Owner of a Lonely Heart: Difference between revisions

1983 single by Yes

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” is a song by British progressive rock band Yes. It is the first track and single from their eleventh studio album, 90125 (1983), and was released in October 1983. Written primarily by guitarist and singer Trevor Rabin, contributions were made to the final version by singer Jon Anderson, bassist Chris Squire, and producer Trevor Horn.

“Owner of a Lonely Heart” was released in October 1983, as the album’s first single. It was a commercial success in the United States, becoming the band’s first and only single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and its Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. In 1984, the song was ranked No. 8 on the US year-end chart. The single was reissued various times throughout the 1980s and 1990s with different remix versions and B-sides.^[4]

Development[edit]

Origins and demo version[edit]

The song originated in 1979 from South African musician, singer-songwriter, and producer Trevor Rabin; while going to the toilet, he wrote “the whole thing, from beginning to end”.^[5][6] Rabin then put down his ideas onto tape using his home equipment which included a 4-track tape machine. One of the recordings consisted of the main verse and chorus riff played on an acoustic guitar with some vocals. A developed version with drums, keyboards, and a complete set of lyrics was completed in 1980. Both recordings were released on Rabin’s demo compilation album 90124, in 2003.^[7] For the full version, Rabin used the first and second tracks to record the instruments and vocals before mixing the song onto the third. He added: “You would be making decisions based on what was coming, and sometimes those decisions would be wrong – but you couldn’t undo them. One of the things, a happy accident, was that all of the brass stabs and those weird things that happen on the record – they were just a product of what happened with the demo”.^[8]

After relocating to Los Angeles in 1981, Rabin added the song to his collection of demos that he wished to develop for a fourth solo album. Among the record labels that Rabin pitched his work to was Arista Records, but he recalled owner Clive Davis rejecting them on the basis of the songs sounding “too strange, and would not be a hit”, and suggesting that Rabin “write stuff more like Foreigner and then come back. I never did”.^[9] Rabin then landed a development deal with Geffen Records who introduced Rabin to musicians with the intention of forming Asia, but Rabin declined due to the lack of chemistry and his preference for making a solo album.

Rabin’s deal with Geffen ended in 1982, but an offer from A&R man Ron Fair of RCA Records was the first time Rabin’s songs were recognised as potential hits. Rabin said Fair called “Owner of a Lonely Heart” “a game changer” and offered him an album deal on the strength of it. However, Rabin turned it down when he agreed to form a new band with bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White of the progressive rock band Yes and make an album, initially under the name Cinema, for Atco Records.^[9] Much of the new material derived from Rabin’s demos, including “Hold On” and “Changes“, and displayed a more pop-oriented approach than what Yes had been known for. The group worked with former Yes singer Trevor Horn as their producer.

Development and production[edit]

By January 1983, most of the backing tracks and vocals for the Cinema album had been recorded, but an additional song was needed. While Rabin was on a toilet break, Horn left his demo tape running and heard his version of “Owner of a Lonely Heart”. He disliked Rabin’s inclinations toward “American rock” in his songs and its verse lyrics, which he remembered as: “You don’t wanna go dancing, you won’t even answer the phone. You so scared of romancing, everything you do is alone”. However, he recognised the “powerful” introduction with its “snap jump cut” into the main riff, plus its strong chorus hook, as a hit single. “The verses of it were so awful that I was convinced that if we didn’t put loads of whizz, bangs and gags all over the verse that no one would ever listen to it”.

Horn recalled pleading with the band to record it on the grounds that they needed a hit single, despite the group’s reluctance. Subsequent musical and lyrical changes were then made by Horn and Squire, and for several days the group attempted to perform it. Horn was dissatisfied with the addition of various drum fills and superfluous sections, and suggested they record it “straight and simple” without changing the original riff. Rabin agreed to change his song this way, but wanted to keep the sound levels “very loud” which Horn “was totally into”.^[7] It took Horn approximately seven months to convince Rabin to rewrite the lyrics. Once Rabin agreed, several versions were produced which included Horn’s contribution of the verses including: “Move yourself, you always live your life…”, which earned…