Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline "duet" version

The most familiar version of "Have You Ever Been Lonely?" is an electronically created "duet" featuring country music singers, Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline, who had both died in separate plane crashes (Cline in 1963, Reeves in 1964) and had never recorded together during their lifetimes. In 1961, both singers recorded their own solo versions of the song and released it to various albums.

In 1981, Owen Bradley – who was Cline's original producer – lifted their solo vocal performances off their original stereo tapes, synchronized them and recorded a new backing track. The song was released in the fall of 1981, and in January 1982 became a No. 5 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart,^[2] and a No. 1 hit on the RPM Magazine Country Singles chart.

Other versions

• 1933: Ted Lewis, Ray Noble^[3]
• 1949: Ernest Tubb, a #2 hit on the Most Played Juke Box Folk Records chart.^[4]
• 1955: Jaye P. Morgan, Karen Chandler, and Jerry Cooper
• 1956: Buddy Holly, unreleased until after his death
• 1960: Teresa Brewer
• 1960: The Browns with Jim Ed Brown
• 1962: Warner Mack
• 1964: Caravelles
• 1965: Bobby Vinton
• 1966: Dave Dudley
• 1967: Jim Ed Brown (without The Browns)

Many others not listed, such as Eddy Arnold have also recorded the song for album release without releasing it as a single.