Editing Roy Orbison (section)

===1955–1956: The Teen Kings===
{{main|Roy Orbison's Sun recordings}}
At the end of the spring semester of 1955, Orbison dropped out of North Texas State College, switching to [[Odessa College|Odessa Junior College.]]<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p32}} The Wink Westerners were disbanded in the fall of 1955, and Orbison formed a new band called the Teen Kings.{{sfnp|Slate, Orbison et al.|2017}} The band was made of Orbison, Billy Pat Ellis, and James Morrow from the Wink Westerners, plus Jack Kennelly on bass and Johnny Wilson.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p32}} At a dance event where the Teen Kings performed, Orbison met his future wife, Claudette Frady.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p30}} Claudette was 14 at the time, five years younger than Orbison.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p40}}

The Teen Kings's first recording was the song "Ooby Dooby", which was recorded at [[Norman Petty]]'s studio in [[Clovis, New Mexico]], in March 1956.{{sfnp|Slate, Orbison et al.|2017|p=254}} It was published by Odessa-based start-up label [[Je–Wel]]<ref name="escott"/>{{sfnp|Slate, Orbison et al.|2017|p=245}} as the B-side of the ''JE-WEL 101'' single.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p36}} The A-side of the single was "Tryin' to Get to You", a song previously recorded by Elvis Presley.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p36}}

After "Ooby Dooby" was published by Je-Wel Records, Orbison became convinced that a larger record company would be able to sell more copies of the record, and he spoke to a lawyer about breaking the contract with Je-Wel.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p40}} Initially, Orbison obtained an injunction to prevent Je-Wel from distributing the record, before they reached an agreement that the band would pay back the label the costs of producing the records.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p40}} Orbison was now free to find a new label to market Ooby Dooby, but a further setback was that he cut a demonstration tape of the song for [[Columbia Records]], which they turned down, but had one of their contract artists ([[Sid King]]) release a recording of "Ooby Dooby" before Orbison could offer the tape to another record company.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p40}}

Eventually, [[Sam Phillips]]'s [[Sun Records]] signed up to record "Ooby Dooby", but the events that led to this are disputed.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p42}} Some claim that Johnny Cash toured the Odessa area in 1955 and 1956,{{sfnp|Slate, Orbison et al.|2017}} appearing on the same local TV show as the Wink Westerners,{{sfnp|Slate, Orbison et al.|2017}} Cash stated, "[I]n late '55 or early '56, I was touring with Elvis when I met Roy in Texas... I told him to get in touch with Sun Records if he wanted to be a recording artist". Orbison has said that when he did this, Phillips told him, "Johnny Cash doesn't run my record company!".<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p42}} However, both Sam Philips and Billy Pat Ellis (the band's drummer) have disputed that Johnny Cash was involved.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p42-43}} Three of the Teen Kings's band members have said that their relationship with Sun Records began when Odessa record-store owner Poppa Holifield played it over the telephone for Sam Phillips in April 1956, and Phillips offered the Teen Kings a contract.{{sfnp|Slate, Orbison et al.|2017}}<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p42}}

The Teen Kings went to [[Sun Studio]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], to re-record "Ooby Dooby" for publication by Sun Records.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p42}} After an audition of the song, Sam Phillips signed the band up for "a year or two".<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p47}} However, the band's career soon slumped, since Orbison wanted to record emotional ballads rather than the rockabilly songs demanded by Sam Phillips, and Phillips's goal for a successor to Elvis Presley had moved on from Orbison to [[Carl Perkins]].<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p51}} The Teen Kings were granted a reprieve when Carl Perkins was badly injured in a car crash, resulting in "Ooby Dooby" being released (along with "Go Go Go") as Sun Single 242 in May 1956.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p51}}{{sfnp|Slate, Orbison et al.|2017}} The Teen Kings began an experimental tour of [[drive-in theatre|drive-in theaters]] in the Southern U.S. states (playing on top of projection house roofs between drive-in film showings) with [[Sonny James]], [[Johnny Horton]], Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash.<ref name="offbio" /> Much influenced by Elvis Presley, Orbison performed frenetically, doing "everything we could to get applause, because we had only one hit record".<ref>Clayson, Alan, p. 44.</ref> Orbison also began writing songs in a rockabilly style, including "[[Go Go Go (Down the Line)|Go! Go! Go!]]" and "Rockhouse".<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Orbison|first1=Roy Jr.|title=The Authorized Roy Orbison|last2=Orbison Alex|last3=Orbison|first3=Wesley|last4=Slate|first4=Jeff|publisher=Center Street|date=2017|isbn=978-1-4789-7654-7|location=New York|pages=50, 57|language=English|oclc=1017566749}}</ref> In June 1956, "Ooby Dooby" peaked at number 59 in the ''Billboard'' charts and sold 200,000 copies,<ref name="escott"/> but the follow-up singles did not reach the charts.<ref name="offbio"/>

The Teen Kings played alongside Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Warren Smith, and Eddie Bond at the [[Overton Park Shell]] on June 1, 1956, but Orbison's relationship with the rest of the band was deteriorating at this stage.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p53}} Elvis Presley was in the audience for this show, and Orbison claimed that Elvis praised Orbison, but another band member says that it was actually Jack Kennelly (the band's bass player) whom Presley praised.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p53}} Kennelly said, "Roy's dream was to be a star, and once Sam (Phillips) inflated his ego, he couldn't be a part of a unit. Roy became egomaniacal".<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p53}} In the summer of 1956, Orbison purchased a brand-new purple Cadillac and a diamond ring with his first royalty check from "Ooby Dooby";<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p53}} however, the band soon found out that their paychecks from the concerts were not covering their costs and that life as a touring band was a demoralizing experience.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p55}} The band's contract did not include any royalty payments ("BMI") when their songs were played on the radio, and Orbison had run out of money by late 1956.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p58}} Orbison was encouraged by Norman Petty to record a single without the Teen Kings and the rest of the band walked on Roy during a recording session when told of a plan to rename the band "Roy Orbison and the Teen Kings".<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p56}} The band broke up in December 1956,<ref name="offbio" /> and Sam Phillips said they were arguing about money, but the basic problem was that Orbison was too much of a loner and driven egoist.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p61}} The lack of a band was a serious problem for Orbison's contract at Sun Records, since the label had no use for a singer who did not have a band.<ref name="Amburn"/>{{refpage|p61}}