Bonham, Texas -- Joe Melson was born in Bonham on May 11, 1935. After high school he moved to Odessa.
According to his obituary in the New York Times, he was involved in the local music scene in Odessa where he knew Roy Orbison. They began a collaboration that would last decades, with Joe and Roy writing songs and Roy singing them.
Their first big hit was “Only the Lonely.” Other hits were “Blue Angel,” “Running Scared” and “Crying.” “Only the Lonely” and “Crying” are in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Melson was inducted the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018.
Joe Melson died on Nashville on July 1, 2026 at the age of 91.
