Blink and you’ll miss him, but that’s Bruce sitting behind Roy Orbison playing guitar in this clip from Roy’s 1987 concert film, Roy Orbison & Friends: A Black & White Night.
Bruce was one of Roy’s “friends” that night (along with Elvis Costello, Jackson Browne, and a host of other stellar musicians), and although Bruce didn’t get much screen time on this first song of the evening, he more than made up for it throughout the night. (Watch more great performances from that evening here.)
As for the original song, that was Roy’s first big hit upon its release in the spring of 1960. It stopped just shy of the top spot in the U.S., but it made it all the way to #1 in the U.K.
Despite the song’s popularity and Bruce’s lifelong admiration of Roy, though, that all-star line-up in 1987 represents the only time Bruce has ever performed “Only the Lonely” live.
Only the Lonely (Know the Way I Feel)
First performed: September 30, 1987 (Los Angeles, CA)
Last performed: September 30, 1987 (Los Angeles, CA)
Watch more great performances from Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black & White Night here.
