Effective period / Period of releases: 1956 - 1995

Members: Roy Orbison, Peanuts Wilson, Billy Pat Ellis, James Morrow, Jack Kennelly

The Teen Kings' roots go back to 1948, two years after Roy Orbison's family moved to Wink, TX, when the 12-year-old Orbison began playing guitar with a friend and schoolmate named James Morrow. The following year, the two put together a quintet, Morrow on electric mandolin, Orbison on lead guitar, Charles "Slob" Evans on upright bass, Richard "Head" West at the piano, and Billy Pat "Spider" Ellis on drums. At a teacher's suggestion, they christened themselves the Wink Westerners and they played school dances and other small local events. The Wink Westerners played country & western, and their repertory included lots of instrumentals.
After 1955 the kids were also starting to dance more enthusiastically to R&B songs (what were called "rhythm numbers" in those days), and the group was performing more Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Big Joe Turner than Hank Williams. A change in name was called for, and the Wink Westerners became the Teen Kings.