Ah, don't knock it. It was just a fun little ditty that everyone could giggle and sing along to. Totally harmless. A novelty act. Mery Wilson was never going to be the "next big thing" but it's lovely to hear this again after all these years. And yes, the b-side "Itinerary" had some substance. Great if that were posted too.
Listen for great music like this on a new radio station called "OffTheCharts" - featuring 70's (and some 80's) lost hits and chart wonders!
Go to Live365.com, type OFFTHECHARTS in the Search box and click on the station logo. The audio stream should begin. Become a VIP member and listen commercial free!
I just found this for my Daddy, he retired from ''Southern Bell" 30 years ago,when this song came out he was instslling telephones,this song fit him to a T !He is now in nursing home,when he calls tomorrow he's gonna get a surprize!
@Actionguy1 Indeed. I don't know which was worse,the stupid singing in a mock male voice,or the giggling throughout.I am totally embarrassed that this piece of sheet even made it in the top 20 when it came out in 1977.My teen peers helped its airplay
When we heard this in music class back in the '70s when this was #3 on the charts, my 5th grade class loved it...but the music teacher wouldn't let us listen to it a 2nd time. No one had any idea why!! Too funny. Great song. Thanks for posting!
Like some of the earlier posts, my Mum bought the 45 of this. I always thought it was a nice little bouncy number, but listening to it now..... I want that telephone man!!! Ding-a-ling!!! ;o)
wow... my grandma hated that song when we herd it on the radio in the 70s. The last time i herd it i was ..7 or 8. With the strong sexual lyrics i can now see why she didn't want me to hear it.
I heard this song once when it was on the charts. Didn't hear it again for another 17 years. The Rochester, NY station probably got flooded with complaints, which should tell you all you need to know about that town.
Hey STATELYBIRD 3. They used to play in on the radio in Chicago. I used to hear it back in 1974-75 on WGCI in the windy city. Kinda odd cause thats an R&B station but the tune was pretty popular.
Damn--I ain't heard this song since I used to play my mother's 45 record of it to death when I was 7 and 8 years old! I always thought it was a catchy cool-ass tune---it's NEVER played on the radio to this day--which is too bad because it's fun as hell to listen to!
Thanks for posting this song! I always loved it. I have been trying to find someone who remembers it for years--now I can prove to them that it exists.
I loved this song when it came out, it was funny how they were able to play this and there was a big stink over "Afternoon Delight" ....lol Ohhh those were the days.
Hmmmmm. I will look for it! If you find it, pass it on and I will get it up.... (*smile*.... the last 5 words - remind me of Bevis & Buthead!) "I will get it up"
First heard this in the Army barracks in the mid '70s. My buddy and I just looked at each other and creacked up. Never heard it again until this post.....thanks. I've viewed it 68,000 times.
I still have this on a 45 record! I purchased it at our local Woolworth's store when I was 11 years old! Even at that young age I knew exactly what she was singing about.
have you ever heard "stay awhile" by the bells? it pre dates this and is surprisingly plain as to what it's about. but you sort of have to read between the lines. that's why 70's music is so superior, well, part of the reason, anyway. it's a little mysterious, not just in your face like today's music.
@eydie57 Yes, I know "Stay A While". Did you know the Bells were Canadian? I don't know if 1970s music is OBJECTIVELY "superior", but I like a lot of music from that decade...
I was at Avondale High school as a magnet student for the new performing arts school 1986-1988. Meri Wilson was our vocal music teacher. She was a hoot and a half! Oh the stories i could tell...
I am Meri's sister and miss her tremendously. She was killed in a car wreck 2002 in Americus Georgia. Multitalented - jazz, recording, played numerous instruments,wrote lyrics, sang. And yes, had a crazy personality.
I remember this song on a 45 rpm record.Heard it on satelite radio the other day,and went right to youtube to hear it again.What memories it brought back.
This song came out in the late 70's about the same time many of other "country comedy" tunes came out like "In The Mood" by Henhouse Five Plus Too and the dog barking to the song "Jingle Bells". Too funny.
She died in a car crash in 2002. IIRC, she was some high muckety-muck in the Georgia State Dept of Education, she had her master's in Musical Education. Who'd a-thunk it ?
