Tuesday Tunes 104: Lonely

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This might not seem the most cheerful of themes, but it struck me that it would be good to follow up on my post for Mental Health Awareness Week with a musical homage taking MHAW’s theme as a starting point. I’ve shared again an image from that post as today’s header, just to re-emphasise the points I made then. So this week’s tunes all feature the word lonely in their title, apart from one, which has a synonym instead.

I’ve played this first one before, but it was a long while ago and I couldn’t really leave it out, could I:

Andrew Gold’s Lonely Boy describes a boy who felt that his parents had made him a promise that he would be their only one, and then felt badly let down when they gave him a sister. Many of the details – especially the dates – match his own life but he denied that the song was autobiographical, saying that he’d had a happy childhood. The song was first released on Andrew’s second album, What’s Wrong With This Picture, in 1976 and became a single in 1977. The single peaked at #11 in the UK and #7 in the US. The album, which was generally given poor reviews, didn’t chart in the UK and only reached #95 in the US. I enjoyed it, though, and had a lot of fun finding the deliberate errors on the album sleeve. As well as making his own records Andrew produced many others, including Linda Ronstadt’s Heart Like A Wheel, and he was a long time member of Linda’s band. Linda provided harmony vocals on the original recording of this one.

This next one is one that I’ve always liked:

The Police first released So Lonely as a single in November 1978, to coincide with the release of their debut album, Outlandos d’Amour, on which it was included. It didn’t chart as a single at that time, but was re-released in February 1980 and reached #6 in the UK chart, though it wasn’t a hit in the US. The album also peaked at #6 in the UK, and reached #23 in the US. It gained Platinum disc status in both countries, as well as in Australia, Canada, France and the Netherlands, and is generally regarded as one of the best debut albums in rock music. I thought it was great, and played it a lot back then.

Time for a pop classic now, I think:

Roy Orbison had previously had a couple of minor hits in the US, but Only The Lonely was the one that changed everything and made him an international star. Released in May 1960, it reached #2 in the US and got to #1 in the UK. The track was included on Roy’s debut album, Lonely And Blue, released in January 1961, which peaked at #14 in the UK but didn’t make the US chart. His voice was always a thing of beauty, and he added his unique talents to the Traveling Wilburys albums in later years. One of those who was taken from us way too soon.

As you will probably have noticed, I like to add in a few songs which I think will be unfamiliar to many. This next one is one such:

Trampled by Turtles are an American bluegrass-influenced folk band. They were formed in 2003 and have released nine full albums, three of which have reached #1 on the US bluegrass chart. We All Get Lonely is on their May 2018 album Life Is Good On The Open Road, which was one of those #1s and also got to #133 in the main US album chart. They aren’t well known outside the US but I’ve always liked what I’ve heard from them – Dave Simonett’s plaintive voice is really suited to songs like this, and if you look it up on YouTube you’ll see that it meant a lot for people during the early stages of the pandemic.

From the obscure to the ‘probably not as well known as they should be’ category next. I loved this band, saw them play live twice, and still enjoy listening to their music today, but their level of success across the pond wasn’t great:

That is billed as being by Thin Lizzy, and is on their YouTube page, but this was originally a separate project by the band’s leader, Phil Lynott. Dear Miss Lonely Hearts is a track on his first solo album, Solo In Soho, which was released in April 1980 and got to #28 in the UK albums chart. Although it was officially a solo recording other Thin Lizzy band members played on it, as you can see from the video. YouTube shows this as being ©️1977, which is either a mistake or they took a long time getting the album out! This track was released as a single, also in April 1980, and reached #32 in the UK. Another track from the album – Yellow Pearl – was later remixed and reissued, and became the theme music for the BBC’s Top Of The Pops show for several years. Phil Lynott is another who was taken from us at a tragically young age – a sad end for the guy who was probably the coolest man on the planet.

