Black Keys Call 'Lonely Boy' Video A 'Complete Accident'

The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" video was one of the year's biggest viral hits, thanks mostly (if not entirely) to the dance stylings of actor/part-time security guard Derrick T. Tuggle, who, in one single take, shimmied his way through the song — and into Internet lore.

While there are roughly 100 amazing things about Tuggle's performance (we especially like his modified Carlton), perhaps the most incredible aspect is the fact that it almost never happened. After all, as the Keys told, their original "Lonely Boy" plans didn't involve Tuggle in the slightest.

"There was supposed to be [a proper video for the song], but there is not. We shot a whole video here in Los Angeles about two months ago, but we didn't like it, so we scrapped the whole thing," drummer Patrick Carney explained, "Except for the footage of Derrick Tuggle dancing, which was a complete accident. ... He had an hour to listen to the song, and he memorized all the lyrics and he came up with the dance, and he basically did that on his own. And if we didn't have that footage, we would not have a video for the song."

While the band wouldn't elaborate on what was wrong with the real "Lonely Boy" video ("It just didn't work. It was supposed to be funny and it didn't work," frontman Dan Auerbach said matter-of-factly), they're thrilled by the response the Tuggle-fied clip has received — especially since no one thought releasing it was a good idea. And no, they don't have plans to shoot another version.

"I'm not sure the label believed the video would have the impact that it did, and then it took off and there was no need to put out another video," Auerbach said. "It already had gotten more hits than any regular video would have gotten."

"We got some emails from some people at the label saying that it might not be a good idea to release that as a video, but we did, and it worked," Carney said.

What do you think of the "Lonely Boy" video? Share your reviews in the comments!