I was sitting in a cafe the other day and the radio was playing. It was the usual background music that you tune out while eating. I stared bleary eyed at my empty soup bowl when the old, foot stomping rock and roll rhythms of Pretty Woman snapped me out of my stupor.
Why was this recording so special, so gripping and seemingly as fresh as it was the day it was released in August, 1964? At 47 years of age Pretty Woman has remained more energetic than anything currently on the market. I sat there in the cafe, my mind recalling the day I first heard it as a rebellious teen.
Why does this song constantly capture and hold an audience year after year across the decades? Was it Orbison's fabulous vocals or the magical beat? Or a bit of both. I'm not surprised Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #222 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
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