Hey There Lonely Girl Explained
| Hey There Lonely Boy |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Ruby & the Romantics |
| Album: | Greatest Hits Album |
| B-Side: | Not a Moment Too Soon |
| Released: | August 1963 |
| Recorded: | 1963 |
| Genre: | R&B, soul |
| Length: | 2:34 |
| Label: | Kapp |
| Producer: | Peter De Angeles |
| Prev Title: | My Summer Love |
| Prev Year: | 1963 |
| Next Title: | Young Wings Can Fly (Higher Than You Know) |
| Next Year: | 1963 |
| Hey There Lonely Girl |
| Cover: | Eddieholmanlonelygirl.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Eddie Holman |
| Album: | I Love You |
| B-Side: | It's All in the Game |
| Released: | December 1969[1] |
| Recorded: | 1969 |
| Studio: | Virtue Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Genre: | R&B, soul, pop |
| Length: | 3:01 |
| Label: | ABC |
| Producer: | Peter De Angeles |
"Hey There Lonely Girl" is a song released in 1969 by Eddie Holman. The original version, "Hey There Lonely Boy", was recorded in 1963 by Ruby & the Romantics. It was a hit for both of them. It has since been recorded by many other artists.
Ruby and the Romantics version
The group's original recording was a Top 30 hit, peaking at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.[2] "Hey There Lonely Boy" also reached #5 on Billboard's Middle-road singles chart.
Eddie Holman version
In 1969, R&B singer Eddie Holman recorded and released his own version of the song. It charted in the United States in 1970 and in the United Kingdom in 1974.[3] Holman's recording of "Hey There Lonely Girl" is most recognizable by its disconsolate, sentimental and heavyhearted lyrics, with his falsetto voice. Here is a sample of the chorus:
Hey there lonely girl, lonely girl
Let me make your broken heart like new
Oh, my lonely girl, lonely girl
Don't you know this lonely boy loves you
Holman's song peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, behind the double A-side single "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"/"Everybody Is a Star" by Sly and the Family Stone.[4] On the US soul singles chart, it went to #4.[5] This version peaked #1 on the Canadian RPM chart and #42 on the Australian chart.[6] Four years after its US/Canadian release, the single went to #4 on the UK Singles Chart, his highest charting single in each country.
Other versions
- Eddie Floyd, on his 1970 album California Girl
- Donny Osmond, on his 1972 album Portrait of Donny
- Shaun Cassidy's 1977 version was a track on his debut LP. It reached # 5 in Australia.[7]
- Japanese singer Tatsuro Yamashita, on his 1978 live album It's A Poppin' Time
- Robert John, in 1980, for the album Back on the Street (US #31).[8]
- Japanese singer Mariko Tone, on her 1987 cover album For You
- British sitcom Benidorm contains a very unusual Karaoke version of the song during Series 2, Episode 2. It was sung by character Mel Harvey played by Geoffrey Hutchings .
- British boy band Big Fun covered the song for their 1990 album A Pocketful of Dreams, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and released it as the fourth single in July 1990, peaking at number 62 in the UK chart.[9] The track was subsequently denounced by band member Phil Creswick.[10] David Giles of Music Week panned this version as being the "SAW worst production", noting Big Fun members' "ridiculous whining voices" and deemed it as unlikely to be a hit.[11]
See also
- List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
Notes and References
- Book: Smith, Ronald. Chicago Top 40 Charts 1970-1979. 2001. iUniverse. 1462080936. 94.
- Book: Whitburn, Joel . The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition . Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 546.
- Book: Roberts
, David
. 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited . London. 1-904994-10-5. 258.
- The Hot 100 Chart. .
- Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 259.
- Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 140.
- Web site: Steffen Hung . Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts) . Australian-charts.com . 2016-10-02 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160602084720/http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=35092 . 2016-06-02 .
- Web site: Hey There Lonely Girl by Eddie Holman. Songfacts. October 24, 2008.
- Web site: Official Charts > Big Fun. Official Charts Company. 6 September 2023.
- Web site: A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 61: Hey There Lonely Girl to Rhythm Of The Rain on Apple Podcasts . 2023-09-26 . Apple Podcasts . en-AU.
- Singles . David . Giles . . 28 July 1990 . 19 . 6 September 2023.
