View source for Only the Lonely (The Motels song)

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Only the Lonely
| cover      = Only the Lonely - The Motels.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[The Motels]]
| album      = [[All Four One]]
| B-side     = Change My Mind
| released   = April 1982
| recorded   = 1981
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[New wave music|New wave]], [[pop rock]]
| length     = 3:16
| label      = [[Capitol Records|Capitol]]
| writer     = [[Martha Davis (musician)|Martha Davis]]
| producer   = [[Val Garay]]
| prev_title = [[Whose Problem?]]
| prev_year  = 1980
| next_title = [[Take the L (song)|Take the L]]
| next_year  = 1982
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|ZaPTELylZ1s|"Only the Lonely"}}}}
}}
"'''Only the Lonely'''" is a song by American new wave band [[The Motels]]. It was released in 1982 as the first single from their third studio album ''[[All Four One]]''. Propelled by a popular music video, it debuted at number 90 on the U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] on April 24, 1982. It would ultimately climb to number 9 on July 17 of that year where it spent four weeks in that position. On the U.S. ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100, it performed slightly better, peaking at number 8 for two weeks. The song is included in the 2006 video game ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories]]'' in the fictional power ballad radio station ''Emotion 98.3''.
== Development ==
[[The Motels]] initially recorded darker pieces for their anticipated third studio album. However, with the exception of a reworked "Only the Lonely", the rest of the songs were shelved. The unreleased songs would eventually be featured on the 2011 album [[Apocalypso (The Motels album)|''Apocalpyso'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.classicbands.com/MotelsInterview.html|title=Gary James' Interview With Martha Davis of the Motels|website=classicbands.com|access-date=April 29, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.the-motels.info/martha-interview03.html|title=Martha Davis Interview 2007|website=the-motels.info|access-date=May 1, 2019}}</ref>
Lead singer [[Martha Davis (musician)|Martha Davis]] wrote "Only the Lonely" on a guitar that was given to her by her late father—an administrator at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], who found the instrument in Stiles Hall on the campus.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://nightflight.com/shame-the-david-fincher-directed-music-video-by-the-motels-martha-daviss-l-a-based-band/|title="Shame": The David Fincher-directed music video by the Motels, Martha Davis's L.A.-based band|access-date=April 29, 2019}}</ref> She explained the song's inspiration in an interview with ''Beyond Race'' magazine:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-motels/only-the-lonely|title=Only the Lonely by The Motels – Songfacts|website=songfacts.com|access-date=April 29, 2019}}</ref><blockquote>"...It's a song about empty success. It came about while the Motels were experiencing critical acclaim, traveling the world, riding in limos, and yet I was probably as sad as I had ever been. I was in a horrible relationship and had not yet recovered from my parents' death (I doubt one ever does). The contradiction of these two worlds was where 'Only the Lonely' lived... bittersweet."</blockquote> In a 2019 interview, she contrasted the song's development process with her later hit "[[Suddenly Last Summer (song)|Suddenly Last Summer]]":<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctpost.com/entertainment/article/Martha-Davis-and-The-Motels-play-Daryl-s-House-13736156.php|title=Martha Davis and The Motels play Daryl's House Club in Pawling, New York|last=Tuccio-Koonz|first=Linda|date=April 2, 2019|website=Connecticut Post|access-date=April 29, 2019}}</ref><blockquote>"'Those two songs couldn't be more opposite," she said. "With ‘Only the Lonely’ I picked up my guitar and (the tune) was sitting there (as if it wrote itself). I played ‘Only the Lonely’ bada-boom, bada-boom.'"</blockquote>
== Music video ==
The music video for "Only the Lonely" was directed by Australian filmmaker [[Russell Mulcahy]].<ref name=":0" /> Martha Davis stars in the vintage-style video as a socialite who is frequenting the bar at a posh hotel. Eventually, a once solitary Davis becomes overwhelmed by the jubilation of an increasingly unstable crowd. The video earned the award "Best Performance in a Music Video" at the American Music Awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wheremusicmeetsthesoul.com/interview-with-martha-davis-of-the-motels/|title=Last Few Beautiful Days: Interview with Martha Davis of The Motels – Where Music Meets The Soul|date=October 18, 2017 |access-date=April 29, 2019}}</ref>
==Track listing==
;US 7" single
# "Only the Lonely" – 3:16
# "Change My Mind" – 3:21
==Chart performance==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1982)
!Peak<br>position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Kent |first=David |authorlink=David Kent (historian) |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |year=1993 |publisher=Australian Chart Book |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
|align="center"|28
|-
| [[RPM (magazine)|Canadian Top Singles]]
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|-
{{singlechart|New Zealand|10|artist=The Motels|song=Only The Lonely|accessdate=November 25, 2017}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|9|artist=The Motels|accessdate=November 25, 2017}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardadultcontemporary|27|artist=The Motels|accessdate=November 25, 2017}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardmainstreamrock|10|artist=The Motels|accessdate=November 25, 2017}}
|-
|US [[Cashbox (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Top 100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19820731.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920014746/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19820731.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending July 31, 1982 |work=Cash Box Magazine |date=July 31, 1982 |archivedate=September 20, 2012 |accessdate=September 16, 2017}}</ref>
|align="center"|8
|}
{{col-2}}
===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!align="left"|Chart (1982)
! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
|-
|U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1982.htm |title=Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982 |website=Music Outfitters |accessdate=September 16, 2017}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|29
|-
|U.S. ''Cash Box''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1982YESP.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921090617/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1982YESP.html |website=Cash Box |title=Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles |date=December 31, 1982 |archivedate=September 21, 2012 |accessdate=September 16, 2017}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|49
|}
{{col-end}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{The Motels}}
[[Category:1982 singles]]
[[Category:The Motels songs]]
[[Category:Capitol Records singles]]
[[Category:1982 songs]]
[[Category:Songs about loneliness]]
[[Category:Songs written by Martha Davis (musician)]]