An in-depth song analysis
Initially Released On: You Got It 7" single (1989 January — UK — Virgin VS 1166) |
You Got It was the first collaboration between Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison (and Tom Petty). It was written during the Christmas season of 1987 and recorded in April of 1988 with Jeff, Tom and Phil Jones providing the backing track. The song, released the following year, would go on to be an international hit, making the Top 10 in both the UK and USA charts.
In mid-1987, Jeff was enjoying the thrill and success of meeting and working with George Harrison, one of his musical heroes. Probably because of this, he had his manager contact Roy at his home and asked to meet. They met briefly, but Roy was quite busy having just moved to a new home in California and other commitments. They got along quite well and agreed to collaborate the next time both were in Los Angeles and had the time. During the Christmas 1987 season, Roy was at home in Malibu, California when he invited Jeff over to begin working. Jeff soon invited Tom Petty over to help out as well, which would be the first time that Tom met Roy. Tom tells an amusing story in his Conversations With Tom Petty book of that day: before doing any work together, Tom invited the others outside to look at his new Corvette. After looking under the hood, all three musicians struggled to get the hood back down, not knowing how to do it. Eventually they did get the hood closed and it was later that day that they wrote You Got It, based upon an idea of Roy's. Jeff worked out the song on a small Casio keyboard, while Roy and Tom added acoustic guitars. They created the chorus first, and the verses second. That day and/or the next day, the trio also wrote the song California Blue in the same manner. Curiously, although Jeff states that the genesis of the song was an idea of Roy's, Jeff Lynne is given first billing for the song's songwriter credits, implying that Jeff was the primary songwriter.
A few months later, in April of 1988, the trio were in MC Studios (Mike Campbell's garage studio) to record the songs they had written. One source has the song being recorded on April 4, 1988, just one day before the Traveling Wilbury's song Handle With Care was recorded. They got the vocals recorded in only three takes, but Jeff tells another amusing story about the first take. They had never recorded with Roy before so while he was practicing his performance, they set up the microphone levels based on that. When Roy went to record his first take, they had underestimated how powerful he would really would sing the song and his first take maxed out the equipment. With that knowledge, they backed off the levels after this first attempt and the song was completed within two more takes. Roy, Jeff and Tom added backing vocals shortly afterwards and the song's recording was completed. The Mystery Girl album credits the song's recording as done in Rumbo Recorders, a Canoga Park, California studio owned by Daryl Dragon and Toni Tenille (of Captain & Tenille fame); however, Jeff Lynne interviews and the video recording of the song's development clearly show it done in Mike Campbell's garage studio. Perhaps some recording was done on both studios. The album liner notes also credit the mixing as having been done later at George Harrison's home studio, Friar Park Studios in Henley-On-Thames in Oxford, England. However, this is uncertain as there was so much recording being done at that time with all the Traveling Wilburys and related projects, that Jeff thinks this may be incorrect and the song was mixed and completed at Rumbo Recorders. A nice working version of the song, with footage of Roy, Jeff and Tom recording the song, can be seen and heard in the rare 1994 Tom Petty: Going Home documentary, the 1999 In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story documentary, the 2007 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream film (slightly edited), a small bit of a piano dub in the 2012 Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne & ELO documentary and a large selection on the Mystery Girl: Unraveled documentary on the 2014 Mystery Girl deluxe release. Also, it is interesting to note that You Got It was recorded in April of 1988, the same month in which the Traveling Wilburys would record their first song, Handle With Care. It is uncertain which song was recorded first.
The song's lyrics tell a rather simple tale of love, wherein the singer tells his woman that he knows they are meant to be together and he would do anything for her, thus "anything she wants, she has it." Although Roy had developed a career on lonely, maudlin songs such as Only The Lonely, Running Scared and It's Over, You Got It's lyrics are actually quite upbeat with the only mild hint of negativity being the line "I pray that you are here to stay." Despite this, many reviewers describe the singer in the song as being defensive and so desperate to keep the girl that he will give her anything she wants. Even Sam Phillips, owner of Sun Records and the man that helped launch Roy's career in the 1950s describes the song this way. But looking at the lyrics, it just doesn't fit. Clearly the singer knows and is quite confident that the he and his lover are very much in love, with lyrics like "everything about you tells me I'm your man" and "I know you feel the way I do." Barbara Orbison, Roy's dedicated wife since the late 1960s with whom he was very much in love, does not state that the song was written for her, but as close as they were, he very well may have had her in mind when the lyrics were written.
In January 1989, a month after Roy's unexpected death due to a heart attack, the song was released as the lead-off UK and USA single from the Mystery Girl album. It was also released as the first track on the Mystery Girl album later that same month. It entered the UK Top 75 singles chart on Janaury 14, 1989, peaked at #3 for two consecutive weeks on February 4 & 11, and spent 10 weeks in the chart. In the USA, it entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 21, 1989, reached #9 on April 15, 1989, spending 18 weeks in the chart and entered the Cash Box Top 100 chart on January 21, 1989, reached #16 for two consecutive weeks on April 8 & 15, 1989, spending 21 weeks in the chart. It is Roy's 32nd Billboard pop chart single.
The track is quite significant to the career of Jeff Lynne as it his first entry into the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and his only Top 10 Country hit, peaking at #7 for two consecutive weeks on April 15 & 22, 1989. Jeff's only other Billboard Hot Country chart entry was the following Roy Orbison single, California Blue, which peaked at #51 later that year. By this time in Billboard chart history, due to the fracturing of pop music formats on USA radio, rock and pop acts were appearing on charts that tracked these subgenres, thus the song also peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock charts and #1 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary charts. This song also made Billboard chart history with the song becoming the first to chart on the Hot Mainstream, Pop, Adult Contemporary and Country charts simultaneously.
Vancouver Sun announcement for the June 26, 2019 VHS promo videotape |
In 1990, You Got It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, however, it did not win and the honors instead went to Michael Bolton for How Am I Supposed To Live Without You. Interestingly, Roy would win a Grammy Award in the same category the following year for his rendition of Oh, Pretty Woman (no Jeff Lynne involvement) as lifted from his 1988 A Black and White Night performance.
Roy's Texas accent comes through very strongly in the song's chorus when he sing's the word "want" with a long 'O' sound, rather than the short 'A' sound. Thus it sounds like he's singing "anything you won't, you got it" rather than the actual intended lyric.
Curiously, Roy's You Got It single was released in the USA in January of 1989 while almost at the same time a similarly titled song called You Got It (The Right Stuff) by the New Kids On The Block was also released. There is no relation between the two songs other than the coincidence of nearly the same title. The New Kids On The Block song peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 in the second week of March, while Roy's song peaked on the third week of April.
For Roy's USA single on Virgin (7-99245) there are two different single releases with different B-sides. The first, issued with and without picture sleeve, features the song The Only One as lifted from the Mystery Girl album. The second, issued three months later and with a whole new picture sleeve, features the K.D. Lang duet of Crying (taken from the soundtrack of the 1987 film, Hiding Out) on the B-side. Both singles have the same stock number assigned. It is unclear why there were two different releases but there is some evidence that the second version with Crying was intended for use in jukeboxes, such that both sides would have a modern hit song from Roy. This second version may have also been released for the country music market, rather than the pop/rock market. Neither B-side has any Jeff Lynne involvement.
