Australian singles chart:
Lonely Boy entered the Kent Music Report on 20 June 1977 and peaked at #32.
Album:
The song is on What’s Wrong with This Picture? which entered the Kent Music Report album charts on 11 June 1977 and peaked at #89.
Songwriter:
Andrew Gold
Producer:
Peter Asher
Record label of Australian release:
Asylum
The video below uses the studio audio recording with a mix of images from video clips of various television and stage performances:
Songfacts:
The song follows the life of a child who is neglected by his parents after the birth of a younger sister. Many assume this song to be autobiographical of Andrew Gold, yet the artist has denied this, despite great similarities between the lyrics and Gold’s own life.
Linda Ronstadt sang backing vocals on this track, marking a role reversal for the singers: Gold backed Ronstadt (on keyboards, guitar and vocals) on her albums Heart Like a Wheel, Prisoner in Disguise and Hasten Down the Wind.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/andrew-gold/lonely-boy
Lyrics:
He was born on a summer day 1951
And with a slap of a hand
He landed as an only son
His mother and father said what a lovely boy
We’ll teach him what we learned
Ah yes just what we learned
We’ll dress him up warmly and
We’ll send him to school
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 70s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
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