OH, PRETTY WOMAN^©

Live 30 Sep 1987 version

Pretty woman, walking down the street
Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet
Pretty woman
I don't believe you, you're not the truth
No one could look as good as you
Mercy

Pretty woman, won't you pardon me
Pretty woman, I couldn't help see
Pretty woman
You look lovely as can be
Are you lonely just like me
Wow

Pretty woman, stop a while
Pretty woman, talk a while
Pretty woman, gave your smile to me
Pretty woman, yeah, yeah, yeah
Pretty woman, look my way
Pretty woman, say you'll stay with me
'Cause I need you, I'll treat you right
Come to me baby, be mine tonight

Pretty woman, don't walk on by
Pretty woman, don't make me cry
Pretty woman, don't walk away, hey...okay
If that's the way it must be, okay

I guess I'll go on home, it's late
There'll be tomorrow nigh, but wait
What do I see
Is she walking back to me
Yeah, she's walking back to me
Oh, oh, pretty woman

Page last updated: 04 Jul 2009

Intro

Written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees, OH, PRETTY WOMAN was originally released by Orbison in 1964. Check out Roy Orbison's original version for more details.

A Black And White Night

Roy Orbison And Friends - A Black And White Night is a 1988 Cinemax television special starring Hall Of Fame singer/songwriter Roy Orbison and originally broadcast on 03 Jan 1988 on HBO. Directed by Tony Mitchell, the special was shot entirely in beautiful black and white in a 1940's-type nightclub setting. The taping took place on 30 Sep 1987 at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles, CA, approximately a year before Orbison's death.

Over the end credits, several of the band members are shown saying some words about Orbison. Bruce Springsteen says: "I remember when I was a kid, his music took me out of my little town, you know. And... you don't always get a chance to sing harmony with Roy Orbison and play guitar next to James Burton, that's a dream."

Track Listing

The special consisted of a performance of many of Orbison's hits:

1. ONLY THE LONELY
2. DREAM BABY (HOW LONG MUST I DREAM)
3. BLUE BAYOU
4. THE COMEDIANS
5. OOBY DOOBY
6. LEAH
7. RUNNING SCARED
8. UPTOWN
9. IN DREAMS
10. CRYING
11. CANDYMAN
12. GO, GO, GO (DOWN THE LINE)
13. MEAN WOMAN BLUES
14. (ALL I CAN DO IS) DREAM YOU
15. CLAUDETTE
16. IT'S OVER
17. OH, PRETTY WOMAN

The above tracks are listed like they are arranged on the concert's DVD, and do not necessarily reflect the correct order of the show's setlist.

BLUE BAYOU and CLAUDETTE were not included in the original broadcast due to time constraints, but were later released on the DVD release of the show and the 1998 reissue of the audio album.

Musicians

Orbison was accompanied by a supporting backing band put together by musical director T-Bone Burnett who also played played guitar during the concert. All members were Orbison fans who volunteered to participate in the special, and most of them were famous musicians, making the cast an all-star line-up:

• Roy Orbison – Guitar and Vocals
   
• Bruce Springsteen – Guitar and Vocals
• Elvis Costello – Guitar, Organ, Harmonica and Vocals
• Tom Waits – Guitar and Organ
• T-Bone Burnett – Guitar
   
• James Burton – Guitar
• Glen D. Hardin – Piano
• Jerry Scheff – Bass
• Ronnie Tutt – Drums
   
• Bonnie Raitt – Female singer
• Jennifer Warnes – Female singer
• kd lang – Female singer
• John David Souther – Guitar and male singer
• Jackson Browne – Male singer
• Steven Soles – Male singer

James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Scheff, and Ronnie Tutt are all former of the TCB Band, a group of professional musicians who formed the core rhythm section of Elvis Presley's band from August 1969 until his death in 1977.

Additional musicians:

• Alex Acuna – Percussion
• Mike Utley – Keyboards
• Pavel Farkas – Violin
• Peter Hatch – Viola
• Ezra Kliger – Violin
• Jimbo Ross – Viola
• Sid Page – Concert Master

Video Releases

The special was released in 1988 as VHS home video titled A Black And White Night and credited to Roy Orbison And Friends. It was also released that same year on Laserdisc. Below are scans for the US VHS (NTSC; HBO Video), the European VHS (PAL; Virgin Video), the US Laserdisc (HBO Video), and the Japanese Laserdisc respectively.

In 1998, the video was reissued on Orbison Records, and credited to Roy Orbison only. It was also released later on DVD and HD-DVD. Below are scans for the 1998 promotional VHS, the 1998 commercial VHS, the DVD, and the HD-DVD respectively. The DVD and the HD-DVD contain the two previously unreleased songs.

Album Releases

In November 1989, the audio was released on Virgin Records as a live album titled A Black And White Night Live and credited to Roy Orbison And Friends. In 1998, the album was reissued on Orbison Records under the title Black And White Night and credited to Roy Orbison only. This reissue contains the two previously unreleased songs.

The Track

During OH, PRETTY WOMAN, Bruce Springsteen sang background vocals sharing microphone with Jackson Browne and played guitar throughout the song. Before the last verse, a long and beautiful duel of guitar solos took place between Bruce and James Burton. The above lyrics are for that great live 30 Sep 1987 performance of the song.

That live 30 Sep 1987 version of OH, PRETTY WOMAN was released in January 1990 a single (Virgin 7 99159) with CLAUDETTE as b-side. Roy Orbison won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for this live recording of OH, PRETTY WOMAN.

Other Performances

Bruce Springsteen performed OH, PRETTY WOMAN on 21 Jan 1987 during the 2nd annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City, NY. That year Roy Orbison was among the inductees.

In June 1999, at a Doug Flutie Autism Foundation fundraising gala held at Jon Bon Jovi's estate in Middletown, guests Anthony and Pam Diasco paid $60,000 during the evening's dinner auction for right to host a very private Bon Jovi band concert at their home. The performance took place on 04 Dec 1999 at the Diasco's estate in Colt's Neck, NJ. Although Springsteen's services were not part of the June auction, the Diasco's got a bonus -- Bruce Springsteen (as well as wife Patti Scialfa and Southside Johnny) attended the December party and Bruce, backed by Bon Jovi, performed a set of six songs including OH, PRETTY WOMAN.

The song reappeared during the Working On A Dream Tour, on 02 Jul 2009 at Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany. That was Roy Bittan's birthday. From Backstreets.com's review of the concert:

But the true high of the evening was yet to come. Bruce picked up a massive sign, and as he held it forward he said "We don't know this song, but this is an example of a great sign." He read from the sign the words "Ooh Pretty Woman So sexy for Roy," and laughed: "I think they mean you, Roy!" There was a picture of a beautiful woman on the sign, and Bruce said that "if Roy had this woman, he'd never have another birthday!" Then taking on the request: "Dare we, dare we? We don't know this one... what about the bridge, is there a C in there?" Then they began to play "Pretty Woman," and it was utterly fantastic, such a spontaneous, wonderful moment of creation by the whole E Street Band. As they finished, Bruce yelled, "We did it! I'm keeping this sign forever!" and absolute pandemonium broke out as the crowd cheered.

Available Versions

List of available versions of OH, PRETTY WOMAN on this website:

• Live 30 Sep 1987 version
• Roy Orbison's original version

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake from BTX and Greasy Lake).