The song was used during the spring and summer of 2003 in an ad campaign by Target stores. Interestingly, they did not use the original recording as is, but created several 30 second remixes that sampled the song's chorus with Roy's original vocals (and sometimes Jeff and Tom's backing vocals). Each mix is given a unique dance mix backing. It has been reported that there were six different mixes done, all 30 seconds each, however, only four are known to actually exist. It is unclear if there are more mixes or if there are mixes of differing lengths. It's uncertain who did these remixes, but it was probably the ad agency themselves or someone who they hired for the job. Three of these versions can be heard HERE, HERE and HERE.
The song was covered by blues/pop/country singer Bonnie Raitt in 1995 for the Boys On The Side film soundtrack. This version did not chart as high as Roy's, but reached a respectable #33 on the Billboard charts. However, with time, it oddly seems to have surpassed Roy's version in popularity. This version shows up more in rotation on various music streaming services, easily supplanting Roy's version.
Structure and Lyrics
Below is the structure of the fullest, most complete version of the originally released song as available on the single and Mystery Girl album.
Variations
There are very few real variations of the basic song. The promo music video of You Got It uses the standard album/single version of the song, but adds audience cheering noises over the beginning and end of the song. This music video version has been released both in stereo and 5.1 audio.
The rare 1994 Tom Petty: Going Home documentary, the 1999 In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story documentary, and the 2007 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream film (slightly edited) all feature a rare working version of the song cut together from different parts while in the studio recording the song. This shows a segment of Roy, Jeff, Tom and George Harrison playing acoustic guitars, then Roy, Jeff, Tom, Barbara Orbison and an unseen person (possibly George Harrison) adding handclaps, then Roy, then Jeff on piano, then Jeff and Tom adding backing vocals, and finally Roy alone recording a chorus. An audio of this can be heard HERE. A short bit of Jeff Lynne dubbing the piano for the song is seen and heard in the 2012 Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne & ELO documentary; this can be heard HERE. And various segments of hte recording process are seen and heard in the Mystery Girl: Unraveled documentary on the 2014 Mystery Girl deluxe release.
Music Charts
These are the known statistics for the various countries' music charts. If you can fill in the missing information or know of charting information in other countries, please let me know at the email address listed at the bottom of this page.
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Week 18 Week 19 Week 20 Week 21 UK Official Top 100 Chart Entry Date: January 14, 1989 24 7 4 3
(February 4, 1989)3
(February 11, 1989)7 11 27 35 56 UK Melody Maker Top 50 Chart Entry Date: January 14, 1989 47 9 2
(January 28, 1989)3 5 10 18 22 38 48 USA Billboard Hot 100 Chart Entry Date: January 21, 1989 85 68 50 44 40 33 29 25 20 16 12 12 9
(April 15, 1989)19 32 47 58 96 USA Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Top 40) Entry Date: January 21, 1989 29 9 4 3 2
(February 18, 1989)2
(February 25, 1989)5 6 14 22 31 USA Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (Top 30) Entry Date: January 28, 1989 30 22 19 12 6 3 2 2 1
(March 25, 1989)1
(April 1, 1989)3 7 8 9 10 16 19 29 USA Billboard Hot Country Songs (Top 75) Entry Date: February 4, 1989 72 55 42 39 34 27 21 18 16 10 7
(April 15, 1989)7
(April 22, 1989)15 29 41 52 64 USA Cash Box Top 100 Chart Entry Date: January 21, 1989 87 81 59 47 41 36 29 27 24 20 18 16
(April 8, 1989)16
(April 15, 1989)23 36 56 61 77 89 95 100 Australia Top 50 Chart Entry Date: January 29, 1989 18 8 5 4 4 3
(March 5, 1989)3
(March 12, 1989)5 5 7 8 9 14 19 29 38 Austria Ö3 Austria Top 40 Chart Entry Date: mid-March 1989 Charts were on a twice monthly cycle 22 8 4
(mid-April, 1989)8 8 7 26 24 Belgium Ultratop Top 40 Chart Entry Date: January 28, 1989 14 6 2 1
(February 18, 1989)1
(February 25, 1989)1
(March 4, 1989)1
(March 11, 1989)1
(March 18, 1989)3 6 8 19 22 Canada RPM Top 100 Chart Entry Date: January 16, 1989 79 45 31 22 18 14 7 4 3
(March 13, 1989)4 7 11 14 20 26 48 74 Canada RPM Country Chart Entry Date: February 13, 1989 83 73 44 31 26 19 12 11 10 4 4 3
(May 1, 1989)14 25 70 92 Germany Chart Entry Date: February 20, 1989 18 16 12 11 9
(March 20, 1989)10 11 9
(April 10, 1989)10 16 20 21 33 36 45 55 62 70 Holland Top 40 (De Nederlandse Top 40) Chart Entry Date: January 21, 1989 26 11 7 5 3
(February 18, 1989)3
(February 25, 1989)5 8 17 24 29 Holland Top 100 (Origin uncertain) Chart Entry Date: January 21, 1989 51 11 6 5 4
(February 18, 1989)4
(February 25, 1989)6 7 10 17 30 47 66 92 Ireland Top 30 Chart Entry Date: January 21, 1989 ? 4 4 2
(February 11, 1989)11 18 New Zealand Top 50 Chart Entry Date: January 29, 1989 19 21 16 8 5 5 2
(March 2, 1989)8 5 no
chart
published17 18 45 Norway Top 10 Chart Entry Date: January 30, 1989 5 6 3
(February 13, 1989)5 3
(February 27, 1989)not
in
chart6 Sweden Top 20 Chart Entry Date: January 25, 1989
Chart is based upon a bi-weekly cycle13 5
(February 8, 1989)5
(February 22, 1989)11 17 Switzerland Top 30 Chart Entry Date: March 12, 1989 11 11 11 9
(April 2, 1989)10 9
(April 16, 1989)13 15 15 28 25
Releases
Here are all the known USA and UK releases of the song:
You Got It (Standard Release)
- Running Time: 3:31
- Released On:
- You Got It 7" single (1989 January — UK — Virgin VS 1166)
- You Got It 12" single (1989 January — UK — Virgin VST 1166)
- You Got It 3" CD single (1989 January — UK — Virgin VSCD 1166)
- You Got It 7" single (1989 January — USA — Virgin Records America 7-99245) [The Only One on the B-side]
- You Got It 12" promo single (1989 January — USA — Virgin Records America PR 2593)
- You Got It cassette single (1989 January — USA — Virgin Records America 4-99245)
- You Got It 5" CD promo single (1989 January — USA — Virgin Records America PRCD2593)
- Mystery Girl LP album (1989 January 30 — UK — Virgin V 2576)
- Mystery Girl CD album (1989 January 30 — UK — CDV2576)
- Mystery Girl CD album (1989 February 7 — USA — Virgin Records America V2 91058)
- Mystery Girl LP album (1989 February 7 — USA — Virgin Records America V1 91058)
