Blue Bayou
"Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 hit with her cover in 1977. Many others have since recorded the song.
This article is about the Roy Orbison song. For other uses, see Blue Bayou (disambiguation)."Blue Bayou"
Roy Orbison version[edit]
Background[edit]
"Blue Bayou" was originally recorded by Roy Orbison at the end of 1961. In the UK, it was released by London Monument as the double A-side track with "Mean Woman Blues" on a Monument Records single (HLU 9777), where both sides peaked at number 3. It was issued as a B-side single in the US, peaking at number 29; the A-side, "Mean Woman Blues", peaked at number 5. The song also appeared on Orbison's 1963 full-length album In Dreams. According to the authorised biography of Roy Orbison,[2] a rare different version of "Blue Bayou" was released only in Italy (London 45-HL 1499).[2]
"Blue Bayou" reappeared on his 1989 posthumous album A Black & White Night Live, from the 1988 television special on Cinemax.
This song has been used in several motion pictures including:
Jacques Cousteau included an abridged version of the song during a "River Explorations" episode, which details environmental changes on the Mississippi River.
This song has also been used in the Netflix digital series, Stranger Things (Season 2, Episode 6). A French language version of the song entitled "Tu n'es plus là" was released in 1963 by French rock and roll singer Dick Rivers.
"Blue Bayou"
Depending on the country of release, this side would either be reserved for the songs "Old Paint", "Love Me Tender, "Maybe I'm Right, or "Poor Poor Pitiful Me".[12]
August 23, 1977 (US)
Sound Factory, Hollywood
3:57