This next one was just an album track, so I’m having to stick with an audio-only clip for it. There are a couple of live performances on YouTube but their sound quality isn’t great, so I went with this:

This was a track on The Wallflowers’ second album, Bringing Down The Horse, released in May 1996 and peaking at #4 in the US and #58 in the UK, though it did top the charts in New Zealand. This came out in the days when I had a long commuter drive around the North Circular Road in London, and I played this album to death during that time: I thought it was a fantastic album then, and still do. The band were led by Jakob Dylan, who wrote most of their songs, including this one – yes, he does have a famous dad.

Another one that may not be known to you is my next selection. I’ve played Sarah Darling’s music before, but not for a while, and as I’m a big fan of hers I couldn’t resist including this one. This is a live performance in a small radio studio, and the audience are very respectful, allowing Sarah’s beautiful voice to be heard as it should:

As Sarah says in her intro, she had just released this on an EP at the time of this recording, which took place in February 2013. The EP was Home To Me and, like everything else she has done, I think it’s great. She hasn’t had much chart success, though she did have a #1 on the UK country chart in 2019 with her album Wonderland. A previous album, Dream Country, has been streamed more than 4m times on Spotify and Apple Music – not all of them by me! – and she has played the Grand Ole Opry several times, the first of these at the invitation of Brad Paisley. She has a loyal following here in the UK as well as in parts of her homeland (she comes from Des Moines, Iowa), and was a huge part of my early pandemic days: she did a weekly Facebook session from her home, just her and her guitar, and showed herself to be not just an accomplished musician and songwriter but also a lovely, charming person too.

I said at the outset that one of my tunes for today used a synonym in its title, and I’ve saved it till last. It may well be much more familiar than some of today’s other selections, I think:

Solitary Man was Neil Diamond’s first official single, released in April 1966 and reaching #55 in the US and #59 in the UK. It was also the opening track on his debut album, The Feel Of Neil Diamond, which was released in August 1966, getting to the giddy heights of #137 in the US – that may or may not have been partly due to its bloody awful title. As you will no doubt know his career really took off a few years later, and he has sold more than 130m records worldwide. This was played a lot on the pirate radio stations here, which is how I came to hear it, and it has been a favourite of mine ever since. Those pirate radio days were great – as a young teenager they were so exciting, much more than the stuffy old BBC, and introduced me to much more music than I could ever have heard ‘legally.’ If you want to know what they were like, I recommend the movie The Boat That Rocked – it’s a bit of fun and froth, and the music is great.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my selection of lonely songs: I’ve tried to give you my usual mix and include some I doubt you’ll have heard before. As you listen to them, I hope you think back to why I chose this theme, and follow the advice given for last week’s Mental Health Awareness Week campaign. I’ll see you again soon. Until then, stay well 😊

33 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 104: Lonely”

  1. Pingback: Last Of May | Take It Easy

  2. Clive, this is a lovely selection. I’m listening to it while my husband is down in Scottsdale for the night. So I don’t have a chance to even be lonely for a second. Roy Orbison’s and Neil Diamond’s songs were the only ones I am familiar with so far. Roy is my husband’s favorite artist. Good choice of both songs. Sarah Darling is as beautiful as her song. I love Trampled by Turtles. The music is fabulous. The first one about the lonely boy resonated with me since that was my birth year and then my brother was born two years later. The first child is often alone at least not having young people around. The second child never knows what it is like not to have that blasted older sibling doing things before he/she is old enough to. The only one I didn’t care much for was the police one. What a fun half-hour or so. 🙂 Have a great week, Clive. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Marsha. I’m glad you enjoyed most of them, and I’m especially pleased you liked Sarah Darling, who I think is great. If the Thin Lizzy one didn’t work for you you can find one that does in one of Yvette’s comments.

      You have a great week too 😊

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      • I saw that she is quite a fan. Music is like anything. Some music takes developing the taste for it. I’m glad you shared it. I look forward to next Tuesday’s selection. 🙂

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  3. It’s nice to be back on the blogs after a two-week hiatus, Clive. What a great post to come back to! My favorite was the Andrew Gold song which is incredibly sad, but I still love the tune. I’m a big Thin Lizzy guy too, but we couldn’t see that video over here.