- You Got It 7" single (1989 April — USA — Virgin Records America 7-99245) [Crying on the B-side]
- Ballads ( 22 Classic Love Songs) LP album (1990 — UK — Telstar STAR 2441)
- Mystery Girl LP album (1991 December 10 — USA — Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs UDCD 555)
- Heartbreak Radio CD single (1992 December — UK — Virgin VUSCX 68) [CD1 with In Dreams, You Got It and Dream Baby]
- The Very Best Of Roy Orbison CD album (1996 November 4 — UK — Virgin CDV2804)
- The Very Best Of Roy Orbison CD album (1996 — USA — Virgin Records America 7243 8 42350)
- Love Songs CD album (2001 — Europe — Virgin VTDCD 360)
- The Platinum Collection CD album (2004 August 2 — UK — Virgin VTDCDX632)
- The Essential Roy Orbison CD album (2006 March 28 — USA — Sony 82876816082)
- The Essential Roy Orbison digital album (2006 March 28 — USA — Sony 884977725438)
- The Essential Roy Orbison digital album (2006 March 30 — UK — Sony 884977725438)
- The Very Best Of Roy Orbison CD album (2006 October 16 — UK — Sony/BMG 82876812762)
- Mystery Girl CD album (2007 October 22 — Europe — Sony BMG Music Entertainment ?88697112032)
- Playlist: The Very Best Of Roy Orbison CD album (2008 April 29 — USA — Sony BMG Entertainment 88697 27561 2)
- The Soul Of Rock And Roll CD album (2008 September 30 — USA — Legacy 88697 05537 2)
- The Best Of The Soul Of Rock And Roll CD album (2008 November 24 — Europe — Sony Music 88697-40992-2)
- The Soul Of Rock And Roll digital album (2009 February 10 — USA — Legacy 884977045659)
- The Soul Of Rock And Roll digital album (2009 May 17 — UK — Legacy 888880705372)
- The Essential 3.0 Roy Orbison CD album (2009 August 25 — USA — Legacy 88697 42581 2)
- The Soul Of Rock And Roll CD album (2010 November 8 — USA — Legacy 88697 05537 2)
- Mystery Girl Expanded CD album (2014 May 19 — Worldwide — Legacy 88843059592)
- Mystery Girl Deluxe CD/DVD album (2014 May 19 — Worldwide — Legacy 88697607032)
- Mystery Girl Expanded digital album (2014 May 19 — Worldwide — Legacy 886444525787)
- Mystery Girl Deluxe digital album (2014 May 19 — Worldwide — Legacy 886444516440)
- Mystery Girl Deluxe LP album (2014 June 9 — UK — Legacy 88843059601)
- The Ultimate Collection LP album (2016 October 29 — Worldwide — Legacy 0889853799916)
- The Ultimate Collection CD album (2016 October 29 — Worldwide — Legacy 88985379982)
- The Ultimate Collection digital album (2016 October 29 — Worldwide — Legacy ?)
You Got It (Video Version)
- Running Time: 3:36
- Released On:
- Greatest Hits DVD (2003 July 15 — USA — Eagle Vision EV30043-9)
- Greatest Hits DVD (2004 February 2 — UK — Eagle Vision EREDV328)
- Greatest Hits DVD/CD (2004 October 19 — USA — Eagle Vision EV 30092-9)
- Greatest Hits DVD/CD (2004 October 25 — UK — Eagle Vision ERDVCD020)
You Got It (5.1 Mix Video Version)
- Running Time: 3:36
- Released On:
- Greatest Hits DVD (2003 July 15 — USA — Eagle Vision EV30043-9)
- Greatest Hits DVD (2004 February 2 — UK — Eagle Vision EREDV328)
- Greatest Hits DVD/CD (2004 October 19 — USA — Eagle Vision EV 30092-9)
- Greatest Hits DVD/CD (2004 October 25 — UK — Eagle Vision ERDVCD020)
You Got It (Working Version)
- Running Time: 1:25
- Released On:
- In Dreams VHS videotape (1999 November 30 — USA — White Star 1908V)
- In Dreams DVD (2006 February 28 — USA — White Star 032031190894)
- In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story DVD (2006 April 3 — UK — Wienerworld WNRD 7024)
- In Dreams DVD (2006 October 31 — USA — Sony Legacy 828768694091)
- In Dreams CD/DVD (2007 July 30 — Worldwide — SonyBMG 886970926195)
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream 4 DVD/CD set (2007 October 25 — USA — Warner Bros. 121916-2)
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream 2 DVD set (2008 October 28 — USA — Warner Bros. W-514076)
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream Blu-ray (2010 November 15 — USA — Reprise Records 514106-BD2) !@# add anthology releases
You Got It (Piano Dub Version)
- Running Time: 0:25
- Released On:
- Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne & ELO digital movie (2012 December — USA — Daft As A Brush ?)
- Live In Hyde Park DVD album (2015 September 11 — Europe — Eagle Rock EREDV1185)
- Live In Hyde Park DVD album (2015 September 11 — USA — Eagle Rock EV307199)
- Live In Hyde Park Blu-ray album (2015 September 11 — Europe — Eagle Rock ERBRD5268)
- Live In Hyde Park Blu-ray album (2015 September 11 — USA — Eagle Rock EVB335149)
Tours
You Got It was never performed on tour by Roy. He died one month prior to the initial release of the song and he never performed the song live (other than the pantomimed performance used for the music video).
Pictures
UK 7-inch single with fold-out sleeve * Virgin * VS 1166 | UK 7-inch single with regular sleeve * Virgin * VS 1166 | UK 12" single * Virgin * VST 1166 | UK 3" CD single * Virgin * VSCD 1166 | UK 12" single test pressing |
UK Heartbreak Radio CD single (front and back) * Virgin * VUSCD 68 "B-side" features In Dreams, You Got It and Dream Baby |
USA 7" vinyl single (first issue) * Virgin * 7-99245 | USA 7" vinyl single (second issue) * Virgin * 7-99245 |
UK Mystery Girl LP * Virgin * V 2576 USA Mystery Girl LP * Virgin Records America * V1 91058 |
USA 7" vinyl single (promo issue) * Virgin * 7-99245 |
USA cassette single * Virgin * 4-99245 | USA promo 12" single * Virgin * PR 2593 | USA promo CD single * Virgin * PRCD2593 | USA Greatest Hits DVD * Eagle Vision * EV30043-9 | USA Greatest Hits DVD/CD * Eagle Vision * EV30092-9 |
Australia 7" vinyl single * Virgin * VS 1166 |
Australia cassette vinyl single * Virgin * VSC 1166
|
Canada 7" vinyl single * Virgin * VS1466 | Canada promo CD single * Virgin * ROY001 | France 7" vinyl single * Virgin * 90501 |
Germany CD single * Virgin * VSCDT 1166 | Ireland 7" vinyl single * Virgin * VS 1166 | Japan 7" vinyl promo single * Virgin * VJP-16 | Japan CD single * Virgin * VJD-15502 | Phillipines 7" vinyl single * Virgin * VAS-89-4019 |
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You Got It t-shirts available at royorbison.com |
Cover Versions
- Manuela (under the title F r Immer) on the single F r Immer (1990) (sung in German)
- Bonnie Raitt on the Boys On The Side soundtrack (1995)
- Whoopi Goldberg on the Boys On The Side soundtrack (1995)
- Juliane Werding (under the title Du Schaffst Es) on the single Du Schaffst Es (1994) (sung in German)
- Ronnie De Vane on an album of unknown origin (19??)
- Soft Pops on an album of unknown origin (19??)
- Russel B. on an album of unknown origin (19??)
- Nice And Slow on an album of unknown origin (19??)
