Lonely People

"Lonely People" is a song written by the husband-and-wife team of Dan and Catherine Peek and recorded by America.

Background

"Lonely People" was the second single release from America's 1974 album Holiday. "Lonely People" reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, Dan Peek's only credited song to reach that chart's top 10, and was America's second number one on the Easy Listening chart, where it stayed for one week in February 1975.

"Lonely People" was not automatically earmarked for the Holiday album: Peek unsuccessfully submitted a demo of the song for John Sebastian to consider recording.

"Lonely People" was written as an optimistic response to the Beatles' song "Eleanor Rigby". Peek considered "Eleanor Rigby" an "overwhelming" "picture...of the masses of lost humanity, drowning in grey oblivion" and would recall being "lacerated" on first hearing the lyrics of its chorus which run "All the lonely people: where do they all come from...where do they all belong". "Lonely People" was written within a few weeks of Peek's 1973 marriage to Catherine Mayberry: Peek- "I always felt like a melancholy, lonely person. And now [upon getting married] I felt like I’d won." The lyrics of "Lonely People" advise "all the lonely people": "Don't give up until you drink from the silver cup", a metaphor which Peek thus explains: "It's possible to drink from another's well of experience...and be refreshed."

Lonely People (EP)

On 16 November 2014, Orla Gartland announced the upcoming release of her second EP, Lonely People.

Reception

Earmilk commented about the title track, "Like all of her music, 'Lonely People' comes directly from the heart ... the sincerity of her singing ... continues to be Gartland's most endearing quality."Wonderland Magazine selected it as a Track of the Week on 01 December 2014.When the Gramophone Rings stated Gartland "makes it apparent she has a lot more to give."Fortitude Magazine individually reviewed each song on the EP and wrote that Gartland "provides a wonderful EP with an excellent vocal performance and great songwriting."Digital Spy recommended “Wispers” as a song “you need to hear.”

On 28 December 2014 Gartland was interviewed on Weekend Breakfast With Stephen Byrne broadcast nationally in Ireland on RTÉ 2fm. He played two tracks from the EP, "Lonely People" and "Souvenirs."

Track listing

Music Videos

On 30 November 2014, Gartland released a video of the title track, "Lonely People." It is a compilation of video clips Gartland requested from fans. On 19 December 2014, Gartland released a video of an acoustic performance of the third track, "Whispers." It was filmed in the Youtube Creative Space at Google in London. On 27 December 2014, Gartland released a video of "Souvenirs," which is set to classic 1990s-era computer graphics. On 13 January 2015, Gartland released a music video of "Whispers" which was produced by SteamyintheCity Creator Studio in Los Angeles.

Eleanor Rigby

Eleanor Rigby is a song by the Beatles, released on the 1966 album Revolver and as a 45 rpm single. It was written by Paul McCartney, and credited to Lennon–McCartney.

The song continued the transformation of the Beatles from a mainly rock and roll / pop-oriented act to a more experimental, studio-based band. With a double string quartet arrangement by George Martin and striking lyrics about loneliness, "Eleanor Rigby" broke sharply with popular music conventions, both musically and lyrically.Richie Unterberger of Allmusic cites the band's "singing about the neglected concerns and fates of the elderly" on the song as "just one example of why the Beatles' appeal reached so far beyond the traditional rock audience".

Composition

Paul McCartney came up with the melody of "Eleanor Rigby" as he experimented with his piano. However, the original name of the protagonist that he chose was not Eleanor Rigby but Miss Daisy Hawkins. The singer-composer Donovan reported that he heard McCartney play it to him before it was finished, with completely different lyrics. In 1966, McCartney recalled how he got the idea for his song: