During three recording sessions in 1958 and 1959, Orbison and Melson recorded seven songs at RCA Nashville, with Atkins producing, but only two songs were judged worthy of release by RCA ; Wesley Rose maneuvered Orbison into the sights of producer Fred Foster at Monument Records.

With this combination, Orbison recorded three new songs, the most notable of which was " Uptown ", penned by himself and Melson.

Influenced by contemporaneous hits such as " Come Back to Me ( My Love )" and " Come Softly to Me ", Orbison and Melson wrote a song in early 1960 which, using elements from " Uptown " employed strings and the Anita Kerr doo-wop backup singers.

The song was " Only the Lonely "; Orbison and Melson had earlier tried to pitch it to Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers but were turned down.

According to Orbison, the subsequent songs he wrote with Melson during this period were constructed with his voice in mind, specifically to showcase its range and power.

Beginning in 1957, first at his home in Midland, Texas, and then in Nashville, Tennessee, Melson teamed up with a virtual unknown by the name of Roy Orbison, with whom he would write a string of hits for Monument Records.

Melson and Orbison followed up with similar sounds such as the dramatic Running Scared that went to # 1 in the USA.

#" Only The Lonely " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Blue Bayou " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Leah " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Running Scared " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Uptown " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Crying " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

# " Crying " ( Joe Melson, Roy Orbison ) – 4: 32

All tracks composed by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson ; except where indicated

# " Mama " ( Roy Orbison, Joe Melson, Ray Rush )

#" Sunset " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Blue Bayou " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#"( They Call You ) Gigolette " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Blue Bayou " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Working For the Man " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

#" Lana " ( Orbison, Joe Melson )

lang )-( Roy Orbison, Joe Melson )

Impressed with the results, Melson later recalled, " We stood in the studio, listening to the playbacks and thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world ".

His relationship with Joe Melson, however, was deteriorating over Melson's growing concerns that his own solo career would never get off the ground.

He is also a member of Team Fight to Walk, which supports spinal cord research, along with other boxers such as Boyd Melson, Demetrius Andrade, Shawn Estrada, Denis Douglin, Steve Cunningham and Deandre Latimore

Other boxers who fought with Stars of David embroidered on their trunks to reflect their ethno-religious pride included world lightweight champion Benny " the Ghetto Wizard " Leonard ( who said he felt as though he was fighting for all Jews ), world light heavyweight boxing champion Battling Levinsky, Barney Ross ( world champion as a lightweight, as a junior welterweight, and as a welterweight ), world flyweight boxing champion Victor " Young " Peres (" Young "), and more recently World Boxing Association super welterweight champion Yuri Foreman and light middleweight Boyd Melson.

Applegate co-wrote The Close-Combat Files of Colonel Rex Applegate ( with Chuck Melson ), and was a founding member of the International Close Combat Instructors Association.

He wrote a number of songs himself and co-wrote with Joe Melson.

Born Dan Waren Folger in San Rafael, California, while he was a small boy his family moved to Midland, Texas, where he would make friends with future Roy Orbison collaborator Joe Melson.

With " Only the Lonely ", co-written with Joe Melson, Orbison's songs turned to introspective and plaintive ballads, and they fully employed his powerful three-octave vocal range backed by more orchestral accompaniment.

Members from Possessed had also maintained a strong network with other integral musicians of the Bay Area thrash scene: vocalist Jeff Becerra and then-guitarist Larry LaLonde had played in a short-lived speed metal band called Blizzard, which featured former Exodus bassist Carlton Melson and Desecration guitarist Danny Boland ( then-Possessed drummer Mike Sus and former Possessed bassist Bob Yost had also played in Desecration, a death / thrash band active between 1985 and 1989 ).

With Foster, Orbison and songwriter Joe Melson tailored many of Orbison's songs for his unique voice ; his most popular songs were dramatic ballads ending with emotional crescendos that showcased his powerful vocals.

#" Sweet Mama Blue "-( Orbison, Melson )

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

American Boyd Melson ( right ), during the 2007 Military World Games, at which he won a gold medal at Ft. Huachuca

Over the years, Melson continued to perform at rockabilly and nostalgia festivals, and in 2002 he was inducted into the International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame in Jackson, Tennessee, the home and final resting place of a " father " of rockabilly, Carl Perkins.

Songwriter Joe Melson, an acquaintance of Orbison's, tapped on his car window one day in Texas in 1958 and the two decided to try to write some songs together.

* Charles L. Melson, American admiral ( d. 1981 )

* Charles L. Melson, American admiral ( b. 1904 )

According to United States Marine Corps historian Major Chuck Melson, the term originated in the American Civil War, when it meant a hastily-dug foxhole.

Joe Melson ( born May 1935 ), is an American singer and a BMI Award – winning songwriter.

Melson was born in Bonham, the seat of Fannin County in northeast Texas.

Although Melson himself was rooted in that music genre, he had begun writing rhythm and blues songs.

Melson recognized the potential in Orbison's voice, encouraging the singer to explore its power through their first collaboration, " Only the Lonely.

Between 1960 and 1963, Melson recorded several singles of his own ( the best known being " Hey Mister Cupid ") for Hickory Records and also through Acuff-Rose Music wrote songs for some of that label's other artists including Dan Folger.