- Unknown Artists on an ad for Adecco Temp Agency (2001)
- Sayonara Show Band on the O Baile II vol. 5 album (2007)
- Rooney on the Under The Covers Roy Orbison tribute album (2009)
- Winterplay on the Under The Covers Roy Orbison tribute album (2009)
- The Spectactulars on the Under The Covers Roy Orbison tribute album (2009)
- John Stephan on the You Got It! a Salute to Roy Orbison album (2011)
- Chloe Kohanski & Blake Shelton on the The Complete Season 13 Collection (The Voice Performance) album (2017)
- Johnathon Bates at the 7th Annual Wammys (02/2019)
Use in Movies and TV Programs
- A Year in Provence (1993)
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)
- Rock Band 2 game (2009)
Use in Advertising
- Target department stores TV ads (2003 — USA)
Sample Uses
- The Way by Fastball on their All the Pain Money Can Buy album (1998)
- In Step by Girl Talk on their Feed The Animals album (2008)
Sheet Music
Sheet music as published in the USA.
Promotional Videos and TV Performances
The music video for You Got It is lifted from Roy's lip-synch performance of the song at the Diamond Career Awards ceremony in Antwerp, Belgium on November 18, 1988. The video audio is the standard single/album version with audience cheering noises added at the song's beginning and end. This promo video can be seen HERE.
The promo video is known to have been shown on the BBC's Top Of The Pops on January 12, January 19 and February 2 of 1989.
Fan Comments
Enter comments only about this song. (Inappropriate comments will be removed.)
"You Got It" and "Handle Me With Care" were my first introduction to Roy Orbison. I have since come to consider him one of my favorite vocalists. I love the way he handles the lyrics in this tune. What makes this song for me is that, like many chart toppers, it's not trying to be overly complicated. It's just plain good music (and when you listen critically you can definitely hear Tom Petty's influence--the use of what sounds like a 12 string guitar, the choice of rhythm, etc--which compliments Roy's own style quite nicely). Ever since hearing these songs, I have been a fan of Roy. It was a real tragedy that he died so suddenly after such a terrific resurgence in his career.
What I remember most about You Got It is that it started playing on radio before Roy passed away. The DJ I heard play it said the song was Roy Orbison's hit song comeback at long last. While we Roy fans were reveling in that fact, suddenly the news we were dumbfounded to hear came on, early December 7th morning. Roy gave his fans everything he had, always, and what a great gift the song was, along with the entire Mystery Girl Album. But of course the song was personally Barbara's...
Fellow Texan Roy Fan
Can someone PLEASEEE post links to the demo audio of you got it from 'In Dreams' and 'Running Down a Dream'? the "working" version? would love to hear these without having to buy them yet.
Editor's Note: Give me a few days and I'll see if I can get them up on this page.
Who were the guitarists shown in the video at the Diamond Career Awards ceremony? They also appeared to be singing background vocals (although lip-synched). Thank you.
Who were the guitarists for You Got It video in Antwerp, Belguim?
-Anonymous
great analysis for a great song
-Anonymous
One of my favorite records ever recorded. Truly amazing.
-Anonymous
The best last song of Roy Orbison's career. It felt like a prophetic farewell song.
-Anonymous
Amazing! One of the best songs I've ever heard.
-Anonymous
This is a perfect song, an icon of the peak times of American music industry.
-Anonymous
"Barbara Orbison, Roy's dedicated wife since the late 1960s with whom he was very much in love, does not state that the song was written for her, but as close as they were, he very well may have had her in mind when the lyrics were written."
Uh huh, sure. And the above is a little inside joke, eh?
-Anonymous
You got it was used in a recent episode of Fringe. It was a strange slow version. It was in the Fringe alternate universe so I don't know whether this version was created especially for the show.
-Anonymous
Editor's Note: This is the cover version by the band Rooney
Love it, along with all of his other songs.
Have been listening to it steadily since it's original release.
Rest in peace Roy.
-Lifelong Canadian fan
-Fan artwork by Lynnette "Cicky" Johansson
Quotations
You Got It (Standard Release)
"The new single from Roy Orbison is now out, thus ending the 'will it, won't it be released' speculation following Roy's death. Called You Got It, it is written by Roy, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty, and produced by Jeff. The sound is characteristically Roy Orbison, and yet it is also typically Jeff Lynne, perhaps showing the former's influence on the latter. It is released on 7-inch and 12-inch."
Andrew Whiteside (Early 1989 - Face The Music fanzine #5)"Roy Orbison's posthumous solo LP, Mystery Girl (Virgin V2576) was finally released at the end of February, and quickly made No. 2 in the UK, and the Top 20 in the US. It contained 3 tracks with Jeff co-wrote, produced and played on, namely, You Got It (released as the first single from the LP, reaching No. 3 in the UK and the Top 20 in the US), A Love So Beautiful, and California Blue.""Side One [of Mystery Girl] starts with You Got It, co-written by Roy, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty; too familiar to need much comment, apart from noting that although Jeff has stamped it with the distinctive ELO strings and vocal harmonies, Roy's voice still make it very much his own song."
Andrew Whiteside (1989 - Face The Music fanzine #6)
John Van Der Kiste with contributions by Andrew Whiteside (1989 - Face The Music fanzine #6)"The only song on the [Mystery Girl] album that remained resolutely stuck in the past was You Got It. In the lyrics, co-authored by Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, Roy assumes his customary posture of supplication in front of his beloved. He will give her anything in the world if she'll only be his girl. When [Sun Records founder] Sam Phillips heard You Got It, he recognized the old Roy. 'He's defensive in that song,' Sam said. 'It's like he's afraid he's going to lose her any minute.' Ironically, this was the biggest single on the album, zooming into the Top 10 when it was released in 1989. [...] [At a November 19, 1988 Antwerp, Belgium concert, Roy] lip-synched You Got It, and a video of that performance soon showed up on MTV. [...] His single from Mystery Girl, You Got It, went into the Top 10, peaked at #9, and remained on the chart for eighteen weeks...""Jeff and I both love the music of Roy Orbison. And it was a great thrill to get to write a song with him when he came to do an album that Jeff was producing. And they invited me over and I met Roy Orbison and on that very day we sat down and wrote this song called You Got It."
Ellis Amburn (1990 - Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story)
Tom Petty (1994 - Tom Petty: Going Home documentary)"Co-written with fellow Wilburys' Jeff Lynne (who also produced this track) and Tom Petty for Mystery Girl, Orbison's first album of new material in more than a decade. Barbara Orbison explains, 'The making of Mystery Girl was a dream that Roy and I shared. The goal was to do an album that would truly honor Roy and his music and to present him to the world with a heightened integrity and importance.' March 1989, Mystery Girl charted #5 in the US and You Got It went all the way to #1. Orbison made U.S. chart history with this single, becoming the first artist to chart on the AOR, Pop, Adult Contemporary and Country charts simultaneously.""Jeff: '...we sat down and wrote those two songs, like in about two days and Tom Petty helped as well. Those were the first two, You Got It and California Blue, which Roy had, and we just helped out to sort it out a bit.'"
Tanja Crouch and Roy Orbison (1996 - liner notes for The Very Best Of Roy Orbison)
Patrik Guttenbacher, Marc Haines, & Alexander von Petersdorff (1996 - Unexpected Messages)"[Mystery Girl] contained You Got It, Orbison's last top 10 song. The album credits You Got It as being mixed at Harrison's home studio, but Lynne seems certain it was mixed at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles. Lynne says, 'We did so many sessions at that point with all the Wilburys that George [Harrison] may have played acoustic guitar on You Got It.' However, Lynne thinks, based upon the rest of the album's credits, which he believes to be correct, that Harrison probably did not contribute to You Got It."
