M.P.D. Ltd - Lonely Boy (1965)

(Paul Anka*)
Australia
#3 Melbourne #24 Brisbane #9 Adelaide #3 Perth

Single on Go!! label, a beat update of Paul Anka’s pop hit.

MPD Ltd, formed 1965, were Mike Brady, Pete Watson and Danny Finley, a Melbourne beat trio driven by a heavy rhythm section. Mike and Pete had met in Shadows-style band The Phantoms, and Danny had drummed with another instrumental band The Saxons (see Pedro The Fisherman).

Mike Brady later wrote many well-known jingles, and as one half of Two Man Band had a hit with the football song Up There Cazaly (1979) YouTube.

Further reading: Paul Culnane’s band history and appreciation at Milesago.

Johnny Devlin & The Devils - Lonely Boy (1959)

(Paul Anka*)
Australia

Single by New Zealand-born rock’n’roll star on Teen, B-side of Tiger, also on Festival EP Stomp The Tumbarumba. For more on Johnny Devlin see: I Was The One, Gigolo, Stayin’ Up Late and Chi-Chico Teek. See also Teen Beat by Johnny Devlin’s Devils.

Paul Anka - Lonely Boy (1959)

(Paul Anka*)
USA
Original version
#1 USA #3 UK #5 Sydney #1 Melbourne #3 Brisbane #3 Adelaide #2 Perth

Single on ABC-Paramount label. One of five songs performed by Paul Anka in the film Girls' Town (1959). Lonely Boy was also the title of a 1962 documentary about Paul Anka. The song's full, registered title is I'm Just A Lonely Boy.

Paul Anka: Canadian singer and composer, born 1941, whose career took off in 1957 after he was signed to ABC-Paramount in New York and released his first big hit, Diana.

Paul Anka had several Top 10 hits in the US 1957-60, and had a career revival in the mid-70s, beginning with You're Having My Baby (duet with Odia Coates, 1974, #1 USA). As a writer his credits have included It Doesn't Matter Any More (Buddy Holly, 1959), She's A Lady (Tom Jones, 1971) and the English lyrics to My Way, Frank Sinatra's late-career signature tune (1969). The official site is at PaulAnka.com.

Lonely Boy has also been recorded, for example, by The Chordettes (1959), Joe Dowell (1961) and Gary Glitter (1973).

* Some websites attribute the song to Paul Anka and Joe Dowell, but this seems to be a mistake arising from Joe Dowell's recording.

Donny Osmond - Lonely Boy (1972)

(Paul Anka*)
USA
Later version
#9 USA #8 Brisbane #3 Adelaide

Double-sided hit with the A-side, Why. (In NZ, only Why charted.)

Ever-smiling graduate of family musical group The Osmonds, often on the charts in the 70s with recycled pre-Brit Invasion teen hits.

Jeff Hilder - Lonely Boy (1976)

(Paul Anka)
Australia
Later version

B-side on Laser by Australian singer who had travelled the world and made the charts in Venezuela.

For more on Jeff Hilder see the A-side Play Mama Play, listed under John J. Francis’s original.

Version alert from Terry Stacey.

Andrew Gold - Lonely Boy (1976)

(Andrew Gold)
Red herring
#7 USA #11 UK #26 Sydney #25 Brisbane #30 Adelaide #40 NZ

Same title but not the same song as "Lonely Boy" by MPD Ltd.

Single on Asylum label, from the 1976 album What's Wrong With This Picture?

Andrew Gold: American singer-songwriter, a member of Linda Ronstadt's band, son of composer Ernest Gold (Exodus, the Mad About You theme song) and singer Marni Nixon (the soundtrack singing voice of such stars as Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady).

Elton John - Lonely Boy (1982)

(Elton John - Gary Osborne)
UK
Red herring

Same title but not the same song as ‘Lonely Boy’ by MPD Ltd.

Single, B-side of Passengers.

Thanks to Mick Patrick.