Best Telephone Songs

[Jamie Renton]

"Baby Hang Up the Phone" done 2 ways:

Soul smoochin' with Carl Graves
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45SFu2c7U-A

Lloyd Parks inna Jamaican lovers style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2gHkhw2ZnY

[Dominic]

Under The Wires by The Cramps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPy0vffTRmc

[john poole]

and -

'No Reply' by The Beatles
'You Didn't Try to Call Me' by The Mothers of Invention
'Operator' by Mary Wells (or Brenda Holloway)
'Tell Him I'm Not Home' by Chuck Jackson (or Tell Her.... by Ike & Tina Turner).

[Martin Owen]

He'll have to go Jim Reeves

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvT9kIsxl0o

I like the Ry Cooder version with Flaco Jiminez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_scC6iFf1Nc

and a nice version from Frankie Miller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uFTsniVfIQ

[AndyM]

Busy Line - Rose Murphy
(1950s novelty hit)

[Hugh Weldon]

Splendid stuff, chaps and chapesses, almost enough for a triple CD compilation already!

One I'd forgotten was the great Al Green song Call Me, though there are at least two other distinct songs with that title, one of which has already been mentioned in an Aretha version (the one done in this country by Petula Clark I guess), and the other, another Blondie hit.

[AndyM]

Lea de Laria (stand-up comic turned singer) also did a very good lounge-act style version of Petula's Call Me.

[Jamie Renton]

Telephone Baby - Johnny Otis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3VpH8Xn ... re=related

[Alan]

Any track from Francophone Africa.

still hanging on for an answer..

you could try Bembeya Jazz National's Telephone
http://www.sternsmusic.com/popup_player ... _ID=105005

or the exquisite Franco et le T.P.O.K. Jazz avec Numero ta Téléphone from Fifteen Years Ago Vol. three (ASL ASLP 1018)
http://francorestored.blogspot.com/2010 ... -1986.html

[Hugh Weldon]

Which reminds me of another obvious candidate, 'Hello Central, give me Doctor Jazz...'

[uiwangmike]

A couple of calls to radio stations:
Roll Over Beethoven
Mr Record Man (posted here recently by John)
A conversation:
As soon As I Hang Up the Phone - Conway & Loretta
A number:
Lonesome 7-7203 - Webb Pierce and others
Another Chuck Berry Song that ends with a phone call is The Promised Land. A few years ago, Andy Kershaw tried calling Tidewater 4-10-09 from LA, without success.

Error report: Beethoven was, of course, requested to roll over by letter, not by phone.

[Paul S]

Well stap me... on my desk for the last 6 months has been this very project, purely for a home made CD when I got the time. Artwork's almost done as well. After some research and on the basis that it has to be a listenable item rather than a list of disparate recordings that just mention the phone (first rule was that it didn't include Blondie's 'Call Me') I arrived at:

1 - Tell Her I'm Not Home - Ike & Tina - (better than Chuck J's & unbeatable intro)
2 - Telephone Baby - Johnny Otis
3 - Don't call Us - Sugarloaf (CBS records number is the dialtone)
4 - Operator - Mary Wells
5 - Don't Hang Up - Orlons
6 - As soon as I hang up the Phone - Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
7 - Off The Hook - Stones
8 - Little Marie - Chuck Berry
9 - He'll Have To Go - Ry Cooder & Flaco
10 - He'll Have To Stay - Jeanne Black's answer record
11- Beechwood 45789 - Marvellettes
12 - Memphis Tennessee - Lonnie Mac's instrumental version

Under consideration;
Loan Me A Dime- Boz Scaggs
Carole Coby - Memphis Calling New York City
Hand of Dimes - The Great Terry Reid (is he on tour this year?)
Woman To Woman - Shirley Brown
Peggy Scott - Mr Right or Mr Wrong
Stan Moseley - Your Wife Is My Woman (some title)
Under My Wheels - Alice Cooper
Telephone Blues- John Mayall & Eric Clapton

That's a whole Theme Time Radio Show ready for Bob. Except he's already done one.

[Dominic]

Trying to find who did the title track of this Original Music Highlife compilation:

[Dominic]

And trying to find a video for this Stiff Records obscurity, Tele-tele-telephone by Wazmo Nariz (note two ties!):

[gary booth]

Maybe Stiff Records suggested the 'two ties' look for their artistes as a possible way to chart topping success as Humphrey Ocean often adopted such a style?