Kristofer Engelhardt (1998 - Beatles Undercover)"That was a thrill doing that one. Roy was always me very favorite singer.""I got this call and it was Roy. And he was in Malibu and he said, 'Hi Jeff. I'm in Malibu. And I'm ready to work.' And then we recorded it in Mike Campbell's garage. And I said, 'Wow! That's fantastic!' And so he came over and we wrote You Got It that afternoon. That was an experience I'll never forget, to be producing Roy. To have him go up to the mike, y'know, and say, 'this is it now. Can he do it or is it really him?' [Laughs] We run the tape and he has one run through and he's just mumbling, y'know. [Imitates Roy mumbling.] And he say, 'Okay, I'm ready.' Anyway, so we think that's the level he's going to sing at and he opens up and the meters all go BOOM and the mike goes WALLUP and it's all... it's a million db louder than what he'd been practicing at, y'know, so we start again... Just give us that level again, what you're going to do a take, y'know. Got a take in the first three goes, and fixed up maybe one line. And that was it, done. And fantastic, and I was so thrilled. I was looking at the time, y'know, the VM meters, making sure it went to tape, this memorable, miraculous event of me producing Roy Orbison."
Jeff Lynne (October 1998 - interview with Mark Copolov on 88.3 Southern FM Australia)
Jeff Lynne (1999 - In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story TV documentary)"Lynne produced and co-wrote Orbison's You Got It.""You Got It, written by Roy, Tom, and Jeff, became an achieving radio hit. Sadly, Orbison passed away at a new peak in his career, with two unbelievable album collaborations. You Got It would swiftly be covered by Bonnie Raitt, who would also have a hit with the Roy-tune and featured in the Whoopi Goldberg / Drew Barrymore movie Boys On the Side."
Unknown (October 2000 - Flashback press kit)
Brian Young (circa 2000 - Rock On! The Traveling Wilburys, The Trembling Westover published on delshannon.com)"And it was a great thrill to get to write a song with [Roy Orbison]. When he came to do an album that Jeff was producing, they invited me over and I met Roy Orbison and on that very day we sat down and wrote this song called You Got It."
Tom Petty (circa 2000 - http://www.wilburys.info/quotes.html)"Tom Petty: 'The next few weeks, I think we were all kind of... Y'know, that was kind of the social scene. It was the Christmas holidays and we were just hanging around playing guitars. And Jeff brought in Roy Orbison. The day we met, the three of us sat down and wrote that song,um, You Got It. [Sings the line: 'Anything you want.'] Jeff Lynne: 'I was playing a Casio, like a little plastic keyboard when we wrote You Got It. And Roy was playing an acoustic. And Tom was playing an acoustic on the floor over to the side. We'd just got this chord sequence, this little bit that goes: Anything you want, you got it. Come out with that bit and he started playing like... We'd worked backwards. We got the chorus first and worked our way out. And then he starts singing it, just softly, never... never loud. And it sounds like a hit. It really does. It's like well then you go: Wow, this is a hit. And Roy thinks so too. I remember recording it. Roy goes up to the mike and he mumbles a little bit, y'know, when we'd got the backing track finished. [Sings very softly: Anything you want.] I go, I thought it'd be louder than that. Y'know, so we don't realize what's going to happen. And, uh... So he says, Okay, I'm ready now. I'm ready to try a take. So, hit record. Off we go and he sings and this... The whole thing, it goes BLAAA! The whole thing blows up, y'know, the needle all it bends and it's... He sung at about, like, a thousand dB more than when he was practicing. So we put all these pads in and repair all the windows and stuff. Not really, but, y'know we... we'd sort of got the mike under control now, and we know how loud he's going to be. And he sings the song, just like... heavenly. And, he gets it in like three takes, he's got it. And there it is, You Got It. And it's like, Wow! That still sounds like a hit. And it's Roy Orbison singing it. I think everyone was rooting for him and having so much interest in him. And realizing that, y'know, we all still love him just as much as ever. He hadn't had the other people around him to encourage him enough. Maybe that's all it was. But his voice just suddenly came alive and it was back to the real Roy Orbison with a passion.'""I remember when I had an opportunity to write a song with him (You Got It). After thinking up the lyrics we went in the studio to record it. Earlier I thought Roy must have been singing very loud. Soon I had a chance to know that he was doing it a thousand times louder than I thought! Besides the complete vocals were done in a two, three takes."
Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne (June 2 & 9, 2001 - Mr. Blue Sky: The Jeff Lynne Story 2001 BBC 2 Radio show)
Jeff Lynne (2001 - Unknown source; translated from English to Polish, then back to English again)"From the utilitarian (Ivory soap, Hershey's Kisses, Christmas-tree car deodorizers) to the functional (sheets and comforters, umbrellas, vacuum cleaners) to the fashionable (clothes, clothes, clothes), this visually thrilling spot pushes product like nobody's business. In 30 short seconds, people wake up, get dressed, ride bikes, wash the car and vacuum the living room. It's a great use of You Got It by The Traveling Wilburys (featuring Roy Orbison), and the words "want" and "need" appear almost subliminally throughout.""[1989: George] also provided backing vocals on the track You Got It."
Peterson Milla Hooks (July 14, 2003 - Adweek)
Editor's Note: This song is, of course, not by the Traveling Wilburys.
Bill Harry (2003 - The George Harrison Encyclopedia)"The first day I met Roy, Jeff and I and Roy wrote that song You Got It.""There is the licensing of music from the catalog for commercials (Target's using You Got It)..."
Tom Petty (March 31, 2004 - interview on tompetty.com)
Tim Ghianni (May 23, 2004 - Tennessean)"Jeff lived not far from me, and one afternoon the phone rang and it was him, and he said, 'Hey, Roy Orbison's over here, you've got to come over and help me write a song for him. I need some help.' So I jumped in the car, I had a new Corvette, and we went over to see Jeff and Roy, and we all went out to look at the car, and we raised the hood of the car. And we were such a bunch of musicians, non-mechanics, you know, and we couldn't get the hood back down on the car. [Laughs] and I remember my first meeting with Roy, he's got his head under my hood trying to figure out how to get the hood down. And we wrote You Got It. [Sings, 'Anything you want, you got it...'] Yeah, that was on that first day.""Jeff and I had written You Got It for Roy. We had just done Free Fallin', and George was with us for I Won't Back Down. I had been on the road for two years backing up Bob. So we were all in the same circle and the group just naturally materialized. It was George's band, really. He was the leader; the whole idea for the band was his idea."
Tom Petty (November 1, 2005 - Conversations With Tom Petty)
Tom Petty (June 1, 2007 - MSN Music)"The record I did with Roy Orbison, You Got It, is one of my favorites. I was so thrilled that I got to write it with him, record it, sing background vocals, mix it, and have it be a great big hit. It couldn't have been any better.""Jeff and I both love the music of Roy Orbison. And it was a great thrill to get to write a song with him when he came to do an album that Jeff was producing. And they invited me over and I met Roy Orbison and on that very day we sat down and wrote this song called You Got It."
Jeff Lynne (Summer 2007 - Yamaha All Access)
Tom Petty (2007 - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream)"The artist's later years are chronicled on disc four, including hits like You Got It and the Blue Velvet version of In Dreams...""You Got It is so catchy, it's almost not fair to the listener. It's like one big chorus. You can hear how big Roy's love was by the conviction in his voice. The words of a man who promises the world and can deliver. It's the true life serenade of Roy to Barbara Orbison. 1990: Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance - You Got It."
