Blue Bayou

This article is about the Roy Orbison song. For other uses, see Blue Bayou (disambiguation).

"Blue Bayou"
Single by Roy Orbison
from the album In Dreams
B-side	"Mean Woman Blues"
Released	August 1, 1963 (1963-08-01)
Recorded	November 15, 1961 (1961-11-15)[1]
Studio	RCA Victor Studio B, Nashville
Genre	Country
Length	2:29
Label	Monument
Songwriter(s)	Roy Orbison Joe Melson
Producer(s)	Fred Foster
Roy Orbison singles chronology
"Falling" (1963) "Blue Bayou" (1963) "Pretty Paper" (1963)

"Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 hit with her cover in 1977. Many others have since recorded the song.

Roy Orbison version

Background

"Blue Bayou" was originally recorded by Roy Orbison at the end of 1961. In the UK, it was released by London Monument as the double A-side track with "Mean Woman Blues" on a Monument Records single (HLU 9777), where both sides peaked at number 3. It was issued as a B-side single in the US, peaking at number 29; the A-side, "Mean Woman Blues", peaked at number 5. The song also appeared on Orbison's 1963 full-length album In Dreams. According to the authorised biography of Roy Orbison,^[2] a rare different version of "Blue Bayou" was released only in Italy (London 45-HL 1499).^[2]

"Blue Bayou" reappeared on his 1989 posthumous album A Black & White Night Live, from the 1988 television special on Cinemax.

Track listings

7" vinyl

US: Monument Records 824

Side one

1. "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison, Joe Melson) – 2:29 – Recorded in late 1961.

Side two

1. "Mean Woman Blues" (Claude Demetrius) – 2:23

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1963) Peak position Australian Singles Chart 1 Belgium[3] 3 Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[4] 14 Irish Singles Chart[5] 1 New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[6] 4 Norwegian Singles Chart[3] 10 UK Singles Chart[7] 3 US Billboard Hot 100[8] 29 US Billboard Hot R&B Sides[8] 26 US Cash Box Top 100[9] 21

Year-end charts Chart (1963) Rank Australia[10] 21 UK[11] 19

Use in other media

This song has been used in several motion pictures including:

• The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring David Bowie
• Last Orders (2001), directed by Fred Schepisi
• Dreamcatcher (2003), directed by Lawrence Kasdan
• Man on Fire (2004), directed by Tony Scott
• American Made (2017), directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise
• The Best of Enemies (2019), directed by Robin Bissell, and starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell
• Blue Bayou (film) (2021), directed by Justin Chon. In the film, the song is sung by actress Alicia Vikander

Jacques Cousteau included an abridged version of the song during a "River Explorations" episode, which details environmental changes on the Mississippi River. This song has also been used in the Netflix digital series, Stranger Things (Season 2, Episode 6). A French language version of the song entitled "Tu n'es plus là" was released in 1963 by French rock and roll singer Dick Rivers.

Linda Ronstadt version

"Blue Bayou"
German 7" single
Single by Linda Ronstadt
from the album Simple Dreams
B-side	Depending on the country of release, this side would either be reserved for the songs "Old Paint", "Love Me Tender, "Maybe I'm Right, or "Poor Poor Pitiful Me".[12]
Released	August 23, 1977 (August 23, 1977) (US)
Studio	Sound Factory, Hollywood
Genre	Country pop, soft rock, yacht rock
Length	3:57
Label	Asylum
Songwriter(s)	Roy Orbison, Joe Melson
Producer(s)	Peter Asher
Linda Ronstadt singles chronology
"Lose Again" (1976) "Blue Bayou" (1977) "It's So Easy" (1977)
Official video
"Blue Bayou" on YouTube

Background

Linda Ronstadt took the song to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1977, where it held for four weeks, as well as #2 Country and #3 Easy Listening. It also reached #2, holding there for four weeks, on the Cash Box Top 100 chart.

The single was RIAA certified Gold (for sales of over 1 million US copies) in January 1978. It was the first of Ronstadt's three Gold singles. Don Henley of the Eagles sang backup on the recording.^[13] "Blue Bayou" was later certified Platinum (for over 2 million copies sold in the United States). It was a worldwide smash, charting in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Mexico, where it topped the singles charts.

Ronstadt's version was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Ronstadt also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song (translated by her father, Gilbert Ronstadt), titled "Lago Azul (Blue Bayou)", which was released in 1978 on the single Asylum E-45464, backed by "Lo Siento Mi Vida", a previously released Spanish song that Ronstadt herself co-wrote.^{[citation needed]} This version has never been included on any reissues of Simple Dreams.

Ronstadt later performed the song on episode 523 of The Muppet Show, first aired on October 26, 1980, in the UK, and May 16, 1981, in the United States.

Because of this song, Dickson's Baseball Dictionary records that a "Linda Ronstadt" is a synonym for a fastball, a pitch that "blew by you". That phrase was coined by New York Mets broadcaster Tim McCarver during a Mets telecast in the 1980s.^[14]

Ronstadt's version appears, in edited form, in the 2017 film American Made and in Tony Scott's 2004 film Man on Fire.

Track listings

7" vinyl

US: Asylum Records E-45431

Side one

1. "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison, Joe Melson) – 3:57

Side two

1. "Old Paint (traditional, arranged by Linda Ronstadt) – 3:05

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1977) Peak position Canada RPM Top Singles[15] 2 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 2 Canada RPM Country 2 Mexico (Billboard Hits of the World)[16] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[17] 3 US Easy Listening (Billboard)[17] 3 US Hot Country Singles (Billboard)[17] 2 US Cash Box Top 100[18] 2 Chart (1978) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[19] 3 New Zealand Singles Chart[20] 3 UK Singles Chart[7] 35

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[21][22] 33 Canada[23] 90 US Billboard Hot 100[24] 61 US Cash Box[25] 62

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[26]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one hits of 1978 (Mexico)

References

1. Weize, Richard (2001). Orbison 1955-1965 (7-CD Deluxe Box Set) (booklet). Bear Family Records. BCD16423. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
2. Orbison, Roy Jr. (2017). The authorized Roy Orbison. Orbison, Wesley, Orbison, Alex, Slate, Jeff (Second ed.). New York: Center Street. p. 249. ISBN 9781478976547. OCLC 1017566749.
3. "Norwegian Charts". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
4. http://chumtribute.com/63-03-11-chart.jpg CHUM Hit Parade, October 7, 1963
5. "Irish Charts search results for Blue Bayou". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on January 26, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
6. Flavour of New Zealand, 14 November 1963
7. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 408. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
8. "Allmusic – Roy Orbison – Billboard singles". AllMusic. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
9. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 19, 1963
10. [The 100 Best-Selling Singles of 1963 https://archive.today/20160305064644/http://www.austchartbook.com.au/ Top 25 Australian singles for 1963]
11. [The 100 Best-Selling Singles of 1963 www.sixtiescity.net/charts/63chart.htm#top100]
12. "Blue Bayou by Linda Ronstadt". Wax.fm. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
13. "Blue Bayou". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
14. "'Dickson's Baseball Dictionary' A Labor Of Love". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
15. "100 singles" (PDF). RPM. 31 December 1977. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
16. "Billboard "Hits of the World"" (PDF). 15 April 1978. p. 80. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
17. "Linda Ronstadt – Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
18. "Cash Box Top 100 12/31/77". Archived from the original on 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
19. "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
20. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1978-02-26. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
21. "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.
22. Steffen Hung. "Forum – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
23. "Image : RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
24. "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
25. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles – 1978". Tropicalglen.com. 1978-12-30. Archived from the original on 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
26. "American single certifications – Linda Ronstadt – Blue Bayou". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Roy Orbison - Blue Bayou on YouTube
• Linda Ronstadt - Blue Bayou on YouTube