Joe Melson

Hey. Mister Cupid Joe Melson

Although Joe Melson remains chiefly famous as co-writer of Roy Orbison's early, breakthrough hits, he also had a parallel recording career himself, cutting a series of collectable R&R sides for the Hickory label. But although his recorded legacy is an impressive body of work, Melson was unlucky with his own releases and was unable to register a national hit. This 35-track compilation presents an unique portrait of Joe, comprising his first seven singles, including sides like 'Oh Yeah', 'Shook Up', 'Hey Mister Cupid' and a souped-up revival of 'Wake Up Little Susie' (all of which sound like they could have been hits), plus a handful of songwriters' demos, four of which also feature co-writer Orbison. It also features sixteen of his songs as recorded by other artists, like Mark Dinning, The Velvets, Conway Twitty and Bobby Vee, alongside a trio of Orbison's biggest, signature hits, 'Only The Lonely', 'Running Scared' and 'Crying'.