Jonathan Cohen (August 5, 2008 - Billboard review of The Soul Of Rock And Roll)
Roy Kelton Orbison, Jr. (2008 - The Soul Of Rock And Roll liner notes)"I got this call and it was Roy. And he was in Malibu and he said, 'Hi Jeff. I'm in Malibu. And I'm ready to work.' And I said, 'Wow! That's fantastic!' And so he came over and we wrote You Got It that afternoon. That was an experience I'll never forget, to be producing Roy. To have him go up to the mike, y'know, and say, 'this is it now. Can he do it or is it really him?' [Laughs] We run the tape and he has one run through and he's just mumbling, y'know. [Imitates Roy mumbling.] And he say, 'Okay, I'm ready.' Anyway, so we think that's the level he's going to sing at and he opens up and the meters all go BOOM and the mike goes WALLUP and it's all... it's a million db louder than what he'd been practicing at, y'know, so we start again... And his voice was so just so big. Not just loud, but like tons of top end and lots of bottom end that you couldn't really record, otherwise you'd get in the way of the bass guitar. So you'd have to sort of trim his voice down a little bit to fit him onto the record 'cause his voice was so bit.""When somebody's in love with you, they will write a song for you. And even if Roy wouldn't have written the song for me, I would claim it because it's like one of the most inspirational, positive songs. And I think You Got It is probably one of the most uplifting songs because how can you not feel better when a voice sings to you-- when a human says to another human-- 'anything you want, you got it.' So that's such a wonderful song."
Jeff Lynne (December 22, 2008 - In Dreams - The Roy Orbison Story on BBC Radio2)
Barbara Orbison (December 22, 2008 - In Dreams - The Roy Orbison Story on BBC Radio2)"You Got It went top ten internationally and reached #3 in the UK.""Obviously when Roy dies I have only a year with him. You Got It was this giant hit and then he died right away, which was such a shame because we'd only just got the hand of writing together and we were going to do all these songs together."
Mark Lamarr (December 22, 2008 - In Dreams - The Roy Orbison Story on BBC Radio2)
Jeff Lynne (March 21, 2010 - Sunday Express)"I actually got to work with Roy and be his pal and be his producer and his co-writer on a song called You Got It which was a big hit in America and here too. So that was a big thrill for him to have a hit. And it was his first hit in 20 years and we'd done it together and that was a great, marvellous feeling.""Well, I tell you what, his voice was absolutely superb when I worked with him and we made You Got It. It was just beautiful, soaring up into the sky."
Jeff Lynne (October 9, 2012 - Roll Over Beethoven: Jeff Lynne's Favourite Albums article in The Quietus)
Jeff Lynne (October 25, 2012 - Tracks Of My Years radio show on BBC)"...I did some songs with him and we wrote them together, You Got It which was a big hit. It was a big hit. His first hit in over twenty years. He was happy as a [unintelligible]. It was like everything was great.""Lynne went on to produce Orbison s 1989 record Mystery Girl, and he co-wrote many of its tracks, including the hit You Got It. Orbison later said that Lynne was the best producer he d ever worked with."
Jeff Lynne (November 30, 2012 - The Adam Carolla Show)
Kayla Roth (2012 - South Central Music Bulletin Volume XI, Numbers 1-2 (Fall 2012 — Spring 2013))"Petty's partnership with Lynne flourished. They were bandmates in The Traveling Wilburys, and they also co-penned Roy Orbison's smash hit, You Got It, which topped the Adult Contemporary chart and managed to hit Nos. 2, 7 and 9 on Contemporary Rock, Country Singles and Billboard Hot 100 charts, respectively, in 1989. The song heralded The Big O's return to the Top 40 for the first time in 24 years.""[Roy Orbison and I] just worked together on You Got It, a song I'd written with him and Tom Petty and it had been his first top five hit in 30 years. It was still in the charts when he died. He'd been so happy. If you've got to go, then I suppose you go out on a high."
Ken Sharp (January 2013 - Goldmine magazine)
Jeff Lynne (March 13, 2014 - Birmingham Mail)"[Roy, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty] penned California Blue and and the soon-to-be chart topping single, You Got It. After which, they met at Mike Campbell's home studio, affectionately called Mike Campbell's Garage, and began to record. [They first recorded California Blue and] up next was You Got It. 'It sounded like a hit,' said Jeff. Jeff and Roy had come up with a hook that was Jeff singing the 'you got it's' and Roy saying the Orbisony 'anything at all' and 'baby' up above Jeff. Traditionally this would been two separate parts-- with a call lead and answer backup parts-- but Jeff molded Roy into doing both parts. This took a couple of tries in the studio, but was well worth the effort. This showed trust of a beautiful artist/producer relationship. [...] Roy made history with You Got It, becoming the first track ever to simultaneously appear on the CHR, AC, Country and AOR Tracks charts, and he joined Elvis as the second person ever to have two top five hits posthumously.""Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty:
Wesley, Roy and Alex Orbison (May 19, 2014 - liner notes for Mystery Girl expanded edition)Jeff: On the first day [of working on tracks for Mystery Girl], I had Tom Petty over as well. And we wrote You Got It on the very first day that he came over.
Tom: Everything we did was pretty casual. I mean, that was really the best way to get the best music.
Jeff: That was, like, fantastic. You know, it's a catchy tune. It sounded like a hit. There were like dogs, cats, geese and ducks. And they're all clucking and barking, whatever they do, on the tape as well, because the soundproof didn't exist in Mike Campbell's bedroom, which is where the control room was. We just laid 'em out, like, all three of us playing acoustics, Roy, myself and Tom and George on one of them. But no demo. Just go straight into making a record. That was how I liked to do it. And then put the drummer on second, after the guitars are got down. And that's how it all worked. It was very simple and very, all very much fun.
Tom: I remember working really hard on the single, on You Got It. Jeff had lots of different ideas that he wanted to put on. I remember pulling up there one day and they had kettle drums and timpani in the garage. I got a phone call and it was Jeff and he said, 'Hey, Roy's over here at my house and wanted to know if you'd come over and try to write something.' I got in the car right away and went over there and-- Viola!-- there was Roy, the Big O. You know, it's pretty stunning to meet someone like that.
Jeff: It was just such a treat to meet him [and] hear some stories about him, the real stories about how he got going and how he got started and how he ended up like such the best singer in the world."
Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty (May 19, 2014 - Mystery Girl Unraveled)"During the Christmas 1987 season, Roy invited Jeff over to begin, and Jeff invited Tom Petty over to help out as well, and they wrote You Got It, based upon an idea of Roy s. Jeff worked out the song on a small Casio keyboard, while Roy and Tom added acoustic guitars. They wrote the chorus first, and the verses followed quickly after that. [...] In April 1988, Jeff, Roy, and Tom were in MC Studios (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell s garage studio) to record You Got It. The vocals were completed in only three takes, but Jeff told another amusing story about the first take. As they had never recorded with Roy before, they set up the microphone levels while he was practising his performance. When Roy began to record his first take, they had underestimated just how powerfully he would sing the song, and his first take maxed out the equipment. A little reduction in levels was in order, and the basic song was completed within two more takes. All three of them finished the job with backing vocals from Jeff, Tom, and Phil Jones shortly afterwards. [...] Tragically, Roy did not live long enough to reap the full critical acclaim or commercial success of his latest work. In December 1988, having had a heart bypass operation some years previously, he died of a massive heart attack, aged fifty-two. Partly written as well as produced by Jeff, Roy s posthumous album Mystery Girl was an instant hit, as was the first single, You Got It. It peaked at No. 3 in Britain, where his fan base had always been strong and where a TV-advertised compilation of his classics from the 1960s had recently been No. 1. Even more gratifyingly, You Got It rose to No. 9 in the US, his first top-ten entry there since the transatlantic chart-topping Oh Pretty Woman almost quarter of a century earlier.""I wrote this song with [Roy] and Tom Petty [called] You Got It. And, of course, it got in the charts and before he saw it get in the Top 5 in America, he died, which was a terrible shame. So he never saw his first hit in twenty years. "
John Van der Kiste (August 2015 - Jeff Lynne: Electric Light Orchestra - Before and After)
Jeff Lynne (October 25, 2015 - My Planet Rocks)"See, I've been a producer as well as making my own records, and to work with Roy Orbison on You Got It, to produce it and write the song, was fantastic. I couldn't ever wish for anything more fun than that.""Roy Orbison, who was my biggest hero... And I got to be his pal and produced him and wrote a song with him called You Got It which was a big hit. It was his first hit for twenty years, which was fantastic. And he was really happy. And then he died. So that wasn't much fun at all. It was so horrible that he died just before he saw it get into the top ten."
Jeff Lynne (November 2, 2015 - The Quietus)
Jeff Lynne (November 11, 2015 - radio interview on Wave 105.2 FM)"I produced [Roy] separately [from the Traveling Wilburys], as well, the song called You Got It which was a big hit.""I loved him so much and his voice that it was a real treat to work with him. We wrote his hit You Got It together, the last thing he ever did. it was terrible that he died a month later."
Jeff Lynne (November 12, 2015 - interview on BBC WM 95.6)
Jeff Lynne (November 13, 2015 - The Sun)"You Got It (1988): This is a bittersweet thing because he was such a big hero to me. I used to listen to him for hours and hours as a kid. I produced three tracks on his last album (Mystery Girl) and co-wrote three tracks with him. I wrote You Got It with Roy and Tom Petty. For years before this, he'd just been going through the motions of recording and not working with people who were empathetic with him or who had put enough care and love into the music. I reminded him of who he was and how great he was, and that's why I got a great performance out of him. It was just dreadful when I heard he had died. I got a call at like six in the morning, and all I heard was 'Mr. Orbison has died,' and then they hung up. I still have no idea who called me. I had to get up and listen to the radio to see if it was bullshit or real. It turned out to be real, unfortunately. You Got It had just come out when he died of a heart attack at his mother's house. He was a beautiful guy, as well as the best singer I've ever heard.""Later that year [after recording for the Traveling Wilburys], [Roy] completed work on a new Lynne-produced solo album, Mystery Girl, which featured guest appearances by Petty, Harrison, Bono and many others. Orbison died of a heart attack on December 6, 1988, at the age of 52. Mystery Girl, which was released in February '89, yielded Roy's first top 10 pop hit since 1964, You Got It."
Jeff Lynne (January 21, 2016 - Rolling Stone article entitled: 'ELO's Jeff Lynne: My Life in 15 Songs')
Unknown (April 23, 2016 - ABC News Radio)"[Mystery Girl] It proved to be a huge commercial success, due in part to the tremendous single You Got It, later covered by Bonnie Raitt, as well as California Blue and She's A Mystery to Me (written by Bono and the Edge of U2). These tracks are included in The Ultimate Collection...""And at that same time [that I was working with Tom Petty], Roy Orbison came over to my house... 'Cause I'd been to Roy's. I'd went to Nashville to meet Roy and just to hang out with him for a few days. We had a go at writing; we never came up with anything. But then, I got a phone call a couple of months later that he says, 'Yup, I'm in L.A. and I'm ready to work.' And I went, 'Wow! Fantastic! Come over!' And he came over to my house and we wrote You Got It. Not the first time [we got together], the second time. 'Cause the other one was at his house. And sat there... We got it in-- oh, I don't know-- an hour or so. And this was just in the afternoon. And Tom. Tom was there too. He wrote some of it. I wrote some of it. And Roy wrote some of it. [...] I think I would say [my proudest songwriting effort with another artist] was Roy Orbison, 'cause he's me favorite of all. I'd just mixed it and he was there with his wife and his son, and it was You Got It. And the song finished and I didn't here anything, like 'oh nice one' or anything like that. So I thought, 'hang on, what's wrong?' So I look around and there's tears rolling down his face. He said, 'that's brilliant! Beautiful, man!' And he gave me a big hug. And he had tears down his face. And it was just... That was such a thrill, 'cause he as my ultimate real hero. You know, I used to listen to nothing but Roy Orbison."
Unknown (September 12, 2016 - Roy Orbison's The Ultimate Collection press release)
Jeff Lynne (mid 2017 - We Write The Songs)"On Monday, April 4, 1988, Jeff Lynne called Tom Petty into sessions for Roy's new album. Humbled at meeting one of his childhood heroes, Petty was still able to get down to business when Lynne told them they needed another song. In no time, they'd written You Got It. [...] With You Got It tearing up charts around the world, Mystery Girl hit stores on January 31. [...] Roy Orbison Day was declared in Texas on what would have been Roy's fifty-third birthday, April 23, 1989, while Roy was all over the charts. You Got It, Crying and California Blue were mainstays of rock and country radio...""Love was lost on the lush A Love So Beautiful and found in You Got It. [...] George was to assist on A Love So Beautiful, one of three Mystery Girl highlights written by Roy and Jeff; two, namely the homesick California Blue and You Got It, were penned with Tom Petty and mixed at Harrison's studio in Henley-on-Thames. [...] Coupled with The Only One, You Got It soared into the US Top 20 and came close to #1 in Britain and Australasia, actually gaining pole position in Canada."
Roy Orbison Jr, Wesley Orbison and Alex Orbison with Jeff Slate (October 2017 - The Authorized Roy Orbison)
Alan Clayson (2017 - Vintage Rock Presents Roy Orbison Collectors Edition)"After decades of relative anonymity, Roy made a spectacular comeback as a member of the Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, and his own Mystery Girl album. Unabashed Orbison fan Lynne produced the smash at the heart of Mystery Girl, the somewhat retro You Got It. Penned by Roy, Petty, and Lynne, the bright and bouncy anthem boasted killer hooks, a marvellously punchy arrangement, and a memorable melody that was perfect for Orbison's still-potent pipes-- nostalgic and contemporary at the same time. But You Got It turned out to be his unintended swan song. Roy unexpected died on December 6, 1988, and it became a posthumous smash.""Oh, Pretty Woman was the last in a long line of hits for Roy Orbison in the 1960s, coming on the heels of classics like Only the Lonely, Running Scared and Crying. But, it was just a matter of time before he, of timeless cool, was rediscovered by another generation. Unfortunately, the Caruso of Rock wasn t around to see it happen. You Got It, which was co-written with his Traveling Wilburys bandmates Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, hit the charts the month after Orbison died of a heart attack at 52. He gave only one public performance of it in Antwerp, and the footage was used for the music video. The song itself is a marvelous original with no expiration date."
