You Got It

Album: Mystery Girl (1989)
Charted: 3 9
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Songfacts®:

  • One of the most distinctive and successful singers of the '60s, Roy Orbison fell out of favor in the '70s but came into the light in the late '80s with the support of a generation of musicians who drew on his influence. Along with George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Bob Dylan, Orbison joined the Traveling Wilburys, which released their first album in 1988. That year, his fellow Wilburys helped him record a comeback album, Mystery Girl, which was completed when Orbison died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988.

    The album was released in January 1989, with "You Got It" the first single. The song went to #9 in the US on April 15, 1989, giving Orbison his first Top 10 hit since "(Oh) Pretty Woman" in 1964.
  • Orbison wrote this song with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty. Lynne produced the track and also played guitar, keyboards and bass; Petty played acoustic guitar and sang backup.
  • The song is a declaration of love, with Orbison letting his girl know that anything she wants, he will provide. It proved that Roy Orbison's signature style was still in demand. While you can hear the updated musical conventions in the instrumentals and handclaps, Orbison's trembling, vulnerable voice and poetic lyrics remained faithful to his 1960s style.
  • This was a #1 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, Orbison's second, following "It's Over" in 1964.
  • Orbison performed this song just once: at the Diamond Awards Festival in Antwerp, Belgium on November 19, 1988. This performance was used as the song's music video.
  • The 1995 film Boys on the Side made use of this song, with both Whoopi Goldberg and Bonnie Raitt covering it for the soundtrack; Raitt's version peaked at #34 in the US in 1995.

Comments: 3

  • TLol! "Afraid that you are here to stay" hahahaa
  • Brian from Greenbelt, MarylandAwesome song. Very major chords in that one. As you'd expect from Roy. What a voice he had. Not just George, but the rest on the Beatles thought he was a singularly, great singer. I'll bet, person as well.
  • Chris from Germany Good song and one of his best songs ever. Sounds a little bit like ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE. it has a retro sound and sounds like it was produced in the 60s and not 1988
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