Tribute show ‘Roy Orbison Returns’ performs at Clark Center in AG

San Simeon resident Wiley Ramey can recall the first time he heard Roy Orbison’s signature song with crystal clarity.

“I remember exactly where I was when I heard ‘Pretty Woman’ for the first time. I was in a basement club in Munich, Germany, called the Big Apple,” dancing with a cute German girl named Annaliese Kraus, said Ramey, who still relishes the memory.

For Ramey, Orbison represents “a positive influence on a personal level.” That’s why the attorney-turned-musician has found a side career channeling the late rock legend in the tribute show “Roy Orbison Returns,” which returns to the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande on Friday. (It previously played there in 2013.)

“Wiley … is covering Roy, but he really sounds like Roy,” said Grammy Award-winning guitarist Louie Ortega, who will join Ramey and his Big O Band in the concert. “He’s giving fans the experience of what Roy’s show would have been (like).”

Ramey, who goes by the stage name Wiley Ray, discovered Orbison’s music as a teenager. He remembers listening to his first major hit, “Only the Lonely,” when it came out in 1960.

But it was the endorsement of the King of Rock, Elvis Presley, that sold Ramey on the singer-songwriter.

“I was a big Elvis fan, but Elvis was a big fan of Roy and Roy was a big fan of Elvis,” explained Ramey, who grew up in Coalinga and lived in Los Angeles before moving to the Central Coast in 1982. “So I became a Roy fan pretty easily.”

Ramey listed a few of his favorite things about Orbison: “His voice, his lyrics and his rockabilly rhythms.”

“His lyrics are insightful and meaningful and reassuring,” he said. “He’s a positive artist. He’s not into negativity.”

Plus, Ramey said, the rock ‘n’ roll crooner behind “Crying,” “Candy Man” and “Running Scared” represents a kinder, gentler time in American history.

“He was popular at a time in this country where we hadn’t yet been tainted by the Vietnam War, by the war on drugs, by Richard Nixon,” Ramey said. “My crowd likes to relive the nostalgia of that time in their lives. They have positive memories of those days. This music takes them back to their childhoods.”

Ramey first donned a black suit and sunglasses to perform Orbison songs in 2004 at the San Simeon Beach Bar & Grill. (A partner in the adjoining San Simeon Lodge, Ramey is also one of the owners of Ragged Point Inn and Resort.) Paso Robles guitarist Eddie Lee brought together a band to back him up.

The current lineup of the Big O Band — the group takes its name from Orbison’s nickname — features Dwight Harrington on guitar, Ron Labrie on keyboards, Tony Souza on drums and James Stone on bass. Backup vocalists Amaris Laurette Taylor and Rachel Santa Cruz also perform with them.

Occasionally, Ramey invites guest artists onstage as well. Ortega first performed as part of “Roy Orbison Returns” in 2013 at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo.

“You could really feel the electricity” when he joined in for the finale, “Pretty Woman,” Ortega said. He’s also joined Ramey and the Big O Band in concert in Walnut Creek.

The guitarist, who’s best known for his work with rock band Sir Douglas Quintet and Tex-Mex supergroup Texas Tornados, said he’s mostly there to add tasteful touches to the overall effect.

“What I’m really doing spot-on is the signature licks,” Ortega explained, noting that Ramey sticks close to Orbison’s original arrangements. “I’m able to take that energy and that feel and create my own solo within the structure. It’s really fun.”

Ramey said “Roy Orbison Returns,” which is produced by Tara Mills and presented by Running Scared Productions, is modeled after the all-star television special “Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night.” It was filmed in 1987, the same year Orbison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, and aired in 1988 approximately a year before his death at age 52.

“We try to recreate the atmosphere of that show,” Ramey explained, with a few tweaks. “We’re not slavishly following that model.”

So far, he said, “Roy Orbison Returns” has been a hit with concertgoers.

“I’ve seen many people with tears in their eyes,” Ramey said. “They talk about where they were when they heard this particular song. … It’s like a class reunion from 1962.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 11:08 AM with the headline "Tribute show ‘Roy Orbison Returns’ performs at Clark Center in AG."