King of Hearts (Roy Orbison album)

King of Hearts is a posthumous album of Roy Orbison songs put together from master sessions and demos by Jeff Lynne for Virgin Records, and Orbison's 23rd album overall. According to the authorized Roy Orbison biography,^[6] the collection was originally released in October 1992 on CD, music cassette, and LP.

King of Hearts
Studio album by Roy Orbison
Released	October 20, 1992[1]
Recorded	1985 ("Coming Home"), 1987–1992
Genre	Rock, soft rock, country
Length	41:21
Label	Virgin
Producer	Various
Roy Orbison chronology
A Black & White Night Live (1989) King of Hearts (1992) One of the Lonely Ones (2015)
Singles from King of Hearts
"I Drove All Night" Released: June 22, 1992[2] "Crying" Released: August 10, 1992[3] "Heartbreak Radio" Released: 1992

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]

History

Roy Orbison died on December 6, 1988, aged 52, from a heart attack in the middle of his career revival. After Orbison's death, Mystery Girl was released. Several songs had been recorded during the sessions, and there was enough material for a new album. Some songs on this album were recorded as demos. Several individuals produced the recordings, including Lynne. They were: Don Was, David Was, Pete Anderson, Robbie Robertson, Will Jennings, David Briggs, Chips Moman, Guy Roche, Albert Hammond and Diane Warren.^{[citation needed]}

Several songs had been previously released.

• "Wild Hearts Run Out of Time" was from the soundtrack of the 1985 film Insignificance, and under the title "Wild Hearts (...Time)" had been issued as a single in Canada, Australia and Europe that same year.
• "Coming Home" was initially issued on the 1986 collaborative album Class of '55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming, which also featured Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. It was Orbison's only solo lead vocal on that album.
• A duet with k.d. lang of Orbison's 1961 hit single "Crying" was released as part of the soundtrack for the 1987 motion picture Hiding Out. The collaboration won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. The duet "Crying" was a minor US chart hit for the pair, peaking at No. 42 on the Hot Country Songs chart,^[7] but a more substantial hit in the UK in 1992, reaching No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart.^{[citation needed]}

"I Drove All Night" was another hit single from the album.^{[citation needed]}

Clarence Clemons performed saxophone on "We'll Take the Night".^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

King of Hearts track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"You're the One"	Roy Orbison Bill Dees	T-Bone Burnett	2:59
2.	"Heartbreak Radio"	Troy Seals Frankie Miller	Jeff Lynne	2:57
3.	"We'll Take the Night"	Orbison Will Jennings JD Souther	Don Was	4:55
4.	"Crying" (duet with k.d. lang)	Orbison Joe Melson	Don Was David Was Pete Anderson	3:48
5.	"After the Love Has Gone"	Orbison Jerry L. Williams	Don Was	4:38
6.	"Love in Time"	Orbison Jennings	Robbie Robertson	5:31
7.	"I Drove All Night"	Billy Steinberg Tom Kelly	Jeff Lynne	3:46
8.	"Wild Hearts Run Out of Time"	Orbison Jennings	David Briggs Will Jennings	4:10
9.	"Coming Home"	Orbison Jennings Souther	Chips Moman	4:00
10.	"Careless Heart" (original demo)	Orbison Diane Warren Albert Hammond	Albert Hammond Diane Warren Guy Roche Roy Orbison	5:15

2007 reissue bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
11.	"Life Fades Away"	Orbison Glenn Danzig	Rick Rubin

Charts

Chart performance for King of Hearts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8]	25
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9]	18
UK Albums (OCC)[10]	23
US Billboard 200[11]	179

Certifications

Certifications for King of Hearts

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[12]	Gold	35,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "King of Hearts - Roy Orbison | Releases | AllMusic". AllMusic.
2. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. June 20, 1992. p. 19.
3. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. August 8, 1992. p. 19.
4. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r55434
5. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1062. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
6. Orbison, Roy Jr. (2017). The Authorized Roy Orbison. Orbison, Wesley,, Orbison, Alex,, Slate, Jeff (First ed.). New York: Center Street. p. 248. ISBN 9781478976547. OCLC 1017566749.
7. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 305. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
8. "Australiancharts.com – Roy Orbison – King of Hearts". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
9. "Charts.nz – Roy Orbison – King of Hearts". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
10. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
11. "Roy Orbison Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
12. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1993 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 28, 2021.