Remembering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and the viral video for the song
“Lonely Boy” is a song by the American rock band The Black Keys. The track was released as a single and became widely known for its unique video clip, where a man performs a dance. The song “Lonely Boy” is considered one of the most significant hits in the band’s discography.
The History of the Creation and Meaning of the Song Lonely Boy by The Black Keys
The meaning of the song is simple. The song “Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys is about unrequited love.
The video for the track “Lonely Boy” stars Derrick T. Tuggle, who, in addition to acting and music, works as a security guard. In the video, he performs a dance in front of the Pepper Tree Motel, located in North Hollywood, a part of Los Angeles. The video, shot without any editing, quickly spread across the Internet, gaining over 400 thousand views on YouTube in just 24 hours.
Initially, a detailed script was developed for the video clip with the participation of over 40 actors, but the result did not satisfy the musicians. Dan Auerbach, a member of The Black Keys, shared:
“We were given an edited version a few weeks after filming, which we were disappointed with. We sent it back for revisions… they tried again, and that was a failure. Then we thought, ‘What about that guy in the background who did that one dance number?’ and it became the most expensive video of all our singles to make.”
Derrick T. Tuggle was originally cast as a cameo character who was given the keys to a motel room. However, his spontaneous dancing on set caught the attention of director Jesse Dylan. Tuggle shared:
“I didn’t even know what the music was going to be. They just asked me if I could dance, put the track on, and I started dancing. My dance had elements of Carlton’s dance in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, plus some other influences. There’s a little bit of John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction, and a little bit of Michael Jackson, too, so it was a real mix of everything I’d seen.”
Tuggle also noted:
“It was a spontaneous decision. My acting teacher, Mark McPherson, makes us do it before class as part of an exercise called Song and Dance. We sing one of our favorite songs, and then while we’re singing, he makes us dance something crazy or sexy. I think that’s where the idea came from.”
Derrick T. Tuggle said:
“I auditioned and applied for the casting for this video multiple times. The ad didn’t say what group it was, so I didn’t know what to expect. I was originally considered for the role of the motel owner. The plan was to have six other dancers in the video. That was the original concept. But they changed the plan and chose to only film me, inspired by my dancing.
The script called for the Black Keys to come up to me and hand me the keys to their motel room. After I got the part, I was called back to the set to reshoot the video with just me dancing. And that was the beginning of the story.”
The song peaked on a number of rock charts and became the band's highest charting single in various countries, peaking at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100, number two on the Australian Singles Chart, and number 33 on the Canadian Hot 100. At the 55th Grammy Awards, the track won Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, and was nominated for Record of the Year.
