Only The Lonely - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

• Orbison's version of his song has been used in motion pictures, including The Love Letter (1999) and Only the Lonely (1991), which was named after and promoted by the song.
• Only the Lonely is the title of a book about Roy Orbison by Alan Clayson, published 1989, St. Martin's Press, New York City.
• Only the Lonely – The Roy Orbison Story is a stage musical that toured Europe.
• The song is referenced to extensively in the satirical play Red, White and Tuna. It is looped through every jukebox over most of Act II whenever Arles, a radio DJ, barricades himself inside of the local radio station after he and his fianceé, Bertha, fight and call off their wedding.
• Bruce Springsteen references the song in his 1975 song "Thunder Road", but Orbison's influence ran deeper than just a passing mention. When inducting Orbison into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, Springsteen said, "In '75, when I went into the studio to make Born to Run, I wanted to make a record with words like Bob Dylan that sounded like Phil Spector, but most of all I wanted to sing like Roy Orbison." Springsteen originally intended to begin his album with an alarm clock followed by Orbison's song playing over the radio.