Roy Orbison Mural: The Roy Orbison mural in Vernon, Texas was unfinished when we first spotted it but it did indeed catch our eye as we traveled through the area in October 2020. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Details: This portion of the Roy Orbison mural was nearly complete except for the details in the hand and the neck of the guitar. The purple solid portion of the wall also got at least another coat of paint as did the white section at the top of the photo. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
We have made numerous trips to Texas during the last couple of years as we assist Marilyn’s parents as they transition from home ownership to finding and moving to a senior living community.
During these trips, we always take the back roads as we travel and explore as we traverse across Texas. On a trip in October 2020, we happened to be driving through Vernon, Texas, a small town just west of Wichita Falls, Texas. When taking the two-lane roads they usually go through the center of town, and usually through the downtown area.
This was the case as we drove down Main Street in Vernon when we both noticed a partially completed mural. I love murals and have photographed many of them as we travel across the country, so we had to go back and check out this new work of art in Vernon.
The mural was created and being painted to honor rock and roll legend Roy Orbison. Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, and lived there for the first 10 years of life before moving to west Texas for his father’s job. There are still relatives of Roy Orbison who live in Vernon today. I took several photos of the unfinished mural but told Marilyn that I wanted to come back and see the finished product. Our only regret was not being able to see the artists at work on this beautiful mural.
For those too young to know, Roy Orbison was a prominent performer in the early days of rock and roll in the 1950s and 1960s. Orbison was signed by Sun Record Company in 1956 and later signed with Monument Records where he became a star performer.
A few of Roy Orbison’s hits include “Only the Lonely”, “Running Scared”, “Crying”, “Dream Baby”, “Blue Bayou” and his biggest hit “Oh Pretty Woman”, which was made popular again in 1990 in the movie “Pretty Woman” starring Julia Roberts. Orbison wrote many songs, which were recorded by other artists.
At the peak of his career, Roy Orbison toured with Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and others in addition to his own tour schedule. However, Orbison’s career faded in the 1970s until Linda Ronstadt recorded “Blue Bayou”, which went to number one on the music charts. Her release of “Blue Bayou” actually revived Orbison’s career.
In February 2021, we made another trip to Texas. On this trip we returned to Vernon, Texas as we made our way south and east once more. We were both happy to see that the Roy Orbison mural was finished, and it was outstanding. Bright vivid colors made the completed mural hard to miss. Once again, we stopped and I photographed, and we both admired the finished product.
The Roy Orbison mural was a team effort of the town of Vernon, Texas and the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture, a non-profit organization in Wichita Falls, Texas. The designer and lead artist on the mural project was Selina Mize and she was assisted by Audra Lambert and Chrysa Jacobs. The mural is 25 feet tall and 110 feet long covering the entire side of a downtown the building at 1506 Main Street in Vernon, Texas.
One of the things we love as we travel around the country are the unexpected and unplanned stops along our route. It was one of those unplanned stops that led us to check out the Roy Orbison mural when driving down Main Street in Vernon, Texas. We never know what the next trip will reveal so that is reason enough to continue our travels.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Sun Record Company: The Sun Record Company portion of the mural was mostly drawn out, but no painting was done on this part of the mural in October 2020. The starburst effect above this area also was unfinished at this point. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Finished Mural: When we returned to Texas in February 2021, we were happy to see the finished mural. The project was a team effort between the town of Vernon, Texas and the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture in Wichita Falls, Texas. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Orbison Mural: The colorful Roy Orbison mural welcomes visitors to downtown Vernon, Texas today. The finished mural is 25 feet tall and 110 feet long. Selina Mize was the designer and lead artist on the project with the assistance of Audra Lambert and Chrysa Jacobs. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com