Duane Eddy about Roy Orbison

Duane Eddy is one of the GOOD GUYS in rock and roll. Born in Corning New York, Duane and his family spent many summers in Towanda, Pa near my home town. It was a real pleasure for me to become friends with him during my interviews on "The Class Reunion." But the story I want to relat here is about an artist I never had the opportunity to interview, and artist that left us way too soon, that being Roy Orbison.

I saw a biography of Roy Orbison, and I could not remember if Duane and I ever talked about him, so I sent Duane a note, the following is his reply.

“Yes, I knew Roy Orbison... He was a wonderfully sweet man. I enjoyed talking to him and loved to hear him sing! He grew up in West Texas, I believe. We were about the same age, and had the same influences and pretty much the same type experiences (playing high school dances, honky tonks etc., etc.)
We liked the same artists and the same music shaped our choices of what we did when we began making records.
Did you know he was one of Elvis Presley's favorite singers?
I was in England on the sad day in December 1988 when he died, and was asked to say a few words about Roy for a couple of reporters at my hotel. I did that, and then afterward went for a walk alone.
It was a cold night, just after 5 o'clock and already dark. Christmas lights were on and twinkling, and all the stores and the streets were decorated.
I was walking up Regent Street still thinking about Roy and how he'd died way too young, and I could hear the sounds of radios playing, coming out of shops as I walked past, as well as from cars and taxis slowly driving by in the evening rush hour. They were all tuned to the same station - the BBC. (and nobody there listens to much else because at certain times of day, there is nothing much else to listen to! They only have a couple of radio stations in London.)
The station was re-playing an interview of Roy Orbison's that he'd done a year before. As I walked along, I listened to the entire interview, hearing it fade in and out as I passed along between shops. Then I heard my name and realized Roy was talking about me. He was relating the story of how he'd gotten to do the first big Beatle Tour of England, in 1963, and how it had rejuvenated his career. He told of how I'd been scheduled to do the tour but couldn't do it for some reason, so he'd gotten to replace me.
I'd heard him tell this story before, on a TV show we did together in L.A., as well as several other times through the years. Roy would always thank me when he told the story, as if I'd personally engineered it so that he'd gotten to do the tour. (which I hadn't)
He went on to say, "So in a way, I really owe a lot to Duane Eddy. If he hadn't cancelled the tour, I wouldn't have gotten it... So thanks Duane."
The announcer didn't say anything for a few seconds, and as I walked along I could hear Roy's voice echoing through the street, saying, "... so thanks Duane, Duane, Duane.......
It was an eerie feeling, especially since I'd just said some words about him because he had died. And then to hear him talk about me, and address me personally, was weird.
But, as I say, a great guy, a great singer and Roy has made more money since he died than he ever did in his lifetime. Isn't that ironic and strange? “