1936 - 1988
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's music is mostly in the rock genre and his most successful periods were in the early 1960s and the late 1980s. His music was described by critics as operatic, earning him the nicknames "The Caruso of Rock" and "The Big O". Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Roy Orbison has received more than 14,781,702 page views. His biography is available in 54 different languages on Wikipedia (down from 55 in 2019). Roy Orbison is the 110th most popular singer (down from 100th in 2019), the 697th most popular biography from United States (down from 639th in 2019) and the 40th most popular American Singer.
Roy Orbison is most famous for his distinctive voice and his successful career as a rock and roll singer.
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Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
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Effective Languages (L*)
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among singers, Roy Orbison ranks 110 out of 3,528. Before him are Nancy Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Teresa Teng, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Lata Mangeshkar, and Françoise Hardy. After him are Renata Tebaldi, Dolly Parton, Domenico Modugno, Marvin Gaye, Annie Lennox, and Carmen Miranda.
1940 - Present
HPI: 64.61
Rank: 104
1903 - 1977
HPI: 64.57
Rank: 105
1953 - 1995
HPI: 64.56
Rank: 106
1974 - Present
HPI: 64.49
Rank: 107
1929 - 2022
HPI: 64.47
Rank: 108
1944 - Present
HPI: 64.45
Rank: 109
1936 - 1988
HPI: 64.39
Rank: 110
1922 - 2004
HPI: 64.35
Rank: 111
1946 - Present
HPI: 64.23
Rank: 112
1928 - 1994
HPI: 64.19
Rank: 113
1939 - 1984
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 114
1954 - Present
HPI: 63.98
Rank: 115
1909 - 1955
HPI: 63.92
Rank: 116
Among people born in 1936, Roy Orbison ranks 36. Before him are Virna Lisi, Michael Landon, Burt Reynolds, Buddy Holly, Tariq Aziz, and Albert Finney. After him are Margaret Hamilton, Bill Wyman, Georges Perec, Steve Reich, Gerhard Ertl, and B. J. Habibie. Among people deceased in 1988, Roy Orbison ranks 14. Before him are Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Robert A. Heinlein, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Nikolaas Tinbergen, Chiang Ching-kuo, and Kim Philby. After him are Raymond Carver, Juan Pujol García, Abdul Basit 'Abd us-Samad, Virginia Satir, Gert Fröbe, and Felix Wankel.
1936 - 2014
HPI: 65.64
Rank: 30
1936 - 1991
HPI: 65.41
Rank: 31
1936 - 2018
HPI: 65.27
Rank: 32
1936 - 1959
HPI: 65.19
Rank: 33
1936 - 2015
HPI: 64.58
Rank: 34
1936 - 2019
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 35
1936 - 1988
HPI: 64.39
Rank: 36
1936 - Present
HPI: 64.38
Rank: 37
1936 - Present
HPI: 64.27
Rank: 38
1936 - 1982
HPI: 64.26
Rank: 39
1936 - Present
HPI: 63.98
Rank: 40
1936 - Present
HPI: 63.91
Rank: 41
1936 - 2019
HPI: 63.29
Rank: 42
1904 - 1988
HPI: 67.61
Rank: 8
1907 - 1988
HPI: 66.60
Rank: 9
1898 - 1988
HPI: 66.32
Rank: 10
1907 - 1988
HPI: 66.07
Rank: 11
1910 - 1988
HPI: 65.90
Rank: 12
1912 - 1988
HPI: 65.70
Rank: 13
1936 - 1988
HPI: 64.39
Rank: 14
1938 - 1988
HPI: 63.40
Rank: 15
1912 - 1988
HPI: 63.24
Rank: 16
1927 - 1988
HPI: 63.18
Rank: 17
1916 - 1988
HPI: 62.64
Rank: 18
1913 - 1988
HPI: 62.36
Rank: 19
1902 - 1988
HPI: 62.19
Rank: 20
Among people born in United States, Roy Orbison ranks 697 out of 18,182. Before him are Joe Louis (1914), Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868), Chick Corea (1941), Donald Knuth (1938), Victor Fleming (1889), and Jamie Lee Curtis (1958). After him are Margaret Hamilton (1936), Thomas Harris (1940), Paul Morphy (1837), Carl Lewis (1961), Philip Johnson (1906), and Robert E. Howard (1906).
1914 - 1981
HPI: 64.50
Rank: 691
1868 - 1921
HPI: 64.48
Rank: 692
1941 - 2021
HPI: 64.42
Rank: 693
1938 - Present
HPI: 64.42
Rank: 694
1889 - 1949
HPI: 64.40
Rank: 695
1958 - Present
HPI: 64.39
Rank: 696
1936 - 1988
HPI: 64.39
Rank: 697
1936 - Present
HPI: 64.38
Rank: 698
1940 - Present
HPI: 64.38
Rank: 699
1837 - 1884
HPI: 64.38
Rank: 700
1961 - Present
HPI: 64.38
Rank: 701
1906 - 2005
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 702
1906 - 1936
HPI: 64.36
Rank: 703
Among singers born in United States, Roy Orbison ranks 40. Before him are Art Garfunkel (1941), Meat Loaf (1947), Gloria Gaynor (1947), Donna Summer (1948), Nancy Sinatra (1940), and Bing Crosby (1903). After him are Dolly Parton (1946), Marvin Gaye (1939), Harry Belafonte (1927), Jon Bon Jovi (1962), Britney Spears (1981), and John Lee Hooker (1917).
1941 - Present
HPI: 65.49
Rank: 34
1947 - 2022
HPI: 65.48
Rank: 35
1947 - Present
HPI: 65.15
Rank: 36
1948 - 2012
HPI: 65.08
Rank: 37
1940 - Present
HPI: 64.61
Rank: 38
1903 - 1977
HPI: 64.57
Rank: 39
1936 - 1988
HPI: 64.39
Rank: 40
1946 - Present
HPI: 64.23
Rank: 41
1939 - 1984
HPI: 64.03
Rank: 42
1927 - 2023
HPI: 63.90
Rank: 43
1962 - Present
HPI: 63.56
Rank: 44
1981 - Present
HPI: 63.31
Rank: 45
1917 - 2001
HPI: 63.29
Rank: 46