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867-5309 Jenny by Tommy TuTone, 1981
Thanks to John for this suggestion. We can't believe we missed it in the first place!
Hot Line (for your love) by the Sylvers, 1976
The Sylvers were a family group from Los Angeles area. The family had 10 children, of which nine participated in the group over the years. They were basically brought up in front a TV camera: when they were little, they had a calypso group called The Little Angels, which is worth a look. Here are seven of the Sylvers on Groucho Marx' You Bet Your Life, in 1959 with their parents, singing "Go For". The oldest singer, Olympia, is just seven years old. Dad wins $2000 by hitting all of the correct answers. Bravo! Groucho jokes that now they can afford an eighth child, what a dick. Here they are on the Danny Thomas Show in 1961, a much more polished performance, singing another original piece,
Hot Line hit #3 on the Billboard chart in 1976. The same year, they had a number one hit, with Boogie Fever.
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Sylvia's Mother, 1972
A sad story about a real phone call.
Big Bopper, Chantilly Lace, 1958
This song is ostensibly performed over a telephone call. Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. (the Big Bopper, who came up with his name after watching high school kids dancing the Bop) died in a plane crash on February 3, 1959 at the age of 28, known as the Day The Music Died.
Andrews Sisters, Pennsylvania 6 5000, 1940
This one was a sure bet to get Grandpa out on the dance floor at your 1984 wedding. Or maybe not...
Up until the COVID-19 pandemic, if you called PE6-5000 with the intended new york area code (212) you go the switch board of the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan.
Blondie, Call Me, 1980
"Call me" is the title of more than a dozen songs, but this one is the best. Call Me hit #1 for six weeks and is fearured in the movie American Gigolo. Repeat this to yourself five times slowly..
Blondie is the group
Debbie Harry is the singer
Jim Croce, Operator (That's not the way it Feels), 1972
Mr. Croce is one of two people represented on this page that died in a Beechcraft airplane.
Bye Bye Birdie musical number, 1963
The story was influenced by Elvis Presley's conscription into the US Army in 1957. One bad thing about this clip is that you only get to admire Ann Margaret for a few seconds. She was such a star, she even made a cameo on the Flintstones!
Jeff Lynn's ELO, Telephone Line, 1977
Why is the group called "Jeff Lynn's ELO"? because its his group dammit!
Chuck Berry and Johnny Rivers, Memphis, 1959, 1964
This song was written and first performed by Chuck Berry. It is the saddest song on this page, if you want to think about that.
Here is the Rivers version, you cannot argue that he nailed a great rendition. In the video he is of course lip synching... You can still hit the Whiskey A-Go-Go, on Sunset Strip in Hollywood, where Johnny Rivers once played in the house band. Here is their current calendar.