🕶️ The Big O’s Early Roar: A Glimpse of the Man Before the Ballads
A raucous, rockabilly track that showcases Roy Orbison’s raw, early energy at Sun Records, long before his signature dramatic ballads.
For those of us who remember the true dawn of rock and roll, the name Roy Orbison first conjures images of the mysterious figure in dark glasses, singing those operatic, heart-wrenching ballads like “Only the Lonely” or “Crying.” We recall the drama, the towering vocals, and the sheer, overwhelming sadness of the Monument years. But to truly understand the soul of The Big O, we must take a reflective trip back to the hallowed, humble beginnings in Memphis, to the legendary Sun Records, and to a forgotten slice of pure rockabilly grit called “A Cat Called Domino.”
This is Roy Orbison before the velvet suits and the sweeping strings—this is Roy in denim, a young man from Texas trying to find his voice in a revolutionary new sound. “A Cat Called Domino” was an early effort, a Sun Records recording laid down around 1956, during his initial, rockabilly-focused contract with Sam Phillips. Unlike his huge, later hits, this track was not a major chart success upon its creation. In fact, many of Orbison’s Sun recordings, including this one, were initially released on various EPs and compilations years later, or only saw regional, fleeting recognition. It wasn’t a Top 40 contender in the mid-fifties; it was a foundational piece, a key part of the sonic blueprint that Phillips was creating in his studio—a sound meant to capture lightning in a bottle. This particular track saw its formal release on Sun Records in the early 1960s, a retrospective release capitalizing on his new fame, and has been continuously reissued on compilations like A Cat Called Domino: Rare Cuts From Roy, confirming its status as a rockabilly gem rather than a mainstream chart-topper of its era.
The story behind the song is inextricably tied to the Sun Studio sound. It’s a driving, guitar-heavy piece that reflects the energy Roy brought to Sam Phillips’ stable, where he shared studio space with the likes of Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Though it is often credited as a collaborative work between Roy Orbison and Norman Petty on early releases, the track is now frequently credited in Sun’s catalog to Sam Phillips himself, who was known to nurture and shape material from his artists to fit the quintessential rockabilly sound he was pioneering. The frenetic pace and simple, playful lyrics were designed to keep the dance floor moving.
The meaning of the song is wonderfully straightforward and unburdened by the emotional complexity that would later define his career. It’s an ode to a cool character, a charismatic guy named Domino who is clearly the life of the party, a “cat” who knows how to move, knows how to talk, and knows how to command attention—a rock and roll archetype. The joy in this track comes from the sheer, propulsive rhythm and the youthful, uninhibited vocal delivery. Listening to “A Cat Called Domino” today is like finding an old, faded photograph of a dear friend from their wild youth; it’s a moment of pure nostalgia, reminding us that Roy Orbison was, at his core, a genuine, hard-rocking pioneer before he became the operatic master of melancholy. It’s a shout of pure, bright-eyed excitement from a time when the world was changing, one three-chord thunderbolt at a time. It’s a precious piece of history, showcasing the pure, unadulterated talent that was simply waiting for the right moment—and the right song—to explode onto the world stage.
Oldies Songs