''You're Only Lonely'' is the third album by American singer-songwriter JD Souther, released in 1979. The title song charted as a single on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', reaching No.1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "White Rhythm & Blues" was covered by

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

on her album '' Living in the USA''. In 1992,

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

covered "The Last in Love", for the soundtrack to the film '' Pure Country''.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' concluded that "Souther's trouble is that his voice simply isn't very interesting, at least in a folk-rock context on recording." In his retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic William Ruhlmann praised "White Rhythm and Blues" as well as the solo version of the Souther–Hillman–Furay Band song "Trouble in Paradise".

Track listing

Personnel

* JD Souther – vocals, guitar *

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (July 30, 1945 – May 12, 2024) was an American alto saxophonist. He worked in many musical genres; his solo recordings typically blended jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He began playing the saxophone at the age o ...

– alto saxophone * Tom Scott – tenor saxophone *

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with ...

– guitar * Don Felder – rhythm guitar * Danny Kortchmar – guitar * Waddy Wachtel – guitar, harmony vocals * Fred Tackett – acoustic guitar *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

– steel guitar * Kenny Edwards – bass guitar, harmony vocals * Don Grolnick – piano * Jai Winding – organ *

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

– harmonica *

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

– vocals on "You're Only Lonely" *

Jorge Calderón Jorge Calderón, originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer best known for his collaborations with Warren Zevon and Buckingham Nicks. Calderón sings, and also plays guitar, bass ...

– vocals, harmony vocals *

Phil Everly Phillip Everly (January 19, 1939 – January 3, 2014) was an American musician, who was one half of the duo The Everly Brothers alongside his older brother Don. Early life Phil was born in Chicago in 1939 to Isaac Milford "Ike" Everly, Jr. (190 ...

– harmony vocals on "White Rhythm and Blues" and "You're Only Lonely" * Don Henley – vocals *

Mike Botts Michael Gene Botts (December 8, 1944 – December 9, 2005) was an American drummer, best known for his work with 1970s soft rock band Bread (band), Bread, and as a session musician. During his career, he recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Karla Bonof ...

– drums * Rick Marotta – drums

Production

*Producer: JD Souther *Engineers: Loyd Clifft, Lee Herschberg *Direction:

Irving Azoff Irving Azoff (; born December 12, 1947) is an American businessman, who is chairman of Full Stop Management, a company that represents recording artists. During the course of his career, he has worked as an agent, personal manager, concert pr ...

*Art direction: Jimmy Wachtel *Photography: Jim Shea

Charts

References

{{Authority control JD Souther albums 1979 albums Columbia Records albums Albums with cover art by Jimmy Wachtel