Here we go again with Norman’s listening for the past week.
I expect the younger members of our population to be unfamiliar with having an operator on their telephones. I am old enough to remember phone operators, pay phones, phone booths and party lines. I also remember songs about operators; happily, songs are still written about them. One of those songs is Hello Operator by Librarians With Hickeys.
The operator song that came to mind first for me was Operator by Jim Croce. This song was a big hit for Croce. Unfortunately, he was not able to enjoy it since he was killed in an airplane accident on September 20, 1973, my birthday. Hello Operator also makes a great earworm, thanks Jim.
Researching songs about telephone operators revealed that the internet community had already prepared multiple lists. Many, many lists. Long, long lists. I trimmed it down to 20 songs and then pruned that down to this handful.
Memphis, Tennessee by Chuck Berry
This great song was a big hit for Chuck Berry and was covered by everybody and their shadows, including Elvis. There is a sequel to this song called Little Marie that fills in some details not covered in Memphis, Tennessee and gives it a happy ending.
Switchboard Susan by Nick Lowe
The boys from Rockpile got together and gave Nick Lowe a hit with this song from his 1979 album, Labour of Lust. England was pumping out great new-wave music in 1979. Nick Lowe was in good company with the likes of Elvis Costello, Dave Edmunds, Ian Dury, and Ian Gomm; this is another list that goes on and on. It was great music.
Telephone Line by Electric Light Orchestra
As with many of my selections, it would be easy to ascertain when I hit my peak in listening, the 70s and the 80s. This song fits right in there; it opens with a telephone dialling and then goes into the ELO groove; they had a unique sound that was easy to like.
Don’t Call Us We’ll Call You by Sugarloaf
It’s yet another era song, 1974, for this one. Sugarloaf would have been a great band to see live. They have that vibe, the energy in their music.
Sylvia’s Mother by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show
Sylvia’s Mother was Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show’s first hit song. It was written by Shel Silverstein, who penned more music than you can shake a stick at, and he had them recorded for a who’s who roster of great entertainers. He was a very gifted man and a man of many talents.
Promised Land by Elvis Presley
I am not a big fan of Elvis, my youngest sister liked/likes him. However, I do acknowledge that he had talent and changed the world through his music. Promised Land is another Chuck Berry cover, and since I gave the first one to Chuck, I decided to give this one to Elvis. Both are excellent.
How To Make Friends By Telephone by Librarians With Hickeys started this blog, and that is what it will end with. They have a happy sound reminiscent of the early Brit Wave and ’60s radio pop. I like it. I have been listening to this album for a couple of weeks, and I am positive I mentioned them previously. My curiosity got the better of me, and I had to look it up. Yup, I did mention them in earlier blogs, back in 44 and 42 of 52. I also wrote about their previous album, Handclaps & Tambourines, twice. Based on the preponderance of evidence, I have concluded that I like the band Librarians With Hickeys.
However, it is not easy for me to give up my badge as a posse rider with The Grammar Police. The curse of the dreaded double negative has reared its ugly head. I have no choice but to place “she don’t want
nothin’ to do with me” in the brink. If she “don’t want nothing”, then she does want something. My Grammarly jumps all over that and wants me to change “don’t want nothing” into “don’t want anything.”
I apologize to the Librarians With Hickeys and the kind folks at Big Stir for my pedantic behaviour. If it is any consolation, I like the song and understand what the words are trying to convey. And I get it that expressions such as “don’t want nothing” have become a part of our colloquial language. I get it. And yet, something stirs within my heart every time I encounter these pesky double negatives.
Shall we carry on, Norman?
By all means, carry on.
Librarians With Hickeys is such a great band name. It gets the first entry in another blog, Weird and Wonderful Band Names. Stay tuned for further developments, folks. What else can I say about their most recent album, How To Make Friends By Telephone, besides the interesting band name?
It is good music. I have been spinning this album on my digital turntable for several weeks and still like it. The lead track is Hello Operator, which started my search for other songs that mention telephone operators. They have another song that they sing about operators, Ship to Shore. ” I think we’ve got a bad connection; please take my call.” This album is stacked with radio-friendly songs that I put on play, hit repeat and go about my day listening to How To Make Friends By Telephone by Librarians With Hickeys. I will give a plug for Elmedia Player. Apple Music has been glitching for weeks now and giving me a pain in the ass for months now. I finally got fed up and went with another player, Elmedia. Thus far, I have no complaints. I also use YouTube Music, which is very user-friendly. I enjoy using it to make lists like this one.
No matter how you listen to How To Make Friends By Telephone by Librarians With Hickeys, I hope you give this album a listen or several. The lyrics contain some witty comentaries about life, love and a bunch of other stuff. All of them are good. Enjoy. This album landed in my inbox courtesy of the fine folks at Big Stir Records. Check them out while you listen to How To Make Friends By Telephone by Librarians With Hickeys.
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