This article is about the Roy Orbison song. For other uses, see Only the Lonely (disambiguation).
1960 song by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson
"Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)"
scan of record label Monument 45-421
Single by Roy Orbison
from the album Lonely and Blue
B-side
"Here Comes That Song Again"
Published
May 4, 1960 (1960-05-04) Acuff-Rose Publications, Inc.[1]
Released
May 9, 1960 (1960-05-09)[2]
Recorded
March 25, 1960[2]
Studio
RCA Victor Studio B, Nashville[2]
Genre
Rock
pop
rock and roll
Length
2:27
Label
Monument 421
Songwriter(s)
Roy Orbison, Joe Melson
Producer(s)
Fred Foster
Roy Orbison singles chronology
"Up Town" (1959)
"Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)" (1960)
"Blue Angel" (1960)
"Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)" is a 1960 song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson.[3] Orbison's recording of the song, produced by Fred Foster for Monument Records, was the first major hit for the singer. It was described by The New York Times as expressing "a clenched, driven urgency".[3] Released as a 45 rpm single by Monument Records in May 1960, "Only the Lonely" went to No. 2 on the United States Billboard pop music charts on 25 July 1960 (blocked by Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry") and No. 14 on the Billboard R&B charts.[4] "Only the Lonely" reached number one in the United Kingdom, a position it achieved on 20 October 1960, staying there for two weeks (out of a total of 24 weeks spent on the UK singles chart from 28 July 1960).[5] According to The Authorized Roy Orbison, "Only the Lonely" was the longest charting single of Orbison's career.[6] Personnel on the original recording included Orbison's drummer Larry Parks, plus Nashville A-Team regulars Floyd Cramer on piano, Bob Moore on bass, and Hank Garland and Harold Bradley on guitars, Joe Melson and the Anita Kerr Singers on backing vocals. Drummer Buddy Harman played on the rest of the songs on the session.
In 1999, the 1960 recording of "Only the Lonely" by Roy Orbison on Monument Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[7]
^Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1960). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1960 Music Jan-June 3D Ser Vol 14 Pt 5. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
^ abcWeize, Richard (2001). Orbison 1955-1965 (7-CD Deluxe Box Set) (booklet). Bear Family Records. BCD16423. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
^ abHolden, Stephen (January 1, 1989). "POP VIEW; The Man With the Blue Velvet Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 443.
^"Orbison's widow sues film makers". BBC News. January 1, 2002. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
^Orbison, Roy Jr.; Wesley Orbison; Alex Orbison; Jeff Slate (2017). The authorized Roy Orbison. New York. ISBN 978-1-4789-7654-7. OCLC 1017566749.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
"OnlytheLonely (Know the Way I Feel)" is a 1960 song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. Orbison's recording of the song, produced by Fred Foster...
"OnlyLonely" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. It was the first single taken from their second album, 7800° Fahrenheit (1985). Cash Box called...
Frank Sinatra Sings for OnlytheLonely (also known as Sings for OnlytheLonely or simply OnlytheLonely) is the fifteenth studio album by American singer...
Orbison's singles reached the Billboard Top 40. He wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own Top 10 hits, including "OnlytheLonely" (1960), "Running Scared"...
Only for theLonely is the second solo studio by American rhythm and blues and gospel singer Mavis Staples. It was released on October 12, 1970, by Volt...
Unraveled (2014) Roy Orbison: One of theLonely Ones (2015) Roy Orbison: Black and White Night 30 (2017) OnlytheLonely (2018) Recordings, Legacy. "A Love...
almost identical intro to "OnlytheLonely" because this is where the vocal figure of "OnlytheLonely" came from. it entered the UK album chart two years...
If Only You Were Lonely is the second studio album by American rock band Hawthorne Heights and the final album to feature rhythm guitarist and unclean...
TheLonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written...
feeling lonely. Loneliness can be short term (state loneliness) or long term (chronic loneliness). In either case, it can be intense and painful. The causes...
Circuit (1986), Betsy's Wedding (1990), OnlytheLonely (1991), and Life During Wartime (2009), as well as the series Single Drunk Female (2022–2023)....
Mister Lonely is a 2007 comedy film directed by Harmony Korine and co-written with his brother Avi Korine. It features an ensemble cast of international...
dramatic roles in OnlytheLonely and JFK. In addition to his work as an actor, Candy was a co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football...
The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles "OnlytheLonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each...
"TheLonely" is the seventh episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It originally aired on November 13, 1959, on CBS. Witness...
Wardell Sandimanie III (born July 30, 2001), known professionally as Destroy Lonely, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. His...
arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of OnlytheLonely. In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but...
OnlyLonely Sometimes is the twenty-first studio album by American country music singer-songwriter Tammy Wynette. It was released on June 9, 1980, by Epic...
Global Information