Oh, Pretty Woman – Roy Orbison And The Candy Men | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 3 weeks); 1964
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Beginning in 1960, Roy Orbison scored an incredible 15 Top 30 chart songs in four years from Only The Lonely through classics such as Running Scared (#1) and Cryin’ (#2). One evening in 1964 Roy and Bill Dees were running through some ideas at Roy’s house when Roy’s wife, Claudette, announced she was going into town to do some shopping.
Roy asked her if she needed any money, at which point Bill interjected, “A pretty woman never needs any money.” Bill thought that would make a darn good song title; Roy voted for just the “pretty woman” part.
Forty minutes later, with Roy strumming and Bill drumming the table for rhythm, Oh, Pretty Woman was done, just in time for Claudette’s return. Five weeks after entering the Hot 100 at #27, Woman blew the Animals‘ House Of The Rising Sun out of the top spot: a fitting follow-up to another Orbison/Dees hit record collaboration, It’s Over.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Fred Foster
Lyrics Written by:
- Roy Orbison
- Bill Dees
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).