Bill Dahl (2017 - Vintage Rock Presents Roy Orbison Collectors Edition)
Colin St. John (September 15, 2018 - Rolling Stone)"When we were doing that song You Got It, Roy sang it well all through on the first go but I was really terrified that we weren t getting it all on tape. But we did, luckily.""One of the most marvellous things that every happened to me was when I played Roy Orbison a mix of a song called You Got It. We'd written the song together, I'd produced it, and I had just finished playing it back to him. Roy was in the studio with his wife and son, and he was standing just behind me. We were pals by then and I was looking at the speakers, thinking to myself, 'This isn't going down very well, is it?' So when it finished, I turned around and there were tears pouring down Roy's face. I said, 'It's not that bad, Roy!' And he said, 'It's the most beautiful thing I ever heard.' I played him two songs (A Love So Beautiful was the other one) and he cried through both of them. I'd never ever dreamed that I could make Roy Orbison cry. It was something else. He was the King of Soul."
Jeff Lynne (October 26, 2019 - Daily Mail)
Jeff Lynne (November 2018 - Wembley Or Bust book)"[You Got It] was a good 'un. We wrote it in my house and we recorded it mostly in Mike Campbell's garage. ""He [Orbison] could have a go at anything, he had the greatest voice ever. I think I produced three songs on Mystery Girl, and I co-wrote You Got It with Roy and Tom, which was his first hit for like 20 years. Roy was thrilled out of his mind."
Jeff Lynne (October 2019 - Sodajerker)
Jeff Lynne (December 12, 2019 - Hot Press)"Maybe [my favorite] co-write was I Won't Back Down with Tom or You Got It [with] Roy Orbison and Tom.""Roy Orbison found tremendous success in the early 1960s, during which he landed nine singles in Billboard s Top 10. He would achieve one final hit with You Got It, released in 1989, almost 23 years after his previous Top 40 song Twinkle Toes. Unfortunately, Orbison died of a heart attack about two months before the release of the song, at the age of 52."
Jeff Lynne (December 16, 2019 - World Café)
Charles Stockdale, Colman Andrews, John Harrington (February 11, 2020 - 24/7 Wall St. website)"Lynne also worked with his hero Roy Orbison on his comeback with hit singles I Drove All Night and You Got It.""Roy Orbison was 52 years old when he recorded You Got It in 1988. It was to appear on the Big O s first record in ten years, Mystery Girl. But while the record came out as planned in January 1989, Orbison had passed away one month earlier. Despite this tragedy, songs such as You Got It don t warrant attention simply because they re the last recorded statements of a great artist. To the contrary, You Got It is some of Orbison s best work. Orbison co-wrote the song with his Traveling Wilburys band mates Tom Petty and ELO s Jeff Lynne, with Lynne handling the production. It retains the wall of sound feel of Orbison s 1960s classics, while also benefitting from Lynne s spacious production."
James Iles (May 8, 2020 - Redditch Standard)
Augustus Welby (August 2, 2020 - ToneDeaf website)"Roy Orbison found tremendous success in the early 1960s, during which he landed nine singles in Billboard s Top 10. He would achieve one final hit with You Got It, released in 1989, almost 23 years after his previous Top 40 song Twinkle Toes. Unfortunately, Orbison died of a heart attack about two months before the release of the song, at the age of 52.""Featured on the last album recorded by Orbison, this hit [You Got It] was also co-written by Tom Petty, who along with Lynne, Orbison, Bob Dylan and George Harrison made up the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys."
Charles Stockdale, Colman Andrews, and John Harrington (December 27, 2020 - 24/7 Wall St. website)
Erica Banas (December 30, 2020 - WMMR radio website)"In 1988, [Roy] co-founded the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne, and a new album of songs - such as 1989's You Got It - proved to be very successful, even after his death.""[You Got It] was basically done the same way as Full Moon Fever. It was all that same time. It was a Jeff [Lynne] production. It's incredible how he has everything figured out in his head, little parts. It was done the same way. I think the track was recorded before I played drums on it. That's the way they did all that stuff. They would record the track with acoustic guitars and a simple drum machine part. And then I d come in and overdub drums, sometimes one at a time or two at a time. It was really interesting and it accounts for the sound, too."
Tom Eames (February 11, 2021 - SmoothRadio website)
Phil Jones (February 25, 2021 - Rolling Stone)"After Orbison s wildly successful string of hits in the 60s, his career began to dwindle when the 70s came around. In the 80s, he experienced a resurgence in popularity as celebrated musicians were coming out with the support of Orbison, stating his influence on them. These musicians included George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Bob Dylan, who, with Orbison s help, created the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. After the group s debut album release in 1988, his fellow band members helped him create a solo comeback album Mystery Girl, which included the first single, You Got It. Written in the winter of 1987 with Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty, the trio recorded the song in April of 1988 in a makeshift setup in Mike Campbell s garage in Los Angeles, California. Lynne, Petty, and Phil Jones provided other instrumentation and background vocals. The only public performance of the song was at the Diamond Awards Festival in Antwerp, Belgium on November 19, 1988. Less than a month later, on December 6, 1988, Orbison suddenly died of a heart attack, forcing the album and song to be released posthumously. It remains an unforgettable piece.""There's a lot to love about the Traveling Wilburys, and one of the greatest things about them is how they brought Roy Orbison back to the top of the pop charts: both on their debut Vol. 1 and on Roy's final album during his lifetime, Mystery Girl. You Got It, co-written by Roy, Petty and Jeff Lynne, was the man's final classic, cracking the top 10 on the pop charts. Petty sings backing vocals and plays rhythm guitar on the track as well."
Gracie Williams (April 23, 2021 - Far Out Magazine)
Erica Banas (July 2, 2021 - WMGK 102.9 website)
You Got It (Video Version)
The You Got It video features audience cheering noises at the beginning and end of the song.
You Got It (5.1 Mix Video Version)
The 5.1 audio mix of You Got It is the same as the video version (with audience noises added), however it is mixed to 5.1 audio. The 5.1 mix is actually quite unremarkable, with only mild separation from the stereo mix so that Roy's vocals are brought slightly more to the center channel and away from all other channels. It was probably created in the studio from the stereo mix, rather than the original multi-track tapes.
You Got It (Working Version)
The 1994 documentary Tom Petty: Going Home includes a rare working version of the song cut together from different parts while in the studio recording the song. This shows a segment of Roy, Jeff, Tom and George Harrison playing acoustic guitars, then Roy, Jeff, Tom, Barbara Orbison and an unseen person (possibly George Harrison) adding handclaps, then Roy, then Jeff on piano, Jeff and Tom adding backing vocals, and finally Roy alone recording a chorus. This was also used on the 1999 documentary In Dreams: The Roy Orbison Story, which was released on VHS and DVD. It was slightly edited and also used in the 2007 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream film. An audio of this can be heard HERE."Jeff cropped up on an MTV Tom Petty special on 17th April As well as saying a few words in an interview, ultra rare footage was shown of Jeff, Tom and Roy Orbison in the studios during the recording of You Got It."
Andrew Whiteside (1994 - Face The Music fanzine #17)
You Got It (Piano Dub Version)
This is a short performance of Jeff on piano, playing along to the recorded version of the song. It appears as part of an old videotape recording in the Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne & ELO documentary from 2012. As most of the Traveling Wilbury related recordings from this period were being videotaped and most, if not all, of the videotaping was being done in Mike Campbell's home, it is believed that this short performance was done in Mike Campbell's home. An audio of this can be heard HERE.
This page is intended to be a complete record of information on the Roy Orbison song You Got It. If you notice any errors or omissions, please contact me at jefflynnesongs@gmail.com and let me know. I strive for accuracy.Robert Porter
November 2024