About The Song
– “Only the Lonely (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 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”.
– Roy Orbison wrote this with his songwriting partner Joe Melson, but intended to offer the song to either Elvis Presley or the Everly Brothers (who had already recorded Orbison’s song “Claudette”). The Everly Brothers persuaded Orbison that he should cut it himself.
– This quickly became Orbison’s biggest hit and one of the songs that exemplified his poignant lyrics and soulful vocal delivery as he sings about what it’s like to be lonely.
– The single shot to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number one in the UK, Ireland and Australia.