Blue Bayou

"Blue Bayou" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. It was originally sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an international hit with his version in 1963. It later became Linda Ronstadt's signature song, with which she scored a Top 5 hit with her cover in 1977. Many others have since recorded the song.

Background
"Blue Bayou" was originally recorded by Roy Orbison at the end of 1961. In the UK, it was released by London Monument as the double A-side track with "Mean Woman Blues" on a Monument Records single (HLU 9777), where both sides peaked at number 3. It was issued as a B-side single in the US, peaking at number 29; the A-side, "Mean Woman Blues", peaked at number 5. The song also appeared on Orbison's 1963 full-length album In Dreams. According to the authorised biography of Roy Orbison, a rare different version of "Blue Bayou" was released only in Italy (London 45-HL 1499).

"Blue Bayou" reappeared on his 1989 posthumous album A Black & White Night Live, from the 1988 television special on Cinemax.

7" vinyl
US: Monument Records 824

Side one Side two
 * 1) "Blue Bayou" (Roy Orbison, Joe Melson) – 2:29 – Recorded in late 1961.
 * 1) "Mean Woman Blues" (Claude Demetrius) – 2:23

Use in other media
This song has been used in several motion pictures including: Jacques Cousteau included an abridged version of the song during a "River Explorations" episode, which details environmental changes on the Mississippi River. This song has also been used in the Netflix digital series, Stranger Things (Season 2, Episode 6). A French language version of the song entitled "Tu n'es plus là" was released in 1963 by French rock and roll singer Dick Rivers.
 * The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring David Bowie
 * Last Orders (2001), directed by Fred Schepisi
 * Dreamcatcher (2003), directed by Lawrence Kasdan
 * Man on Fire (2004), directed by Tony Scott
 * American Made (2017), directed by Doug Liman and starring Tom Cruise
 * The Best of Enemies (2019), directed by Robin Bissell, and starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell
 * Blue Bayou (film) (2021), directed by Justin Chon. In the film, the song is sung by actress Alicia Vikander

Background
Linda Ronstadt took the song to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1977, where it held for four weeks, as well as #2 Country and #3 Easy Listening. It also reached #2, holding there for four weeks, on the Cash Box Top 100 chart.

The single was RIAA certified Gold (for sales of over 1 million US copies) in January 1978. It was the first of Ronstadt's three Gold singles. Don Henley of the Eagles sang backup on the recording. "Blue Bayou" was later certified Platinum (for over 2 million copies sold in the United States). It was a worldwide smash, charting in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Mexico, where it topped the singles charts.

Ronstadt's version was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Ronstadt also recorded a Spanish-language version of the song (translated by her father, Gilbert Ronstadt), titled "Lago Azul (Blue Bayou)", which was released in 1978 on the single Asylum E-45464, backed by "Lo Siento Mi Vida", a previously released Spanish song that Ronstadt herself co-wrote. This version has never been included on any reissues of Simple Dreams.

Ronstadt later performed the song on episode 523 of The Muppet Show, first aired on October 26, 1980, in the UK, and May 16, 1981, in the United States.

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". That phrase was coined by New York Mets broadcaster Tim McCarver during a Mets telecast in the 1980s.

Ronstadt's version appears, in edited form, in the 2017 film American Made and in Tony Scott's 2004 film Man on Fire.

7" vinyl
US: Asylum Records E-45431

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