Maps of Music

One of the Lonely Ones (2015)

Where the lyrics of One of the Lonely Ones take you, and where it was really made.

This 1969 album was shelved by MGM Records, believed lost forever, and only came out in 2015 after Orbison's family found it.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

One of the Lonely Ones: posthumous Roy Orbison album, released December 4, 2015
Orbison's 24th and, to date, final studio album
Recorded in 1969; long believed lost before Orbison's family discovered it
Recorded surreptitiously after wife Claudette's death in a motorcycle accident, and after the death of two sons in a house fire two years later

Summer 1968: touring the UK, met second wife Barbara Orbison at a nightclub in Leeds
15 September 1968: news that his home had burned down and his two eldest sons had died
Took a break for the rest of 1968
21 January 1969: entered the studio to record an album related to the tragedy
Went into exile when he was scheduled to promote Roy Orbison's Many Moods, which was delayed to May 1969

Recorded primarily between January and August 1969
Recording continued until 19 March so he could tour
After the tour was completed in July, he returned to the studio
Finished on 2 August 1969
Mixed at Cash Cabin Studio
MGM Records shelved the album because of contract disputes, and it stayed unreleased and unheard until 2015

1	You’ll Never Walk Alone	2:07
2	Say No More	3:00
3	Leaving Makes the Rain Come Down	2:52
4	Sweet Memories	2:49
5	Laurie	2:33
6	One of the Lonely Ones	2:37
7	Child Woman, Woman Child	3:23
8	The Defector	2:08
9	Give Up	3:07
10	Little Girl (In the Big City)	3:07
11	After Tonight	3:22
12	I Will Always	2:42

Roy Kelton Orbison (born April 23, 1936, Vernon, Texas; died December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.
He began singing in a country-and-western band as a teenager in Wink, Texas, formed the Wink Westerners in 1949 and later the Teen Kings.
He was signed to Sun Records by Sam Phillips in 1956.

Known for a distinctive, powerful voice, complex song structures and dark, emotional ballads.
Signed to Monument Records; from 1960 to 1966, 22 of his singles reached the Billboard top 40.
Wrote or co-wrote almost all of his own top-10 hits, including "Only the Lonely", "Running Scared", "Crying" and "Oh, Pretty Woman".
Suffered personal tragedies after the mid-1960s, including the deaths of his first wife Claudette and two sons, and his career faltered.
Revived in the late 1980s after cover versions of his songs; co-founded the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne in 1988.
Died of a heart attack in December 1988 at age 52.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987; received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Released on 4 December 2015 as a posthumous album and Orbison's final studio album
The tapes had remained unheard until release, after being thought lost forever
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine compared the album to Orbison's 1969 LP Roy Orbison's Many Moods

AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): said the title Roy Orbison's Many Moods is more suitable to this record
Named "Child Woman, Woman Child" as a rare rocker on the album
Described the title track as an effective evocation of Orbison's classic Monument ballads
Called "Give Up" a nimble bit of country-psychedelia
Called "Little Girl (In the Big City)" a good bit of fuzz-colored schmaltz
Found the two Mickey Newbury songs, "Leaving Makes the Rain Come Down" and "Sweet Memories", effectively read by Orbison

Orbison's sons died in September 1968; he went into exile afterward, and the album he was due to promote was delayed to May 1969.
He recorded until 19 March so he could tour, then went back into the studio after the tour ended in July and finished on 2 August.
The album was mixed at Cash Cabin Studio, a studio named in its Discogs credits.
The release came alongside the box set The MGM Years, which compiled Orbison's MGM recordings.
The twelve-track listing includes "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Say No More", and the title track.