End Of The Line ~ Looking For Roy

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2024: Week 31 (END OF THE LINE)

As soon as I read this week's prompt I immediately thought of the song End Of The Line by the Traveling Wilburys released in 1988. 

I still don't know what about this song I liked, but as soon as it started playing I realized ... I still love it. 

"“End of the Line” the final track off of The Traveling Wilburys' Grammy Award-winning first album, The Traveling Wilburys Volume 1, released in 1989.

The song’s riding-on-the-rails rhythm suggests its theme and the on-the-move nature of the group. It features all the Wilburys, except Bob Dylan (though he provides backing vocals), as lead singers; George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison sing the chorus in turn, while Tom Petty sings the verses. The song then expands into a “freight train” rhythm, effectively ending Vol 1 with a picture of the middle-aged rockstars at peace with their ride into the sunset.

It was released as the second single from the album, eventually peaking at number 63 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The music video for “End of the Line” was filmed after Roy Orbison’s death in December 1988. To compensate for the loss, a shot of a guitar sitting in a rocking chair next to a photo of Orbison was used when Orbison’s vocals are heard. "  1

When looking at the members of this group I can understand why it was such a great song:  George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison.

What an incredible group of singers brought together in one place. 

It's a heartfelt moment in the video where the guitar sits in a rocking chair with a photo of Roy while his vocals are heard.  

Check it out: 

What exactly does this song have to do with anything genealogy related?

When I first started writing I had no idea how I would connect the two.

I just knew I had to write about this song.

I headed off to the website FamousKin.com to see if any of them were related to Princess Diana via our shared line. 

That would have made connecting the song and our Bramble Bush simple. 

Not one of them were on FamousKin.

I then began searching each along with the term genealogy hoping to find a tree with shared family names.

Only one had a name I recognized as shared -

Roy Orbison's tree included his great grandmother:

Sarah Jane Strong
Born 19 Nov 1833 in Fulton, Kentucky, United States
Died 28 Oct 1927 at age 93 in Jackson, Oklahoma, United States
married to great grandpa:
Samuel Houston Moore Orbison
Born about 1815 in Rockbridge, Virginia, United States
Died Feb 1896 at about age 81 in Jackson, Oklahoma, United States

Roy Orbison performing in New York in 1987
photo sourced below

What I thought would be a simple connect from my Strong line to Roy's Strong line was anything but simple.

Soon I had 2 browser windows open:
      - one with 45 tabs open, and the other with a manageable 6. 

After about 4 hours of tugging I had added a new line to my Strong line, but I could no longer remember how I had thought they were connected. 

I decided a break was in order. 

The next morning I took a 2nd look at all 51 tabs, and made a bizarre discovery. 

Roy's great grandpa, Samuel Houston Moore Orbison, is Chris' 5th cousin X8 removed through their paternal lines.

Chris' 12th great grandparents & Roy's 7th great grandparents are:
William Lloyd

Birth: Abt. 1602, Bristol, England

Death: Abt. 1674/1675, Bristol, England
(will was created November 11th 1672, Proved February 26th 1675)

and
Alice Noke

Birth: Abt. 1607, England

Death: Abt. 1675, Bristol, England

Via another twist & turn Roy's 1st & 2nd wife, Claudette is my 11th cousin X1 removed via both our maternal lines. 

Our in common relatives are my 11th great grandparents, and Claudette's 10th great grandparents.

Philobert Cogan

Birth: Abt. 1563, Taunton, Somerset, England

Death: February 10th 1641, Chard, South Somerset, Somerset, England
and
Anne Marshall

Birth: November 1st 1579, Abbotts Ann, Hampshire, England

Death: Abt. 1650, Chard, Somerset, England

Claudette & Roy were married in 1957, divorced in 1964, remarried in 1965, and she died in 1966. 

Claudette was the inspiration for the song he wrote and the Everly Brothers recorded:

AND later Roy also recorded it:

These are the family lines that connect back to colonial arrival resulting in crossover connections throughout this Bramble Bush.

I haven't yet connected our shared Strong line, but haven't given up. 

Still researching for the Strong connections!!! 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

Footnotes:

1  About. End of the Line.  Traveling Wilburys. Genius.  Collection of song lyrics and musical knowledge.  Retrieved July 26th 2024 from
https://genius.com/Traveling-wilburys-end-of-the-line-lyrics

Sources:

Claudette (Video). Everly Brothers recorded. Retrieved July 27th 2024 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQfkJ9YB8Mw

Claudette (Video). Roy Orbison recorded. Retrieved July 27th 2024 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaijlRxS_jI

Individual Tree Details. Family Search. Retrieved July 27th 2024 from
https://www.familysearch.org/en/home/portal/

Family tree of Roy ORBISON. Geneastar - Famous Genealogies. Retrieved July 26th 2024 from 
https://en.geneastar.org/genealogy/orbisonroy/roy-orbison

FamousKin.com. Retrieved July 26th 2024 from
https://famouskin.com

Roy Orbison facts: Singer's wife, children, songs and why he always wore glasses explained. By Tom Owen. Smooth Radio. Originally published February 11th 2021. Updated January 26th 2024. Retrieved July 27th 2024 from https://www.smoothradio.com/news/music/roy-orbison-facts-glasses-wife-children-songs-death/

Samuel Houston Moore Orbison. Wikitree. Retrieved July 26th 2024 from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Orbison-67

Sarah Jane (Strong) Orbison. Wikitree. Retrieved July 26th 2024 from
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Strong-6967

The tragic true story behind Roy Orbison. By Tom Taylor. FarOut Magazine. Originally published December 6th 2021. Retrieved July 27th 2024 from
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-tragic-true-story-behind-roy-orbison/

The Traveling Wilburys. Retrieved July 26th 2024 from
https://www.travelingwilburys.com/

The Traveling Wilburys - End Of The Line (Official Video). Retrieved July 26th 2024 from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMVjToYOjbM

Photos:

Roy Orbison performing in New York in 1987. Ronzoni, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved July 27th 2024 from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orbison1987.jpg

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/

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