Alex Orbison – President
Alex Orbison is a third generation musician who began his own path in music playing violin at the tender age of three because his hands were too small to fit around the neck of a guitar. With age and bigger hands, Alex eventually moved on to guitar and piano before finding his way to the drums at age eight but Alex always felt that he was a little late to the party because his dad, Roy Orbison, already had had his own radio show at that same age.
Alex joined his first band and started gigging around fourteen. At age 17, Alex took his first real ‘job’ in music, working in publishing for the Don Williams Music Group in Sherman Oaks California; but a year later, he was back on tour with his band Backbone. Backbone was co founded by Alex with Chris Williams, son of legendary songwriter Jerry Lynn Williams, and Alex and the group toured for the next eight years until Chris was tragically killed in a car accident. Alex then spent time bouncing between gigs with a number of local Los Angeles acts before eventually ending up joining Cisco Adler (son of Lou) in his band Whitestarr which, in time, also expanded into a reality TV show. The group disbanded in 2007 and in quiet periods between various new gigs, Alex took time out to study finance.
After three years of finance, Alex turned back to the creative life starting first with finishing a novel he had started writing while on the road with his prior bands. In the midst of this and a few days before the celebration of what would have been his father Roy Orbison’s 75th birthday, Alex’s mom Barbara was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The disease would claim her life seven months later.
Alex had promised his mother that if anything happened to her, he would ‘get down to Nashville and take care of business.’ That commenced with the re-positioning of Still Working Music in 2012 and Alex and his brothers taking the reigns of his father’s recordings and publishing businesses at that same time. The brothers hired on Chuck Fleckenstein to help manage all these endeavors and on the Still Working front, Alex’s first move was to re-sign Tommy Lee James – Tommy had been a Still Working writer from Barbara’s founding of the company. Tommy quickly proved his worth with the delivery of “My Eyes,” his sixth Still Working #1 and first under Alex’s leadership. Since 2012, Still Working has also signed or re-signed seven additional writers and has designs on expanding even further. Still Working’s partner through this all has been BMG – this relationship has both expanded and solidified.
Insofar as Alex’s father’s music is concerned, Alex and his brothers Wesley and Roy Jr, recently co-executive produced a documentary “Mystery Girl: Unraveled” about the last couple of years of their father’s life and career (Alex also directed the film). The Orbison brothers additionally have broad plans for their father’s far reaching music with comprehensive new deals with Sony Music, Universal Music and Kobalt Publishing positioned to partner in this success.
Roy Orbison Jr – President
Roy Orbison Jr is a singer and guitarist who lives in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, London and Sweden. The son of rock and roll legend Roy Orbison and music executive Barbara Orbison, Roy Jr has been involved in music his whole life.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee on October 18th, 1970. His godparents are Johnny and June Carter Cash. Grew up in England until he was 5. Then in the back of a tour bus on the road with Dad in the USA. The family moved to Los Angeles when he was 14. High school at Crossroads in Santa Monica. Malibu is still his home.
On his 5th birthday, his father called him onstage a concert in London and presented him with a guitar. Soon teaching him “You Are My Sunshine” which was the first song his grandfather Orbie Lee Orbison had taught his father when he was six years old.
At 11 Roy Jr temporarily switched to bass guitar because he wanted to play with his older brother Wesley who already played guitar. However, he only played lead lines on it and his Dad quickly suggested he move back to guitar.
Behind the scenes with The Traveling Wilburys and writing a song with Bono of U2 when he was 17, young Orbison got a “fly on the wall” view of rock and roll that was different everyday.
