Hanging on the Telephone

"Hanging on the Telephone"
Single by Blondie
from the album Parallel Lines
B-side
  • "Will Anything Happen"
  • "Fade Away and Radiate"
Released October 30, 1978
Format 7" vinyl
Recorded 1978
Genre
Length 2:17
Label Chrysalis
Songwriter(s) Jack Lee
Producer(s) Mike Chapman
Blondie singles chronology
"I'm Gonna Love You Too"
(1978)		 "Hanging on the Telephone"
(1978)		 "Heart of Glass"
(1979)

"I'm Gonna Love You Too"
(1978)		 "Hanging on the Telephone"
(1978)		 "Heart of Glass"
(1979)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Alternative cover

US edition of the "Hanging On Telephone" single with alternative cover art.

"Hanging on the Telephone" is a song written by Jack Lee. It was first performed by his short-lived US West Coast power pop trio The Nerves.

Background

The song was the lead-off track on The Nerves's 1976 EP, the group's only release. It was later popularized by new wave band Blondie when they released a cover of the song as the second single from their 1978 album Parallel Lines in both the US and UK. It eventually reached number 5 in the UK in November 1978.

Like one of Blondie's subsequent singles, "Sunday Girl", "Hanging on the Telephone" employs a double backbeat rhythm in its drumming pattern. This percussion style also appeared on other power pop singles from the period, like The Romantics' 1978 release "Tell It to Carrie".[3]

Track listing

UK 7" (CHS 2266)
  1. "Hanging on the Telephone" (Jack Lee) – 2:17
  2. "Will Anything Happen" (Lee) – 2:55
US 7" (CHS 2271)
  1. "Hanging on the Telephone" (Lee) – 2:17
  2. "Fade Away and Radiate" (Chris Stein) – 3:57

Charts

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 39
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[6] 16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 21
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 20
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 43
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 5

Cover versions and appearances in other media

References

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