| "Mr. Lonely" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Bobby Vinton | ||||
| from the album Roses Are Red | ||||
| Released | 1964 | |||
| Recorded | 1962 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Bobby Vinton and Gene Allan | |||
| Bobby Vinton singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
"Mr. Lonely" is a song co-written and recorded by Bobby Vinton. The song originally appeared on Vinton's album Roses Are Red in 1962. Later that year, Buddy Greco recorded a version of the song using a very similar musical arrangement as Vinton's version. Greco's single release reached #64 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November, 1962. Vinton's recording was included on his Greatest Hits album in fall 1964 and concurrently issued as a single, reaching #1 on the Billboard chart in December of that year.
The song describes a soldier who is sent overseas and has no communication with his home; the singer laments his condition and wishes for someone to talk with. The single of Vinton's recording was released just as the Vietnam War was escalating, and since many soldiers and draftees were experiencing a very similar situation, the situation had a positive impact on the song's popularity. In 1966, Vinton and Gene Allan re-teamed to pen a sequel song, "Coming Home Soldier", which reached #11 on the Billboard chart.
In 1967, former Yugoslav beat band Zlatni Dečaci recorded a Serbian language cover of the song, entitled "Sam".[1]
Philippine singer Victor Wood made a bilingual version of the song, alternating the original lyrics with Filipino ones. This particular cover became popular in the Philippines and gave some fame to the entertainer.
In 2005, Senegalese singer Akon sampled this single for Lonely and it was featured on his album Trouble. This song uses a sped-up sample of the earlier song.
| Preceded by "Ringo" by Lorne Greene |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single December 12, 1964 (one week) |
Succeeded by "Come See About Me" by The Supremes |