Åsa Orbison had set her adoration for music aside for a lucrative marketing career. Romance completely revolutionized the trajectory of her life. “I sang and played guitar and piano at Tallasskolans Musikklasser in Sweden,” she remembers. “Music, baking, and babysitting were my favorite things to do growing up. When I met Roy, I was very career focused and working for the biggest marketing agency in Scandinavia. I spent most of my waking hours at the office. We fell in love and that meant that in addition to a lot of late nights and red roses, I found myself surrounded by music. I was singing again. It’s truly a beautiful love story that brought music and my childhood dreams back.” What unfolded was nothing short of a fairytale. “Little did I know I was marrying into the whole history of rock and roll music. The night I met my future husband Roy, I didn’t hear his last name, but later, I googled Roy Orbison and was amazed I knew all the songs. My favorites are “In Dreams” and the Traveling Wilburys album, but the music family I have married into goes way beyond the Orbisons.” The legacy of Roy’s lineage lives on through sound. “As you know, both my in-laws have left us and sadly never got to meet our children, but music brings people together and has brought amazing ‘extra’ parents to my husband as well as extra grand and godparents to my children. Roy Orbison toured with both The Beatles and The Eagles and the members of those bands are, to this day, our extended family. It’s truly a blessing how the love of Roy Orbison surrounds us in our day to day life. Every single day fans tell us how much Papa Roy still means to them.”
Åsa and Roy are an inseparable team. She will tell you there’s nothing quite like making duets with her husband. “Roy and I do everything together. In our ten years, I can count the days we’ve been apart on my two hands. So at this point, the things we do together come more naturally and easier than doing things individually and it for sure is a lot more fun. I trust Roy on everything, especially in music where he has a lot more experience than me. I simply just trust him and things tend to end up great!” That bond is affectionately on display in their new single, “Love Is Strange,” which draws upon numerous classics. “I have loved this song ever since I watched the movie Dirty Dancing and it’s a dream to put my own take on it together with my husband. Our version of ‘Love Is Strange’ is a playfully updated version of the classic duet song by Mickey & Sylvia from 1956. It features the legendary guitarist Wayne Moss (‘Oh, Pretty Woman,’ ‘Jolene’) and was recorded at Cinderella Studio in Nashville.” She is in awe of her collaborator, who is poetically tied to the family. “Speaking of multi-generational music connections – Wayne Moss is a living legend. Among other things, he came up with the famous ‘Jolene’ riff for Dolly Parton. He was also a dear friend of Roy Orbison and played on the original ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ recording in 1964! So here we were, 50 years later, playing around in the studio, Wayne laying his guitar on this duet – goosebumps – rock and roll and music goes down through the decades and is immortal.”
Her upcoming album brings sultry tunes to her fans, showcasing her favorite partnership once again. “It’s a sexy, jazzy collection of love songs put together by me and my husband, Roy Orbison Jr. All the songs are different snapshots of our life. ‘Blue Bayou’ and ‘Unchained Melody’ came out of sessions we were doing for the 2018 Roy Orbison album Unchained Melodies (with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) that I sang back-up vocals on. ‘Blue Bayou’ is his dad’s hit song from 1963 that was a #1 for my hero, Linda Ronstadt. ‘Unchained Melody’ sung by Roy Orbison was our wedding song. Roy Jr. has green eyes, so we did this great unknown jazz song from 1946 called ‘Green Eyes.’ Roy loves jazz and I know a lot of the songs he plays through a Swedish singer, Monica Zetterlund. We added some songs in Swedish language like ‘En bedårande sommarvals,’ ‘New York.’ and ‘Monicas vals,’ all recorded in intimate sessions in Pretty Woman Studio.” An invitation beckons to the hits of yesterday. “This is music from another time…to disappear into a different world with. For me, the songs are memories from specific times and places. Whatever it is to the listeners – only time can tell. I believe we all have our ‘Blue Bayou’ and ‘Green Eyes’ that we long for. What does it mean to you?” Regardless of interpretation, Åsa chooses to be grounded by a singular force. “Love is everything and is always the answer. The way is love. As hard and simple as that.”
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Åsa Orbison Puts Her Heart on Display in New Single, “Love Is Strange.” Photo Credit: Anna Norman.
