| "Lonely Boy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Andrew Gold | ||||
| from the album What's Wrong with This Picture? | ||||
| B-side | "Must Be Crazy" | |||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Length | 4:24 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Writer(s) | Andrew Gold | |||
| Andrew Gold singles chronology | ||||
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"Lonely Boy" is a song written and recorded by Andrew Gold in 1976 for his album What's Wrong with This Picture? The song features backing vocals provided by Linda Ronstadt (for whom Gold had previously worked as a producer and backing musician[1]). When released as a single in 1977, the song became a top-twenty hit in both the United States (#7) and the United Kingdom (#11). While it would prove his biggest U.S. hit, Gold's single, "Never Let Her Slip Away", would achieve greater success in the UK.
The song follows the life of a child who feels 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. The lyric, "He was born on a summer day in 1951", matches Gold's August 1951 birthday, and "In the summer of '53 his mother/Brought him a sister" matches his sister Martha's birthday.
The strongly syncopated song was also released as an edited single, eliminating the vocal bridge and shortening the instrumental finale.
The song was featured in the film Boogie Nights (1997).
In 2007, the song was covered separately by the bands Farrah and Lazlo Bane (whose song "(I'm no) Superman" is used as the main title theme of the TV series Scrubs).