Mr. Lonely

For the 2007 film, see Mister Lonely.

"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
Clinging Vine (1964) Mr. Lonely (1964) The Bell That Couldn't Jingle (1964)

"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.

Cultural references

• It appears in the animated movie Flushed Away, where singing slugs perform it for the main character, Roddy, as he is left alone.
• It is featured in an episode of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air where Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) plays the song while dancing with Jackie (Tyra Banks).
• The character Kim Jong-il sings a similar-sounding song in the film Team America: World Police.
• The song was used as the title of the 2007 Harmony Korine film, Mister Lonely.
• In a commercial for Premium Crackers, the song is played alternating with "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by Scorpions

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

References

1. ^ Sam at Discogs