"Lonely Ol' Night" is a rock song written and performed by singer-songwriter John Mellencamp. It appeared on his 1985 album Scarecrow and was released as the album's lead single, peaking at number 6 on the BillboardHot 100. It also reached number 1 on the Top Rock Tracks chart, staying at the top spot for five weeks.[3]
Background and recording
The title of "Lonely Ol' Night" was inspired by a scene in the 1963 film Hud starring Paul Newman, based on the 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry. John Cougar Mellencamp had seen the film many times as a young man, and its portrayal of Newman's character Hud Bannon's strained relationship with his father Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas) affected Mellencamp deeply, inspiring many of his song ideas.[4]: 73
"Lonely Ol' Night" was the lead single from Scarecrow,[4]: 77 following his previous hit single "Authority Song" (from 1983's Uh-Huh) to the Billboard Hot 100, where it debuted August 24, 1985. It peaked at number 6 on that chart and reached number 1 on the Top Rock Tracks chart, staying at the top spot for five weeks. It was Mellencamp's second chart-topper on the Top Rock Tracks chart, following 1982's "Hurts So Good".[3]
Cash Box called it "a chugging track which portrays love as the all important link of life."[5]
The video for "Lonely Ol' Night" was shot in and around Bloomington, Indiana. Kathryn Green,[10] the wife of lyricist George Green, friend of Mellencamp's and co-writer of "Hurts So Good," "Crumblin' Down," and "Rain on the Scarecrow", appeared as Mellencamp's girlfriend in the video. According to the Mellencamp biography Born in a Small Town, Green's wife had told Mellencamp not to put "pretty girls" in the video, as it would be unrealistic to suggest their nights would be lonely; Mellencamp replied by offering her a role in the video.[4]: 77