Meri Wilson / First Take Stereo/GRT-8023 (C)(P) 1977 GRT Records Side One 1. Silver Blue Mercedes 2. Midnight in Memphis 3. Two Sides 4. Telephone Man 5. The Angel in Me Side Two 1. There's a Whole Lot More (Where That Came From) 2. He Lost His Faith 3. Rub-A-Dub-Dub 4. Itinerary 5. Every Time I Sing a Love Song Wonderful album, I love each & every of these songs!
One of my favorites, nice to listen to it again. Must have left and impression in my younger years,I married the telephone man and got a ding-a-ling! He's still ringing my bells!
I can't believe I found this song. I've been looking for it for years. They played it on the radio for a couple of weeks and then it was gone. Never heard it again. Thanks to YOUTUBE it's back!
I was a telephone man and a part of the reality this song refers to. Back then, the phone company installed the actual phones and extensions inside homes. There were often "negotiations" initiated by the lady of the house!! about reducing the installation fee, or at least under that pretense. Believe it! That's why the song isn't about any other utility representative or repairman that makes house calls!
I totally know what you mean! Not from personal experience, but from the "reputation" of the "Telephone Man" in our town!
I remember the rotary phone days, where there was one phone in the house, with one chair and a phone table with a phone book under it. No answering machine and really expensive long distance calls that you only made on Sunday nights. How did we survive?
THIS IS SO FUNNY! Thanks for posting! I, too, was merely a child when this song came out, but I sang it with my best friend all of the time, and we NEVER thought about how dirty it was! LOL! We just liked the song! Thanks for the memories! I was trying to tell my 19 year old son about it, and here it was on you tube.. so I showed him! haha!
OMG!! i have been looking for this song for months! I have this on a 45 record. don't know many people who know this song. i used to sing it with a little dance when i was about 15 or 16 getting drunk!! LOL I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!
I remember when this song could only be played on the radio late at night. It was so suggestive. I didn't know what it meant back then, but loved it because everybody else was freaking out! LOL (Anybody else hear the resemblance to Elvira!)
By the way...you mentioned a song you called "Camp Granada"...but actually it's called "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" by Alan Sherman...1963. Just for the record. ;)
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (sometimes seen titled "Camp Granada"[1]) is Allan Sherman's best known song parody. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 24, 1963, remaining in that position for three weeks.
The song was first released in 1963 on his LP "My Son, the Nut", and was entirely rewritten for a performance in 1964 on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. In 1965, Swedish/Dutch troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk translated it loosely into Swedish. I choose to use "Camp Granada"
Well, I'm completely floored. I mean you have the chart info on this song completely down to a tee. You mentioned everything except where the song was recorded, the date of recording and what Allan Sherman was wearing when he recorded it, but hey you can't win them all, right? Man, you're just a walking Billboard magazine, arent ya? And here I was thinking I was ahead of you on that one. What do you think a 45 rpm titled Camp Granada would be worth because I haven't seen one yet.
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" is the Grammy-winning novelty song based on Kvetch letters Allan Sherman received from his son attending Camp Champlain, New York. The song is a parody that complains about Camp Granada.
After the song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks beginning August 24, 1963, Sherman wrote a new "back at Camp Granada" version, for a May 27, 1964 Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.
The song is #8 on the list of 100 Greatest Novelty Songs.
It's called a novelty song - The Streak - The Monster Mash - Yes We Have No Bananas - Camp Granada - On Top of Spaghetti - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer... another in the proud tradition of timely, topical songs... Not meant to be a "Standard" - but entertainment. I love songs with deeper, layered meanings too, but these are for fun.
Maybe so, but I just always found it an annoying song...like it was slapped together at the last moment and the lyrics cross a very thin line as a double standard.
A double entendre is a "figure of speech similar to the pun, in which a spoken phrase can be understood in either of two ways..." yes, most songs do have them if you listen closely. This was from the in between time when they showed married couple's bedrooms with two single beds and now, when beds are shown with handcuffs attached to the headboard. Fact: People have sex.
Are you like related to this person or what? I mean, you seem so offended that someone doesn't like it. Of course people have sex...thanks for making that clear. The song still sucks...sorry
The flip side (b-side) song to Telephone Man was a very pretty song called Itinerary. Would it be possible to post that song on here? People should be able to hear that Meri could actually sing. Thanks
My daddy worked for Southen Bell (Raleigh, NC) - now Bell South. Back when this song came out, we all loved it and would sing along to it! I was about 11 and was oblivious to what I was actually singing! GREAT SONG!
dont suppose anyone has the Little & Large parody of this do they? Where Eddie Large comes on dressed as the Sugar Puff's Honey Monster in response to the line: "I knew I wasnt dealing with no ordinary guy?".
Almost as funny as their parody of Summer Nights from Grease. Which was quite funny come to think of it.
I was 10 (in 5th grade) when we listened to this in music class, along with some other goofy '70s song! We loved this one, but teach wouldn't let us play it again! "Internet man" can be downloaded online someplace, I've seen it. Yes, she died in an ice storm, her car flipped or something. Google all of this, guys.
Remember all the words. But also remember the words to"Peter The Meter Reader". My teenage daughter tells me that she has heard a Mari Wilson song called "The Internet Guy" We can't find it. Anyone help with this?
I was 16 when this song came out, it was really funny to hear this on the radio. In 1979 for Halloween I dressed like a french maid and lip synced this in a contest.
No many people realize that Meri Wilson passed away in 2002... It was in December of 2002 when she died in a car accident. Remember this song well.. very cute and quite the double entendre...
Her Telephone Man voice sounds like Shin from Shin-chan.
CalebDeville3000 1 day ago in playlist Favorite videos
I can't believe I found this song! I've been looking for it for years.
clockguy2 1 month ago
Ah, don't knock it. It was just a fun little ditty that everyone could giggle and sing along to. Totally harmless. A novelty act. Mery Wilson was never going to be the "next big thing" but it's lovely to hear this again after all these years. And yes, the b-side "Itinerary" had some substance. Great if that were posted too.
ThePROTO1TYPE 4 months ago
I totally forgot about this song, but as soon as it started I remembered every word. I had this record.
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cristyalax 1 year ago
Thanks for posting this song!
Listen for great music like this on a new radio station called "OffTheCharts" - featuring 70's (and some 80's) lost hits and chart wonders!
Go to Live365.com, type OFFTHECHARTS in the Search box and click on the station logo. The audio stream should begin. Become a VIP member and listen commercial free!
This song is being featured this week!
OffTheCharts365 1 year ago
I just found this for my Daddy, he retired from ''Southern Bell" 30 years ago,when this song came out he was instslling telephones,this song fit him to a T !He is now in nursing home,when he calls tomorrow he's gonna get a surprize!
tcupjc25 1 year ago 2
Another stupid song stuck in my sick memory. LOL
rhd0528 1 year ago
@rhd0528 This song was stupid when it came out. Still stupid! Thank God it's so forgettable that they NEVER play it on the radio now!
Actionguy1 1 year ago
@Actionguy1 Indeed. I don't know which was worse,the stupid singing in a mock male voice,or the giggling throughout.I am totally embarrassed that this piece of sheet even made it in the top 20 when it came out in 1977.My teen peers helped its airplay
NoIDidunt10 5 months ago
@Actionguy1 Chris Evans played it on radio 2 this morning!
the27ish 3 months ago
loved it then! love it now!
looselywired 1 year ago
Oooh la li la li shaky bum hey la li lalai
intergr8 1 year ago
lol sounds like fresh prince of bell air
TheCozintube 1 year ago
Elvis died shortly after this was released. Now you know what killed him.
hotairbassoon 1 year ago
Dirty but cutesy. I love it.
SDChargersForever 1 year ago
my kids love this song
buteization 1 year ago
hahahaha awesome and funny
sheepdog2c7 1 year ago
tried to cover this and failed because we laughed too much x x
scroffage 1 year ago
i heard this song as i was babysitting with a friend in the 80s,and im so sorry the lady ,meri wilson passed away,
ScrittiSparkle 1 year ago
Thanks heaps. I only ever heard this song once and have been trying to track it down since, so now 33 yeasr later here it is!!! thanks again
MrRazorspirit 1 year ago
Love it! RIP Meri... you are still making people smile!
44enigma 1 year ago
How do you make a grown man blush? This song! AWESOME!
TAKR287 1 year ago 3
Comment removed
TAKR287 1 year ago
When we heard this in music class back in the '70s when this was #3 on the charts, my 5th grade class loved it...but the music teacher wouldn't let us listen to it a 2nd time. No one had any idea why!! Too funny. Great song. Thanks for posting!
lionhearted38 1 year ago
This song is awsome!x
WildGirl939 1 year ago
LOL
LiquidGold2 1 year ago
and I hung it on the wall! OMG! LOL
CrazilyLuvinMusic 1 year ago
HA HA HA!...
DramaDon83 1 year ago
my mum bought this on 45. she made me listen this song now it is in my HEAD!
09lissashep 2 years ago 2
:O Same here!
firelied 1 year ago
Haha me too.
inajiffi 1 year ago
first rap song ever!
tehnewfilms 2 years ago 2
@tehnewfilms Lol, I think you're right! Always thought it was Blondie's "Rapture", but this is 4 years before that one.
lazybones2000 1 year ago
Love your range of vocals. Great lyrics to this fine song.
Luvs,
Mooz
moomay11649 2 years ago
can u dig it....
insanity
insanityticklesme 2 years ago 3
My mom's favorite!
Riotgirl93 2 years ago 2
This is hilarious!
peterbilt2004 2 years ago
Like some of the earlier posts, my Mum bought the 45 of this. I always thought it was a nice little bouncy number, but listening to it now..... I want that telephone man!!! Ding-a-ling!!! ;o)
skypboy 2 years ago
wow... my grandma hated that song when we herd it on the radio in the 70s. The last time i herd it i was ..7 or 8. With the strong sexual lyrics i can now see why she didn't want me to hear it.
anticolon67 2 years ago
I heard this song once when it was on the charts. Didn't hear it again for another 17 years. The Rochester, NY station probably got flooded with complaints, which should tell you all you need to know about that town.
Thanx for the post.
moparfan59 2 years ago
Used to be one of my favs...way back when!
claudiapatx 2 years ago
the flip side of this song is a song called "itenerary." it's a good song, do you have that?
eydie57 2 years ago
Hey STATELYBIRD 3. They used to play in on the radio in Chicago. I used to hear it back in 1974-75 on WGCI in the windy city. Kinda odd cause thats an R&B station but the tune was pretty popular.
rosss1959 2 years ago
my mom loved this song.
mikenmary92 2 years ago
:O this song is about sex!!!!!
Humanturtlebox 2 years ago
As kids, we would sometimes march down the street singing this song together. Thanks for bringing back the memories, what a fun little tune!!
Danlikesyou 2 years ago
Damn--I ain't heard this song since I used to play my mother's 45 record of it to death when I was 7 and 8 years old! I always thought it was a catchy cool-ass tune---it's NEVER played on the radio to this day--which is too bad because it's fun as hell to listen to!
statelybird3 2 years ago
Thanks for posting this song! I always loved it. I have been trying to find someone who remembers it for years--now I can prove to them that it exists.
djpatire 2 years ago
Im 34 & my best childhood girlfriend just died of cancer. we used to listen to this on her moms 45 (record)! thanx for the memories!!!!
jeffysgirl1501 2 years ago
very risque at the time...but cute!
luvsmuzik1 2 years ago
We loved this song in college. I'm glad it's posted here. Good to hear it again!
TallncurvyinMA 2 years ago
I loved this song when it came out, it was funny how they were able to play this and there was a big stink over "Afternoon Delight" ....lol Ohhh those were the days.
KissHope 2 years ago
As a phone tech, I just LOVE this song. No, I never get lucky enough to get a customer like Meri.
RIP, Meri.
dwarven1 2 years ago 4
This was about as suggestive as things got 32 years ago. We all thought this was funny as fuck.
thespotteddog 3 years ago 13
@thespotteddog Did We,NOT,song is Awful.....
eddietheturdburglar 5 months ago
the flip side of this song is called "itinerary" and is very good. can you post that?
eydie57 3 years ago
Hmmmmm. I will look for it! If you find it, pass it on and I will get it up.... (*smile*.... the last 5 words - remind me of Bevis & Buthead!) "I will get it up"
murphicus 3 years ago
Thanks for the post, those were some good times.
"I got a ding a ling" ......LOL LOL LOL
KissHope 2 years ago
First heard this in the Army barracks in the mid '70s. My buddy and I just looked at each other and creacked up. Never heard it again until this post.....thanks. I've viewed it 68,000 times.
74norton850 3 years ago 3
I still have this on a 45 record! I purchased it at our local Woolworth's store when I was 11 years old! Even at that young age I knew exactly what she was singing about.
Mattleycrue66 3 years ago
How the hell did she get away with it! Top 10 hit in 1977 around the time just after Elvis died. I have the 45 as well.
qpr60 3 years ago
have you ever heard "stay awhile" by the bells? it pre dates this and is surprisingly plain as to what it's about. but you sort of have to read between the lines. that's why 70's music is so superior, well, part of the reason, anyway. it's a little mysterious, not just in your face like today's music.
eydie57 3 years ago
Thanks for the mention of another of my faves!
I just posted "Stay Awhile" as a video reply - the people in the video are my Class of 76 classmates...
murphicus 3 years ago
@eydie57 Yes, I know "Stay A While". Did you know the Bells were Canadian? I don't know if 1970s music is OBJECTIVELY "superior", but I like a lot of music from that decade...
shmuli9 1 year ago
Thanks for putting this on - just had a memory flashback 30 years later, did a google & found the song in 30 seconds :)
EWPIES 3 years ago
I was at Avondale High school as a magnet student for the new performing arts school 1986-1988. Meri Wilson was our vocal music teacher. She was a hoot and a half! Oh the stories i could tell...
oakchild88 3 years ago
lots of memories,lol thanks
apocalypse348 3 years ago
Do you remember how risque this was when it came out?! By today's standards though, it's benign enough to sing to your kids!
kerrytrout 3 years ago 10
omg! I re-call this fun song! Thanks Jazzfunk 61
smilersweetness 3 years ago
I started thinking about this song out of the blue today and decided to try finding it on youtube - thank God it was here, LOL
marielovesscott 3 years ago
LOL, great, thanks!
MTCatman 3 years ago
I haven't heard this song since somewhere around 1975!
rollovermikey 3 years ago
I've been looking for this joyous song for a long time! Proves that if it weren't for the internet, I'd still be looking, and still be very unhappy!
Thanks to Whomever is the Finder and Poster of this Happy Tune!
dkenneth
dkatgmail 3 years ago 2
so weird lol i heard this and i was laughin so hard
monsterfreak4pk 3 years ago
When this song came out, I was in Chattanooga, Tenn. The local DJ's never gave her name and everyone thought it was Farrah Fawcett singing it.
gretzle 3 years ago 3
It's my song for sure.
xcoachdave 3 years ago
i only like the chorus. it mostly annoys me.
mickieminx 3 years ago
LOL BRILLIANT BLAST FROM THE PAST :-)
dreadzygril 3 years ago
I am quite sure that no one gives a damn - but in 1976 I was in Fernadina Beach, Florida
and it seemed that the local station played this song way to much! if nothing else it brings back memories from 32 years ago.
fladiverdown 3 years ago 3
i like song thank you post this and stil the 45 of this song
um6xr 3 years ago 2
This is just too funny for words.
agentleman121 3 years ago
I always loved this song.
RecordWarped 3 years ago
It was a very good fun song, cute and catchy. We didn't always take music seriously in those days. So sorry to hear of her accident.
PeteWoodier 3 years ago 3
Whatever meds you are on - they ain't cutting it...
murphicus 3 years ago
What a refreshing, uplifting change from all of that hip-hop crap out there!
mchatow 3 years ago 3
This is a fun song to sing at Karaoke. I didn't know so many people knew this song.
jenbanter 3 years ago 2
I am Meri's sister and miss her tremendously. She was killed in a car wreck 2002 in Americus Georgia. Multitalented - jazz, recording, played numerous instruments,wrote lyrics, sang. And yes, had a crazy personality.
GinnyPowell 3 years ago
Did she screw the telephone man a lot?
MysteriousGeoff 3 years ago 4
She really made the '70's great&wild&crazy.
bigroy38 3 years ago 2
So sorry to hear about Meri. I just love this song!! I've grown up listening to it. What a tremendous loss to the music world.
leighanne01 3 years ago
Meri Wilson made a follow up to this one: Peter the Meter Reader.
adelfred 3 years ago
I remember this song on a 45 rpm record.Heard it on satelite radio the other day,and went right to youtube to hear it again.What memories it brought back.
bradlee91192 3 years ago
This song came out in the late 70's about the same time many of other "country comedy" tunes came out like "In The Mood" by Henhouse Five Plus Too and the dog barking to the song "Jingle Bells". Too funny.
JimRagan1967 3 years ago
She died in a car crash in 2002. IIRC, she was some high muckety-muck in the Georgia State Dept of Education, she had her master's in Musical Education. Who'd a-thunk it ?
chg657 3 years ago
Wow! This was worth listening to after all these years.
teefee61 3 years ago 2
surperb - ain't heard this one for years
johnmcglinchey 3 years ago
ilux942 3 years ago
Oh my good gracious!!! I LOVE this video soo much!!! i would always ask my parents to play it for me when i was little-er. :]
<33
OhxMyxGeex 3 years ago 3
We all do kno that he isn't really installing telephones...yeah, you kno what I mean.
33Nikkiliz33 3 years ago
It's catchy
cDubbed1 3 years ago
;oewfawefa
MickeyLove01 3 years ago
I remember this song, and I have no clue why! And I shudder to think I'm remembering it from 31 years ago!
Beejjjjjj 3 years ago
One of my favorites, nice to listen to it again. Must have left and impression in my younger years,I married the telephone man and got a ding-a-ling! He's still ringing my bells!
bestkupkake 3 years ago 3
I can't believe I found this song. I've been looking for it for years. They played it on the radio for a couple of weeks and then it was gone. Never heard it again. Thanks to YOUTUBE it's back!
drum22290mer 3 years ago 3
I love this song, but when I played to my 17 year old son he said "d'uuuur!!!! when you've heard it once, What!!!!!
I still like it!!!!
purplehazery 3 years ago
I love this song. My mom introduced it to me. ^-^
CobaltHeart 3 years ago
OMG.. I forgot about this song! wow, it's old.... love it
CrystalYaris 3 years ago
you can have it with a buzz
you can have it with a ring
and if you realy want it you can have a ding-a-ling!
lmao xo
bLoNdiEE2K8 3 years ago
when was it braught out
leighlulu 3 years ago
1977 I think - Google is your friend! Wikipedia too!
murphicus 3 years ago
hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe
ooo yeah
saitek143 3 years ago
I love this song. It's bloody awful!
5 Stars
OldSmellyCrotch 3 years ago
wow
briguliakoko 3 years ago
That was hilarious!
bigmike4569 3 years ago
Fucking love this song, so funny...
titanb15 4 years ago
nvm it says right there.
babygirl101007 4 years ago
when was this song made??
babygirl101007 4 years ago
-Peaked at #18 in 1977 and was her only hit
-Sold over a million copies
-A "novelty" song
-Produced by Boomer Castleman and Jim Rutledge of "Bloodrock"
murphicus 4 years ago
Are there any live or videoed performances of her singing this....or anything?
Thanks
willowbud 3 years ago
I have never seen any. If anyone has, please give me a lead to finding it.
Thanks
murphicus 3 years ago
hey murphicus i seem to remember her 'performing' this on top of the pops but it was 31 years ago and i was only 7 so focus slightly hazy
gerrylives 3 years ago
Mike Malloy!!!
5rap6 4 years ago
That sucks that she died. You can't go driving in an ice storm.
TJOPootertoot 4 years ago
Just heard this song on the Mike Malloy show. Classic!
ZigZagWoman 4 years ago
I am listening it the show as well. Funny.
acehighpat 4 years ago
So did I--that's why I had to call it up here! I was cracking up hearing that again...
markf43 4 years ago
I love the Mike Malloy show too!
murphicus 4 years ago
Me too!
ABetterYouCD 4 years ago
Oops, Me too I love the Mike Malloy show.
ABetterYouCD 4 years ago
I was a telephone man and a part of the reality this song refers to. Back then, the phone company installed the actual phones and extensions inside homes. There were often "negotiations" initiated by the lady of the house!! about reducing the installation fee, or at least under that pretense. Believe it! That's why the song isn't about any other utility representative or repairman that makes house calls!
bartfarkel 4 years ago 4
I totally know what you mean! Not from personal experience, but from the "reputation" of the "Telephone Man" in our town!
I remember the rotary phone days, where there was one phone in the house, with one chair and a phone table with a phone book under it. No answering machine and really expensive long distance calls that you only made on Sunday nights. How did we survive?
murphicus 4 years ago
this is a lost classic. i loved it. thanks for getting this here.
riomanpr 4 years ago
oh yeah-I remember this!!!
mabs321 4 years ago
dumb song, but i loved it. on the b side of this song is a wonderful song called "itinerary"
eydie57 4 years ago
THIS IS SO FUNNY! Thanks for posting! I, too, was merely a child when this song came out, but I sang it with my best friend all of the time, and we NEVER thought about how dirty it was! LOL! We just liked the song! Thanks for the memories! I was trying to tell my 19 year old son about it, and here it was on you tube.. so I showed him! haha!
BigFoot3434 4 years ago
Oh my gosh...I did this song in the 5th grade talent show...I lost to this girl who sang "Dancing Queen."
Kimmell1 4 years ago
w/e nice song
animerocks198 4 years ago
Oh, memories!!
deeffbee 4 years ago
OMG!! i have been looking for this song for months! I have this on a 45 record. don't know many people who know this song. i used to sing it with a little dance when i was about 15 or 16 getting drunk!! LOL I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!!
ImAPookins 4 years ago 2
Hi... I have still got my 45 i remember this song well when it came out in 77 my then girlfriends sister used to sing it 24/7
TheVWFLAGman 4 years ago
Me & you both!!!
sambow45 4 years ago
I remember when this song could only be played on the radio late at night. It was so suggestive. I didn't know what it meant back then, but loved it because everybody else was freaking out! LOL (Anybody else hear the resemblance to Elvira!)
Deanatroi 4 years ago
LOL Now there's a BLAST from the past!
TayGlo 4 years ago
wow I haven't heard this song in like forever! Surprised but pleased to hear it...it still cracks me up!
medicvet 4 years ago
By the way...you mentioned a song you called "Camp Granada"...but actually it's called "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" by Alan Sherman...1963. Just for the record. ;)
MrMemories 4 years ago
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" (sometimes seen titled "Camp Granada"[1]) is Allan Sherman's best known song parody. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 24, 1963, remaining in that position for three weeks.
The song was first released in 1963 on his LP "My Son, the Nut", and was entirely rewritten for a performance in 1964 on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. In 1965, Swedish/Dutch troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk translated it loosely into Swedish. I choose to use "Camp Granada"
murphicus 4 years ago
Well, I'm completely floored. I mean you have the chart info on this song completely down to a tee. You mentioned everything except where the song was recorded, the date of recording and what Allan Sherman was wearing when he recorded it, but hey you can't win them all, right? Man, you're just a walking Billboard magazine, arent ya? And here I was thinking I was ahead of you on that one. What do you think a 45 rpm titled Camp Granada would be worth because I haven't seen one yet.
MrMemories 4 years ago
*LOL* I work in a library! BTW.... I ripped the info from Wikipedia(dot)org
murphicus 4 years ago
How can I get it
63457890 4 years ago
There is also a game called "Camp Granada". I found it on you tube by complete accident. I bet that is worth some money too.
jenbanter 3 years ago
"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" is the Grammy-winning novelty song based on Kvetch letters Allan Sherman received from his son attending Camp Champlain, New York. The song is a parody that complains about Camp Granada.
After the song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks beginning August 24, 1963, Sherman wrote a new "back at Camp Granada" version, for a May 27, 1964 Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.
The song is #8 on the list of 100 Greatest Novelty Songs.
murphicus 3 years ago
Thanks for posting..My wife did not think I could find this song...I will get a poke in the wiskers tonight.
lesGroves 3 years ago
*Chuckling*.... I am happy for you! Perhaps Meri is looking down with a smile too...
murphicus 3 years ago
On call..Just after the message went back to work. I work in a morgue. Time never stops. Darcie says Hi.
lesGroves 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
This and always has been a stupid song...good voice or not!
uppercutmygut 4 years ago
It's called a novelty song - The Streak - The Monster Mash - Yes We Have No Bananas - Camp Granada - On Top of Spaghetti - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer... another in the proud tradition of timely, topical songs... Not meant to be a "Standard" - but entertainment. I love songs with deeper, layered meanings too, but these are for fun.
murphicus 4 years ago
Maybe so, but I just always found it an annoying song...like it was slapped together at the last moment and the lyrics cross a very thin line as a double standard.
uppercutmygut 4 years ago
A double entendre is a "figure of speech similar to the pun, in which a spoken phrase can be understood in either of two ways..." yes, most songs do have them if you listen closely. This was from the in between time when they showed married couple's bedrooms with two single beds and now, when beds are shown with handcuffs attached to the headboard. Fact: People have sex.
murphicus 4 years ago
Are you like related to this person or what? I mean, you seem so offended that someone doesn't like it. Of course people have sex...thanks for making that clear. The song still sucks...sorry
MrMemories 4 years ago
I thought that you were moralizing that it crossed the line - being dirty. The right wing whackos have me on high alert. Cheers!
murphicus 4 years ago
Lets not forget "Ear Ache My Eye" by Cheech and Chong. Great parody on the dope culture.
georgebur 4 years ago
Dionysusdm is absolutely correct. Meri Wilson had a very nice voice and Itinerary is a beautiful song. My wife and I love it.
glennmrhappy 4 years ago
I'd forgotton about this song till I heard it on Radio 2 recently. Really glad to hear it featured on YouTube, brilliant!!!
ChrisMum 4 years ago 3
Great song !!!!!!!!
always puts a smile on my face !
ICUB4ER 4 years ago 4
The flip side (b-side) song to Telephone Man was a very pretty song called Itinerary. Would it be possible to post that song on here? People should be able to hear that Meri could actually sing. Thanks
dionysusdm 4 years ago
My daddy worked for Southen Bell (Raleigh, NC) - now Bell South. Back when this song came out, we all loved it and would sing along to it! I was about 11 and was oblivious to what I was actually singing! GREAT SONG!
Sorry to hear that Meri Wilson died.
LamborghiniGal 4 years ago
I love this song, my auntie used to sing it to me when I was a kid & I still have it on Vinyl somewhere at my dad's house in the UK.
toastedfish 4 years ago
dont suppose anyone has the Little & Large parody of this do they? Where Eddie Large comes on dressed as the Sugar Puff's Honey Monster in response to the line: "I knew I wasnt dealing with no ordinary guy?".
Almost as funny as their parody of Summer Nights from Grease. Which was quite funny come to think of it.
LordPosho 4 years ago
That telephone man was a lucky bastard
CraigG1960 4 years ago 4
I was 10 (in 5th grade) when we listened to this in music class, along with some other goofy '70s song! We loved this one, but teach wouldn't let us play it again! "Internet man" can be downloaded online someplace, I've seen it. Yes, she died in an ice storm, her car flipped or something. Google all of this, guys.
lionhearted38 4 years ago 2
I was 7 when this song came out. I did't realize its true meaning until I became an adult. My parents listened to this song... Hmmm? Thanks!
superjarhead 4 years ago
Remember all the words. But also remember the words to"Peter The Meter Reader". My teenage daughter tells me that she has heard a Mari Wilson song called "The Internet Guy" We can't find it. Anyone help with this?
kittyhiss 4 years ago
Do a Google search under her name, and you'll find a link to the cd that "Internet Man" was released on.
lobo81865 4 years ago
Yeah, its now uploaded:
youtube . com/watch?v=cq4jzaT_rHA
noveltysongs 4 years ago 2
I remember this being a really popular "Top 10" song, played frequently on the old Dr. Demento shows in the 70's
dugell1 4 years ago
I was 16 when this song came out, it was really funny to hear this on the radio. In 1979 for Halloween I dressed like a french maid and lip synced this in a contest.
DA90027 4 years ago
No many people realize that Meri Wilson passed away in 2002... It was in December of 2002 when she died in a car accident. Remember this song well.. very cute and quite the double entendre...
munacra 4 years ago 2
Brilliant song!
jbe14 4 years ago