joe melson
Tune Tuesday: Sonny James 1969
Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame 2006
Fifty years ago, today, the #1 song on the Billboard Hot Country chart was Only the Lonely by Sonny James, a cover version of a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson. Referred to as the Southern Gentleman for his personality and manner, James, born James Hugh Loden, had 22 #1 hits from 1960 to 1979. He and Bobbie Gentry hosted the very first Country Music Association‘s (CMA) award show in 1967. He was the first country music performer to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1957, the first country music star to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1961 and the first country artist to have his music sent into space in 1971, having recorded a special song for the Apollo 14 crew. He produced Marie Osmond‘s first solo hit Paper Roses.
Lyrics:
Dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah
Ooh-yay-yay-yay-yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-wah
Only the lonely
Only the lonely (dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah)
Know the way I feel tonight (ooh-yay-yay-yay-yeah)
Only the lonely (dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah)
Know this feelin aint right (dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah)
There goes my baby
There goes my heart
They’re gone forever
So far apart
But only the lonely
Know why
I cry
Only the lonely
Dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah
Ooh-yay-yay-yay-yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-wah
Only the lonely
Only the lonely
Know the heartaches I’ve been through
Only the lonely
Know I cried and cried for you
Maybe tomorrow
A new romance
No more sorrow
But that’s the chance – you gotta take
If your lonely heart breaks
Only the lonely
Dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah
Cosmic-Observation 