Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night

Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night is a 1988 Cinemax television special originally broadcast on January 3, 1988 starring Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Roy Orbison. The special was filmed entirely in black and white. A live album was released following the broadcast.

Background

The special consisted of a performance of many of Orbison's hits at the then Ambassador Hotel's Cocoanut Grove nightclub (Los Angeles) in Los Angeles, filmed on September 30, 1987, approximately a year before his death. Three songs, "Blue Bayou", "Claudette", and "Blue Angel", were filmed but not included in the original broadcast due to time constraints.

Put together by musical director T-Bone Burnett, Orbison was accompanied by a supporting backing band which included many notable musical performers. All were fans who volunteered to participate in the special.^{[citation needed]} Other celebrity admirers of Orbison were in the audience, including Billy Idol, Patrick Swayze, Sandra Bernhard, and Kris Kristofferson. The backing band was the TCB Band, which accompanied Elvis Presley from 1969 until his death in 1977: Glen D. Hardin on piano, James Burton on lead guitar, Jerry Scheff on bass, and Ronnie Tutt on drums. Male background vocalists, some of whom also joined in on guitar, were Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, and Steven Soles. The female background vocalists were k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, and Bonnie Raitt. During the end credits, several of the band members are shown talking about how Orbison influenced them.

The song "Oh, Pretty Woman" from this performance, which features dueling guitar solos between Springsteen and Burton, was nominated for a Grammy Award for best live performance. Re-released as part of a CD bearing the same title as the motion picture, the song won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

The audio from this special was released as an album by Virgin Records in 1989, titled A Black & White Night Live.

Releases

The concert has been released in several home video formats, including VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray. The soundtrack has been released on CD, SACD that features both Stereo and Multi Channel Mixes, 12" vinyl LP, and DVD-Audio. The Laserdisc and DVD releases both contain the two previously unreleased songs "Blue Bayou" and "Claudette". The HD DVD, released in 2007, and the Blu-ray, released in September 2008, include those two songs as well as the previously-unreleased song "Blue Angel" as a bonus track.

The DVD features standard definition 480i video in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio and three lossy soundtracks: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1

The Blu-ray features high definition 1080i video in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and two lossless soundtracks: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0

• Also features the lossy soundtrack Dolby Digital 5.1 and, by extension, the lossy DTS core of the DTS-HD MA

The HD DVD features high definition 1080i video in a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio and at least one lossless soundtrack: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround

Soundtrack

Black & White Night
Live album by Roy Orbison
Released	February 3, 1998
Recorded	September 30, 1987
Genre	Rock
Length	61:40
Label	Orbison
Producer	T-Bone Burnett
Professional reviews
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Roy Orbison chronology
Combo Concert: 1965 Holland (1998) Black & White Night (1998) Live (1998)

Black & White Night, the live album, was compiled and released posthumously from the television special. The album was released in February 1989 and included the songs "Blue Bayou" and "Claudette" that were cut from the original broadcast for time. However it did not include the song "Blue Angel" which was cut from the original broadcast for the same reason.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Roy Orbison; except where indicated

1. "Only The Lonely" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
2. "Dream Baby" (Cindy Walker)
3. "Blue Bayou" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
4. "The Comedians" (Elvis Costello)
5. "Ooby Dooby" (Dick Penner, Wade Moore)
6. "Leah" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
7. "Running Scared" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
8. "Uptown" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
9. "In Dreams" (Orbison)
10. "Crying" (Orbison, Joe Melson)
11. "Candy Man" (Fred Neil, Beverly "Ruby" Ross)
12. "Go Go Go (Down the Line)"
13. "Mean Woman Blues" (Claude Demetrius)
14. "(All I Can Do is) Dream You" (Billy Burnette, David Malloy)
15. "Claudette" (Orbison)
16. "It's Over" (Orbison, Bill Dees)
17. "Oh, Pretty Woman" (Orbison, Bill Dees)

Personnel

• Roy Orbison: lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Glen D. Hardin: piano
• James Burton: lead guitar
• Jerry Scheff: upright bass
• Ronnie Tutt: drums
• Jackson Browne: backing vocals
• T Bone Burnett: acoustic guitar; musical director
• Elvis Costello: acoustic guitar, electric organ, harmonica
• k.d. lang: backing vocals
• Bonnie Raitt: backing vocals
• J. D. Souther: backing vocals; acoustic guitar; vocal arrangements
• Steven Soles: backing vocals
• Bruce Springsteen: guitar, vocals
• Tom Waits: electric organ, acoustic guitar
• Jennifer Warnes: backing vocals
• Alex Acuña: percussion
• Michael Utley: keyboard

External links

• Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night at the Internet Movie Database
• review by Ian Grant http://www.epinions.com/content_103463489156
• review by Colin Jacobson http://www.dvdmg.com/orbison.shtml