FEATURE SONG/ARTIST: YOU'RE ONLY LONELY by J.D. SOUTHER

...not to be confused, of course, with Roy O's huge hit, "Only the Lonely," although it does have a kind of Orbisonian feel to it. You know, like a slow dramatic "rock ballad" with a gently swaying melody and long plaintive notes - if it was a waltz, you could waltz clear across Texas to it. Well, he may have been born in the Motor City, but he was raised in Amarillo. Later in the 60s, Souther teamed up with another Detroit boy, the future Eagles memeber, Glenn Frey and formed his first musical partnership, the very country-sounding duo called Longbranch Pennywhistle. Souther's collaborations and associations sound like a who's who of early SoCal rock and country - Jackson Browne, Richie Furay, Chris Hillman to name a few. And then there was The Eagles.

This is really the only solo hit that I recall from J.D. Souther, but he's been there writing and co-writing some of my favorite songs for a long time, going back to early Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor, right on up to his work with The Eagles, co-writing well-known songs like "New Kid in Town" and "Best of My Love." All the artists mentioned here are scattered throughout my CD shelves, including this one from. And I heard that just last year, Souther released his first new work in 25 years! I just might have to check that out, but for now, let's here "You're Only Lonely" one more time...









Video from YT member soulbrofunkytom
Photo from www.last.fm