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    • Hope you had a great time, Pete, and thanks for catching up. Sorry about the Thin Lizzy one, but if you check out one of Yvette’s comments she has found one that works over there 😊

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  4. also…
    never heard Neil Diamond speak and the opening for that song showed his personality
    –
    and the Dear Miss Lonely Hearts video was not available for me – but because you gave such good info – I found it:

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  5. Hi Clive,
    good theme – the opening song brought me right back to some period in childhood – I did not expect to know the song – but I sure did – probably because it was such a big hit
    —
    in contrast, I thought I would know that Police song and I did not (and likely because as you noted – it wasn’t a hit in the US – even tho the album was…)
    the video was rather interesting with some creative aspects –
    and Roy Orbison sure does have a unique voice with such beauty (good word choice for that)
    —
    the Trampled by Turtles was indeed new – and they seem to have some momentum to have nice albums.
    –
    I really liked the beat of the wallflowers “god don’t make lonely girls” and Sarah Darling’s song shoed her sweet vocals with a hopeful song – – and BING studio? Never new they had that… wonder if they still do
    —

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    • Thanks, Yvette, I’m glad you enjoyed so many of them. Police videos are often cleverly done, and they always look as though they are enjoying themselves.

      The Bing Lounge changed its name to the Skype Live Studio after a change of ownership. It hasn’t had any concerts since 2017.

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      • When we were in las Vargas in 2003 for a wedding – sting was at the bellagio when we were there.
        He was a little dude and it was fun to see he was still celebrated as a musician – because even at that time he seemed dated – –
        Anyhow – I was young when the Police had some of their biggest hits but do remember their songs in some episodic memories!
        —
        Re: bing lounge and Skype Studio seems to have had a short life span

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      • I’d heard he was short, too! He has done well to keep his career going as long as he has.

        The Bing Lounge was run by a radio station. I’m guessing the new owners had other priorities.

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      • I think it was KBCO in Denver that had a live studio in 1990s and it was awesome – and the Bing/Skype lounge seemed to have e had some good fruits too!
        And maybe those are less needed today because of YouTube and their offerings?

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      • You’re probably right. YouTube and Facebook streams are great for people like me who can’t get out, or are thousands of miles away, but nothing really beats the live music experience, does it?

        Like

  6. ‘Turtles’ are all but new to me, but very nice for a change. Didn’t know the Wallflowers song hit 1 here. I’d lob in Wilco’s ‘The Lonely One’ if only to add to the theme, but Wilco never disappoint me.

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    • I thought that one would be new for most: the band has rather gone under the radar. It was the album that gave the Wallflowers a #1 there – no idea what that means in terms of sales, though.

      Sorry, never been a big Wilco fan, so that one wasn’t likely to feature!

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  7. A serious but good theme for choosing some great songs. The Thin Lizzy one – I must have missed that one. And I’ve never heard of ‘Trampled by Turtles’. I enjoyed Sarah Darling who, as you say, is a great singer. It was nice to hear The Wallflowers. I don’t think its the best one on the album but it is indeed a cracking album overall.

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    • Glad you appreciated them, Paul, and the reason behind the theme. There are plenty more I could have played for this one, but I went for a mix of familiar and unknown. I’ve seen a livestream show by Sarah Darling, as well as her Facebook streams, and she is so gifted. And modest with it. That Wallflowers album is great, isn’t it. I’m with you on this one – not my favourite but there isn’t a duff one on it. Without the constraint of a theme I’d probably choose One Headlight.

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  8. A great choice of a word to follow your last post for mental Health week, Clive… Lovely to see Roy Orbison here (a ) favourite of mine…Trampled by Turtles though was a new one for me but I really liked this track 🙂 x

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    • Great band, deserved to do much better than they did in the States. I saw them twice, first time just after Whiskey In The Jar and then again a few years later. Scott still wears his hair long, but not as long as in those days! Check out Black Star Riders on YouTube if you haven’t already 😊

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  10. A great collection here. The subject of loneliness has been the base for many songs over the years. I have been a Neil Diamond fan for a long time and saw him perform a couple of times. He always sings this song while playing one of his original guitars. He looks soooo young in this clip.

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