The Teen Kings

It seems difficult to believe at this late date, but there is a chapter in the musical life of the late Roy Orbison that's hardly ever been mentioned or discussed -- an eight-year musical relationship that yielded recordings and newspaper recognition, at least in Wink and Denton, Texas, and numerous radio and television appearances, as well as getting him notice by Sam Phillips and signed to Sun Records. That chapter was the Teen Kings, Orbison's first musical outlet and his first attempt at doing something that might matter in music. Indeed, the Teen Kings' history predates the birth of rock & roll -- much less Orbison's aspirations to stardom in that field -- by more than five years. The Teen Kings' roots go back to 1948, two years after his family moved to Wink, Texas, when the 12-year-old Orbison began playing guitar with a friend and schoolmate named James Morrow. The following year, the two put together a quintet--Morrow on electric mandolin, Orbison on lead guitar, Charles "Slob" Evans on upright bass, Richard "Head" West at the piano, and Billy Pat "Spider" Ellis on drums. At a teacher's suggestion, they christened themselves the Wink Westerners, and they played school dances and other small local events. Within two years, they were good enough to get some radio appearances, and by 1953 they had their own sponsored show on KERB once each week. The Wink Westerners played country-and-western, and their repertory included lots of instrumentals, among them "In The Mood" and "Little Brown Jug." They were popular at local dances, presenting a lively show that the kids appreciated, and at the center of it was Roy Orbison, who was not only a strong singer but a talented lead guitarist. He didn't yet have the operatic depth to his singing that would make him...