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Who inspired Roy Orbison’s 1964 hit ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’?
Roy Orbison’s 1964 hit “Oh, Pretty Woman” was inspired by a remark from his friend and co-writer Bill Dees about Orbison’s wife, Claudette. When Orbison asked whether she needed money before going shopping, Dees replied, “A pretty woman never needs any money”, giving them the song’s central idea.
The song reached number one in both the US and UK and sold more than seven million copies. Claudette had already inspired an earlier song: Orbison wrote “Claudette” after their marriage, and the Everly Brothers released it as a B-side in 1958; their version also charted. Orbison later recorded it himself, shortly before Claudette died in a motorcycle accident at 24.
In short
- Bill Dees’s quip about Claudette inspired the song.
- “Oh, Pretty Woman” topped charts in the US and UK.
- Orbison continued singing about Claudette throughout his life.