Mystery Girl

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Chicago Tribune	(Positive)^[2]
Deseret News	(Positive)^[3]
Houston Chronicle	^[4]
Los Angeles Times	^[5]
The New York Times	(Favorable)^[6]
Robert Christgau	(B)^[7]
Rolling Stone	^[8]
Q	^{[citation needed]}

Mystery Girl is the last album recorded by Roy Orbison, posthumously released on the Virgin label in 1989. The album became a hit worldwide, reaching #5 on the US Billboard 200, and #2 on the UK Albums Chart.^[9]

History

All the tracks were recorded in late 1988, and it was finalized for release in the weeks following Orbison's death through the collaborative efforts of several artists who were all friends and admirers. The album was named after the chorus from the track "She's a Mystery to Me", written for Orbison by U2's Bono and The Edge.

In the documentary In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story, Bono tells how he woke up for a concert's sound check, following a late night listening to the soundtrack to David Lynch's Blue Velvet, and had the tune in his head, figuring it was another Orbison song ("In Dreams" was the only Orbison song on that album). During the sound check he performed it for the other members of U2, who agreed that the track sounded like an Orbison song. A short while later, Orbison met the band backstage at one of their concerts and subsequently asked Bono if he would like to write a song with/for him.

The album was released posthumously in 1989 and would join another Orbison album on the Billboard chart. Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 was recorded in mid 1988 as part of the supergroup, Traveling Wilburys. The dual success means that Roy Orbison joins Jim Croce, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson as the only singers to simultaneously have two Top 5 albums on the Billboard chart posthumously.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"You Got It"	Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty	Jeff Lynne	3:30
2.	"In the Real World"	Richard Kerr, Will Jennings	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell, Barbara Orbison	3:44
3.	"(All I Can Do Is) Dream You"	Billy Burnette, David Malloy	T-Bone Burnett	3:39
4.	"A Love So Beautiful"	Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne	Jeff Lynne	3:33
5.	"California Blue"	Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty	Jeff Lynne	3:57

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
6.	"She's a Mystery to Me"	Bono, The Edge	Bono	4:16
7.	"The Comedians"	Elvis Costello	T-Bone Burnett	3:26
8.	"The Only One"	Wesley Orbison, Craig Wiseman	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell	3:55
9.	"Windsurfer"	Roy Orbison, Bill Dees	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell	4:01
10.	"Careless Heart"	Roy Orbison, Diane Warren, Albert Hammond	Roy Orbison, Mike Campbell	4:08

Bonus track (2007 reissue)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
11.	"You May Feel Me Crying"	Richard Kerr, Will Jennings	Brian Eno^[10]	4:14

Personnel

Core

Roy Orbison – vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar on 1 2 4 5 8 10, electric guitar on 6
Jeff Lynne – electric guitar on 1 5, acoustic guitar on 4, keyboards on 1 4 5, piano on 1, bass on 1 4 5, backing vocals on 1 4 5 9
Tom Petty – acoustic guitar on 1 5, backing vocals on 1 2 5
Mike Campbell – electric guitar on 2 10, acoustic guitar on 5 9 10, bass on 2 10, mandolin on 5
Jim Keltner – drums on 2 6 7 8 9 10
Howie Epstein – bass on 6 8 9, backing vocals on 2 8 9 10
Benmont Tench – piano on 6 8 9 10, organ on 8, cheap strings on 6

Additional personnel

Phil Jones – drums on 1, percussion on 1
Michael Utley – strings arrangements on 1 2 7 9
Barbara Orbison – backing vocals on 2
Roy Orbison, Jr. – backing vocals on 2
Al Kooper – organ on 2
Rick Vito – electric guitar on 3, backing vocals on 3, slide guitar on 9
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass on 3
Buell Neidlinger – arco bass on 3 7
Billy Burnette – acoustic guitar on 3, backing vocals on 3
Mickey Curry – drums on 3
George Harrison – acoustic guitar on 4
Ray Cooper – drums on 4
Louis Clark – strings arrangements on 4 5
Ian Wallace – drums on 5, percussion on 5
Bono – electric guitar on 6
David Rhodes – electric guitar on 7
T-Bone Burnett – electric guitar on 7
Mitchell Froom – piano on 7
Jerry Scheff – string bass on 7
David Miner – string bass on 7
Gary Coleman – percussion on 7
Steve Cropper – electric guitar on 8
The Memphis Horns – arranged by Steve Cropper on 8; horns by Jim Horn

Accolades

Grammy Awards

Year	Recipient	Award	Result
1990	"You Got It"	Best Pop Vocal Performance – Male^[11]	style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"\|Nominated

