"Blue Bayou " is the title of a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison. The best known version remains Linda Ronstadt's 1977 cover, which was a top-ten pop, country and easy listening single in the U.S.; the song was included on Ronstadt's Triple-Platinum-Plus Simple Dreams album.

BLUE BAYOU TICKETS BTS Tickets Rush Tickets Journey Tickets Shakira Tickets Bryson Tiller Tickets Earth, Wind and Fire Tickets

Roy Orbison version

A plaintive ballad, it was originally released by Orbison as a 45rpm single on the Monument Records label in August 1963 (backed with the rock song "Mean Woman Blues") ^[1].

"Blue Bayou" also appears on Orbison's 1963 album, In Dreams and his 1989 posthumous album A Black & White Night Live from the 1988 HBO television special.

Track listings

7" vinyl

US: Monument Records 824

Side one #"Blue Bayou" (Joe Melson , Roy Orbison) – 2:29 Side two #"Mean Woman Blues" (Claude Demetrius) – 2:23

Chart performance

Chart (1963)	Peak position
Irish Singles Chart [2]	1
Norwegian Singles Chart [3]	10
US Billboard Black Singles [4]	26
US Billboard Pop Singles	29

References in popular culture

This song has been used in several motion pictures including:

• Man on Fire , Tony Scott (2004)
• Dreamcatcher , Lawrence Kasdan (2003)
• Last Orders , Fred Schepisi (2001)
• The Man Who Fell to Earth , Nicholas Roeg (1976) starring David Bowie

Linda Ronstadt version

Linda Ronstadt took the song to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late 1977 - as well as #2 Country and #3 Easy Listening. The single was RIAA certified Gold (for sales of over 1 million US copies) in early 1978. It was later certified Platinum (for over 2 million US copies sold). It was also popular in a Spanish-language version called "Lago Azul".

Because of this song, Dickson's Baseball Dictionary records that a "Linda Ronstadt" is a synonym for a fastball, a pitch that "blew by you."

Track listings

7" vinyl

US: Asylum Records E-45431

Side one #"Blue Bayou" (Joe Melson , Roy Orbison) – 3:57 Side two #"Old Paint (traditional, arranged by Linda Ronstadt) – 3:05

Chart performance

Chart (1977)	Peak position
US Billboard Adult Contemporary [5]	3
US Billboard Country Singles	2
US Billboard Pop Singles	3
Chart (1978)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart [6]	35

Other cover versions

"Blue Bayou" has been recorded by other artists in many languages, including in the French language by France's Mireille Mathieu. The song was also recorded by Australian a cappella group The Idea of North.

Mexican singer/actress Bibi Gaytán recorded in 1994 a spanish version of this song titled "Lago Azul", which was released as the first single from her second studio album Manzana Verde .

References

1. Roy Orbison website
2. irishcharts.ie search results for Blue Bayou
3. norwegiancharts.com
4. Allmusic - Roy Orbison - Billboard singles
5. Allmusic - Linda Ronstadt - Billboard singles
6. everyhit.com search results