Barbara Orbison was a German-born United States-based entrepreneur, music producer/publisher, and the second wife of American musician Roy Orbison.
Biography
Barbara Anne Marie Wellhöner Jakobs was born in Bielefeld, West Germany on January 10, 1951. Aged 17, Barbara met the 32-year-old Orbison when he asked friends to introduce him to her at Batley Variety Club, West Yorkshire, England, during Orbison's UK tour. A few weeks later, Orbison suffered a devastating tragedy when two of his three sons died in a house fire. Barbara and Orbison married on March 25, 1969, in Hendersonville, Tennessee. They divided their time between Nashville, Tennessee and Malibu, California, bringing up their two sons, Roy Kelton Orbison, Jr. and Alexander Orbi Orbison. During the 1980s, she managed her husband's career and was the executive producer of his 1987 album, ', plus his highly acclaimed January 1988 televised music special, '. Following her husband's death on December 6, 1988, she took charge of his business affairs and dedicated herself to promoting his music to subsequent generations. She worked with friend and fellow artist Jeff Lynne to put together the posthumous release of the King of Hearts album in 1992 as well as other record projects. She co-produced Only the Lonely: The Roy Orbison Story, a European stage musical. In late 1993, the family home in Malibu was destroyed by brush fires. Although she maintained a residence on the West Coast, she returned to Nashville where she purchased a home as well as a commercial property to house her music publishing business. Her company, Still Working Music employs songwriters such as Tommy Lee James and Chase Bryant. Orbison was also involved with charitable causes in aid of the homeless. For Showtime, in 1990, she produced a Roy Orbison tribute at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles that raised in excess of $1 million for the city's homeless. She personally funded "Orbison House", a 21-unit residence for the mentally impaired homeless of Los Angeles. She produced Damien Leith's album, , which was released by Sony BMG in Australia on 15 April 2011 to coincide with what would have been Roy Orbison's 75th birthday.
Death
Barbara Orbison was hospitalised from May 2011 until her death from pancreatic cancer on December 6, 2011, precisely 23 years after her husband's death. She was buried next to her husband at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. This was followed by a celebration of her life in Nashville, Tennessee.