Jon Randall – A & R
Jon Randall made his way to Nashville from Dallas while he was still a teenager. He wasted no time, starting his professional musical journey on guitar with Emmylou Harris’ Nash Ramblers at only 20 years old. It was with the Nash Ramblers that Randall won his first Grammy for their Live at the Ryman album- a project that sparked a movement to restore the Mother Church of Country Music. As a skilled multi-instrumentalist and exceptional vocalist, Randall has toured and recorded with countless household names including Lyle Lovett, J2B2, The Sam Bush Band, Vince Gill, Earl Scruggs Family and Friends, and Dierks Bentley, in addition to on-stage appearances with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Widespread Panic, Kid Rock, and more.
Randall released his debut solo album, What You Don’t Know, in 1995 on RCA. His three subsequent albums have all been met with much critical acclaim. 1998’s Cold Coffee Morning is a cult classic. This rare gem from his time with Elektra/Asylum is a fan favorite with collector status. Music journalist Philip Van Vleck describes Randall’s independent 1999 album, Willin’, as “a dazzling collection of tunes.” Willin’ reveals Randall’s bluegrass roots and as Van Vleck puts it, “the resulting vibe is a tasty bit of eclecticism that probably fits as readily into the Americana category as it does in country.” In 2005 Randall released Walking Among the Living– a true writer’s record. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls it “quiet and gentle, spare and unadorned, with the minimal, acoustic-based arrangements emphasizing not just Randall’s words, but his lean, tightly constructed compositions.” Randall wrote or co-wrote all but one song on Walking Among the Living, including the title track, which he penned with his wife, Jessi Alexander.
His own records would be enough to establish him as a successful songwriter, but Randall has had cuts with everyone from Guy Clark to Blake Shelton. Randall’s song, “Whiskey Lullaby” (co-written with Whisperin’ Bill Anderson) was a huge hit for Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss, going double platinum and taking home the prestigious Country Music Association (CMA) award for Song of the Year in 2005. Randall has also been awarded Grammy, IBMA, Music City News, NSAI, and BMI awards for various recordings including three number one records on the Billboard Country Music Chart and five songs in the Billboard Country Top Forty. Jon Randall and his cowriters (Miranda Lambert and Jack Ingram) took home the 2017 ACM Song of the Year Award for their song, “Tin Man.”
Beyond writing, performing, playing, and singing Jon Randall is also an acclaimed producer. He found success with Dierks Bentley’s critically acclaimed acoustic project Up On The Ridge which earned CMA, ACM, and GRAMMY Nominations for album of the year. Other production credits include Dierks Bentley’s number one hit single “Am I The Only One,” as well as albums for Pat Green, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jack Ingram, Darden Smith, and The Missing Cats featuring Jo Jo Herman [Wide Spread Panic], Mike Mills [R.E.M.], and Cody and Luther Dickinson [North Mississippi All Stars].
Jon Randall signed a publishing deal with Still Working Music in 2015 and continues to write, record, perform, and produce. He is now serving as a Governor on the board of the Nashville Chapter Recording Academy where he previously served as President. He and his wife, Jessi, have three children. Randall splits his time between Tennessee and Texas when he’s not touring with his band 18 South.
Sara Beal – Director of Publishing
Sara is originally from Charleston, WV, and has been involved in music since the age of three when she began playing violin. She has a Master’s Degree in Viola Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sara is currently the Director of Operations for Still Working Music and Orbison Productions.
Chelsie Lykens – Project Manager
Originally from Kingsport, TN, Chelsie’s earliest memories are of sitting on the side of the stage and napping in green rooms while her dad’s band played. Finishing high school in North Carolina, Chelsie spent four years as an art major, during which time she fell head over heels for photography and the darkroom. Never one to limit herself, by the time it was all said and done, she graduated from Marshall University with a French degree in 2010. Chelsie has worked for the Orbison Estate for over seven years, providing design, marketing, and production expertise on a long list of releases and projects, coordinating with both Sony and Universal. Teaming with Alex Orbison and Luke Chalk to branch out into film, Chelsie has notably captured interviews with recording artists like k.d. lang, Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, and more. The BBC documentary Roy Orbison: Love Hurts features some of her work.
Luke Chalk – Director of A/V & Technology