Garfield hates Mondays.
But would he like Music Mondays?
Probably not, because when you remove the Music part, it is still Monday.
Though Garfield’s voice’s name was Lorenzo Music. And yes, that was his real last name!
Anyway…
The 1970s. You sung disco, or you didn’t. And if you didn’t, your longevity was probably better than the ones who only sung disco. And if you sang soft rock, you would be around for a long time…and the darling of Adult Contemporary stations years later.
Which brings me to this week’s Music Monday song choice. It’s a song about a boy turning his back on a world where his parents neglect him (or so he thinks) once he has a sister. That song is 1976’s “Lonley Boy,” by singer Andrew Gold.
This name may not be familiar to you, but you’re probably more familiar with another song from his repetoire…
That’s right – The Golden Girls theme began its life as a song we hear during “oldies weekends” on Adult Contemporary stations.
Anyway, his other well-known song that wasn’t a TV sitcom theme song…
“Lonely Boy” was released in 1976 as part of Gold’s album What’s Wrong With This Picture? And it wasn’t just a clever title – you actually had to find what was wrong with this picture.
Two bits o’fun for the price of one, folks!
The song is about a boy born in 1951, who is cared for and fussed over by his parents, only to have his world shattered upon the birth of his sister. Not believing that his parents could do that to him, he feels he is a lonely boy. The song actually doesn’t have an ounce of truth other than the birth dates of the boy and his sister. Gold asserts that his childhood was happy, unlike the child in the song.
The song spent five months on American charts, peaking at #7 in the United States and Canada.
However true or not true the song is, it is still a cute song about sibling rivalry. And when you click play, you’ll see for yourself how painful childhood was for the boy in the song.
Oh, what a lonely boy…and a respectable spot on the charts.
And that’s Music Monday for this week. Stay tuned – this feature continues throughout the month of August with more songs from my eclectic playlist of music.