
Genre	Rockabilly, country
Length	57:32
Label	Virgin
Producer	T-Bone Burnett
Roy Orbison chronology
Alternative cover
	1999 cover art

A Black & White Night Live is a Roy Orbison music album made posthumously by Virgin Records from the HBO television special, Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night, which was filmed in 1987 and broadcast in 1988. According to the authorised Roy Orbison biography,^[1] the album was released in October 1989 and included the song "Blue Bayou" which because of time constraints had been deleted from the televised broadcast. However, it did not include the songs "Claudette" and "Blue Angel", which were also cut from the original broadcast for the same reason.

The SACD/CD Hybrid Audio Disc includes "Blue Angel" as a bonus track; the SACD/CD Hybrid Disc is contained in a pack with the DVD released by Image Entertainment, USA (ID27700BDVD). "Claudette" was included in later releases of the concert. According to the authorised biography, all tracks are now released on the 30 year anniversary Black & White Night 30.

On piano was Glen D. Hardin, who had played piano for Buddy Holly as well as Elvis Presley. Lead guitarist James Burton, drummer Ronnie Tutt and bassist Jerry Scheff were also from Presley's group. Male background vocals and some guitars were provided by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, JD Souther and Steven Soles.^[2] Female background vocalists were k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Raitt.

Not all the stars were on stage. Glimpses of celebrities in the audience can be seen, including Kris Kristofferson, Patrick Swayze, Billy Idol and Sandra Bernhard.^[3]

On February 24, 2017, a 30th anniversary edition, titled Black & White Night 30, was released. The edition has been expanded, re-edited to include new footage and original running order to set list, and remastered. It is available both as a CD/DVD and a CD/Blu-ray set.^[4] This release has sold 161,400 copies as of March 2017.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
American Songwriter	^[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[8]

Bruce Eder of AllMusic writes, "The best-recorded Roy Orbison live disc ever issued, taken from the soundtrack of the HBO concert from the 1980s with VIP guests like Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello. This was a sort of magical video, and the performances are splendid, along with the good feelings involved."^[6]

Grant Britt of American Songwriter also thinks this album rates 4 out of 5 stars and calls Black and White Night "one of the best rock shows ever filmed."^[7]

No Depression's review, also by Grant Britt, begins with, "The voice grabs you and won't let go. It’s impossible to duplicate, a soaring, ethereal instrument that swoops and dips with a range few humans ever get within earshot of. Roy Orbison was a musical God, his songwriting skills just as awe-inspiring as his vocal abilities. His legacy endures with a wealth of recorded material, but nothing eclipses 1987’s Black and White Night"^[3]

Ryan Reed writes for Rolling Stone, "In a backstage interview, Costello called Orbison "the greatest," explaining how he learned about the singer's music second-hand through the Beatles."^[9]

Gary Graff reviews the album for Billboard and writes, "The Black & White Night show was a pivotal event during Roy Orbison's late '80s comeback. Preceding his involvement with the all-star Traveling Wilburys band (Orbison, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne), the show put a spotlight on Orbison's classic hits with help from Elvis Presley's TCB Band and guests Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, k.d. Lang, Tom Waits, Jackson Browne, JD Souther and Steven Soles."^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson, except as noted

1989 release
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Only the Lonely"		2:43
2.	"In Dreams"	Roy Orbison	3:10
3.	"Dream Baby"	Cindy Walker	3:50
4.	"Leah"	Roy Orbison	3:00
5.	"(Move On) Down the Line"	Roy Orbison	5:13
6.	"Crying"		3:08
7.	"Mean Woman Blues"	Claude Demetrius	3:07
8.	"Running Scared"		2:31
9.	"Blue Bayou" (not on the original video release)		3:11
10.	"Candy Man"	Fred Neil Beverly "Ruby" Ross	3:34
11.	"Uptown"		3:20
12.	"Ooby Dooby"	Dick Penner Wade Moore	4:11
13.	"The Comedians"	Elvis Costello	3:37
14.	"(All I Can Do Is) Dream You"	Billy Burnette David Malloy	3:26
15.	"It's Over"	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	3:13
16.	"Oh, Pretty Woman"	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	6:15
Total length:			57:29

1999 release
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Only the Lonely"		2:59
2.	"Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"	Cindy Walker	3:57
3.	"Blue Bayou" (not on the original video release)		3:16
4.	"The Comedians"	Elvis Costello	3:30
5.	"Ooby Dooby"	Dick Penner Wade Moore	4:08
6.	"Leah"	Roy Orbison	3:07
7.	"Running Scared"		2:30
8.	"Uptown"		3:22
9.	"In Dreams"	Roy Orbison	3:16
10.	"Crying"		3:14
11.	"Candy Man"	Fred Neil Ronald & Ruby Beverly "Ruby" Ross	3:32
12.	"Go Go Go (Down the Line)"	Roy Orbison	5:28
13.	"Mean Woman Blues"	Claude Demetrius	3:00
14.	"(All I Can Do is) Dream You"	Billy Burnette David Malloy	3:36
15.	"Claudette" (not on the original video release)		3:01
16.	"It's Over"	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	3:09
17.	"Oh, Pretty Woman"	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	6:35
Total length:			61:40