Chart positions

Chart (1989)	Position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart^[12]	1
Austrian Albums Chart^[13]	4
Dutch Mega Albums Chart^[14]	1
German Media Control Albums Chart ^[15]	4
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart^[16]	89
New Zealand Albums Chart ^[17]	7
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart^[18]	1
Swedish Albums Chart^[19]	1
Swiss Albums Chart^[20]	3
UK Albums Chart ^[21]	2
United States Billboard 200^[22]	5

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)	Position
Australian Albums Chart^[23]	9
Austrian Albums Chart^[24]	29
Canadian Albums Chart^[25]	8
Swiss Albums Chart^[26]	26
UK Albums Chart^[27]	51
U.S. Billboard Year-end^[28]	42

Certifications


Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)^[29]	3× Platinum	300,000^{^}
Germany (BVMI)^[30]	Gold	250,000^{^}
Netherlands (NVPI)^[31]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[32]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
Sweden (GLF)^[33]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[34]	Gold	25,000^x
United Kingdom (BPI)^[35]	Platinum	300,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[36]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by Look Sharp! by Roxette	Swedish Chart number-one album February 8 - March 22, 1989	Succeeded by Like a Prayer by Madonna
Preceded by Anything for You by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine	Dutch Mega Chart number-one album February 18, 1989	Succeeded by Anything for You by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
Preceded by Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 by Traveling Wilburys	ARIA Charts number-one album February 27 - March 26, 1989	Succeeded by Hits of '89 Volume 1 by Various artists
Preceded by Ancient Heart by Tanita Tikaram	Norwegian VG-lista number-one album 07 - 09/1989	Succeeded by Solregn by Åge Aleksandersen

References

↑ Iyengar, Vik. Mystery Girl at AllMusic
↑ Silverman, David (1989-02-02). "Orbison`s `Mystery Girl` Is A Poignant Comeback". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
↑ "ON THE RECORD: LAST ALBUM BY ORBISON WAS A WINNER". deseretnews.com. Deseret News. 1989-03-10. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
↑ Claypool, Bob (1989-02-12). "Records". Retrieved 2011-11-04.
↑ Hilburn, Robert (1989-01-29). "The Albums of Winter : Posthumous Roy Orbison release leads the pack". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
↑ Holden, Stephen (1997-07-08). "THE POP LIFE". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
↑ "CG: Roy Orbison". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-09-09.
↑ link
↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 408–409. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
↑ The Official Roy Orbison Site "Roy Oabison The Soul of Rock and Roll 4-CD box set features 12 unreleased songs". Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "HERE'S LIST OF NOMINEES FROM ALL 77 CATEGORIES". deseretnews.com. Deseret News. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
↑ "australian-charts.com Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl – austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "dutchcharts.nl Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-08-08.
↑ "Album Search: Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ ロイ・オービソン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Mystery Girl by Roy Orbison". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "charts.org.nz — Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "norwegiancharts.com Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl". VG-lista. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "swedishcharts.com Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "Roy Orbison - Mystery Girl — hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved 2011-08-08.
↑ "Chart Stats — Roy Orbison — Mystery Girl". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ Allmusic - Mystery Girl > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums
↑ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 50 Albums 1989". aria.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "Austriancharts.at — Jahreshitparade 1989" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1989". RPM. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "Hitparade.ch — Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989". Swiss Music Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 2011-09-13.
↑ "The Billboard 200 - Year-end: 1989". Retrieved 2011-10-03.
↑ "Canadian album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl". Music Canada.
↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Roy Orbison; 'Mystery Girl')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
↑ "Dutch album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
↑ "Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1979-1990". Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Roy Orbison; 'Mystery Girl')". Hung Medien.
↑ "British album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Mystery Girl in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
↑ "American album certifications – Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

v t e Roy Orbison

Studio albums	Roy Orbison at the Rock House (1961) Lonely and Blue (1961) Crying (1962) In Dreams (1963) There Is Only One Roy Orbison (1965) Orbisongs (1965) The Orbison Way (1966) The Classic Roy Orbison (1966) Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson (1967) The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967) Cry Softly Lonely One (1967) Roy Orbison's Many Moods (1969) Big O (1970) Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way (1970) Roy Orbison Sings (1972) Memphis (1972) Milestones (1973) I'm Still In Love With You (1976) Regeneration (1977) Laminar Flow (1979) In Dreams: The Greatest Hits (1987 – studio re-recordings of earlier hits) Mystery Girl (1989) King of Hearts (1992)

Compilations	Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits (1962) More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits (1964) Early Orbison (1964) The Great Songs of Roy Orbison (1970) All-Time Greatest Hits (1972) In Dreams: The Greatest Hits (1987) 16 Biggest Hits (1999)

Collaborations	Class of '55 (1986) Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 (1988)

Soundtrack appearances	Roadie (1980) Less Than Zero (1987)

Live	A Black & White Night Live (1989)

Related articles	Discography Traveling Wilburys

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