J. D. Souther - You're Only Lonely (1979)
32No, this is not a Roy Orbison remake! When I first heard this lovely ballad back in 1979 that is what I thought too. But You're Only Lonely is an original composition by J.D.
Souther that reached #7 on Cash Box on December 18, 1979 and charted for a total of 21 weeks! There is no denying that Orbison was one of the major influences on Souther's music and especially this song. Like Fleetwood Mac's Sara, this is yet another tune that I have been obsessed with listening to of late. Most of the footage in the video is from 1963, although some of it is from 1958. To get further in the spirit of things I wanted to find some footage of a would-be go-go dancer or two dancing on the roof of a car in time to the music like the woman in the joy ride scene in David Lynch's film Blue Velvet, but there just wasn't any to find. So, instead, I placed the young contemporary actress I used in Pink Floyd's Fat Old Sun and Fleetwood Mac's Sara into service to dance ballet (Raphaella McNamara) ... and hopefully you will like the results. Also, a surprise bonus starring Raphaella following the end of the song that will definitely take you back to the early/middle 1960's guaranteed! This one is a real retro extravaganza, so enjoy!