Black and White Night 30 (30th Anniversary expanded reissue in 2017)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Only the Lonely"		2:38
2.	"Leah"		3:01
3.	"In Dreams"	Roy Orbison	3:02
4.	"Crying"		3:02
5.	"Uptown"		3:22
6.	"The Comedians"	Elvis Costello	3:30
7.	"Blue Angel" (not on the original video release)		3:05
8.	"It's Over"	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	3:14
9.	"Running Scared"		2:22
10.	"Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)"	Cindy Walker	3:47
11.	"Mean Woman Blues"	Claude Demetrius	2:56
12.	"Candy Man"	Fred Neil Ronald & Ruby Beverly "Ruby" Ross	3:29
13.	"Ooby Dooby"		4:08
14.	"Blue Bayou"		3:11
15.	"Go! Go! Go! (Down the Line)"		5:31
16.	"(All I Can Do Is) Dream You"	Billy Burnette David Malloy	3:31
17.	"Claudette"		3:04
18.	"Oh, Pretty Woman" (alternate version)	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	2:52
19.	"Oh, Pretty Woman"	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	6:06
Total length:			65:51

Digital download (Secret Post Show)
No.	Title	Writer(s)
1.	"(All I Can Do Is) Dream You" (alternate version)	Billy Burnette David Malloy
2.	"The Comedians" (alternate version)	Elvis Costello
3.	"Candy Man" (alternate version)	Fred Neil Ronald & Ruby Beverly "Ruby" Ross
4.	"Claudette" (alternate version)	Roy Orbison
5.	"Uptown" (alternate version)

Personnel

Roy Orbison - lead vocals, electric rhythm guitar, electric lead guitar on "Ooby Dooby" and "Go, Go, Go (Down the Line)," harmonica on "Candy Man"
Glen D. Hardin - piano
James Burton - electric and acoustic lead guitars, electric and acoustic rhythm guitars
Jerry Scheff - upright bass
Ronnie Tutt - drums
Alex Acuña - percussion
Jackson Browne - backing vocals
T-Bone Burnett - acoustic guitar
Elvis Costello - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Organ, Harmonica, Backing Vocals
k.d. lang - backing vocals
Bonnie Raitt - backing vocals
Steven Soles - backing vocals
JD Souther - backing vocals, harmony vocals, acoustic guitar
Bruce Springsteen - rhythm and lead electric guitar, harmony vocals, backing vocals
Michael Utley - electric organ
Tom Waits - electric organ, acoustic guitar
Jennifer Warnes - backing vocals

Charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[10]	28
UK Albums (OCC)^[11]	51
US Billboard 200^[12]	123

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[13]	Gold	35,000^{^}
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[14]	Gold	50,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Orbison, Roy Jr. (2017). The Authorized Roy Orbison. Orbison, Wesley; Orbison, Alex; Slate, Jeff (First ed.). New York: Center Street. p. 248. ISBN 9781478976547. OCLC 1017566749.
^ ^a ^b Graff, Gary (12 January 2017). "30th Anniversary". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b Britt, Grant (21 February 2017). "Black and White Night Revisited". No Depression. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^ "Roy Orbison's Black & White Night 30 DVD, Blu-ray and Audio CD Out Feb 24 on Roy's Boys/Legacy, Featuring Never-Before-Seen Performances, Camera Angles and Mini-Documentary" (Press release). Legacy Recordings. January 12, 2017 – via PR Newswire.
^ Bjorke, Matt (March 5, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: March 6, 2017". Roughstock.
^ ^a ^b Eder, Bruce. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^ ^a ^b Britt, Grant (25 November 2013). "Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1062. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
^ Reed, Ryan (23 February 2017). "Black and White Night 30". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
^ "Australiancharts.com – Roy Orbison – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
^ "Roy Orbison | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
^ "Roy Orbison Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
^ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.

[1] Orbison, Roy Jr. (2017). The Authorized Roy Orbison. Orbison, Wesley; Orbison, Alex; Slate, Jeff (First ed.). New York: Center Street. p. 248. ISBN 9781478976547. OCLC 1017566749.

[BB1-2] Graff, Gary (12 January 2017). "30th Anniversary". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

[ND-3] Britt, Grant (21 February 2017). "Black and White Night Revisited". No Depression. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

[PR_Newswire-4] "Roy Orbison's Black & White Night 30 DVD, Blu-ray and Audio CD Out Feb 24 on Roy's Boys/Legacy, Featuring Never-Before-Seen Performances, Camera Angles and Mini-Documentary" (Press release). Legacy Recordings. January 12, 2017 – via PR Newswire.

[5] Bjorke, Matt (March 5, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: March 6, 2017". Roughstock.

[AM1-6] Eder, Bruce. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

[AS-7] Britt, Grant (25 November 2013). "Review". American Songwriter. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

[8] Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1062. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 29 August 2024.

[RS-9] Reed, Ryan (23 February 2017). "Black and White Night 30". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

[ac_Australia_Roy_Orbison-10] "Australiancharts.com – Roy Orbison – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 24, 2020.

[ac_UK_Roy_Orbison-11] "Roy Orbison | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 1, 2023.

[BB2-12] "Roy Orbison Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.

[AustraliaRoy_OrbisonA_Black_&_White_Night_LivealbumCertRef-13] "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1990 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 July 2021.

[Spanish_certifications_1979-1990-14] Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.

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