Best Phone Call Songs
ListCaboodle Playlist: The best phone call songs ever written.
Back in the day, a telephone call used to cost a dime at a payphone or phone booth on your local street corner. Today we rely on smartphones and text messages to stay connected. But no matter how technology has changed, the need for communicating with others has not.
Many songs have been written about phone calls. The lyrics in these songs usually take a creative spin on the old tale of love and love lost, played out on the telephone. This playlist highlights some of our favorite phone call songs.
17 best phone call songs
Here are our picks for the best phone call songs. Be sure to check out the full list of telephone songs below, including phone number songs and songs that mention a dime for a call.
1.) Telephone Line by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)
Album: A New World Record
Date: 1976
Key lyrics:
Oh, oh, telephone line, give me some time
I’m living in twilight
2.) Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels) by Jim Croce
Album: You Don’t Mess Around With Jim
Date: 1972
Key lyrics:
Operator, well, could you help me place this call?
See, the number on the matchbook is old and faded
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3.) Call Me by Blondie
Album: American Gigolo
Date: 1980
Key lyrics:
Call me I’ll arrive
You can call me any day or night
Call me
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4.) 867-5309 / Jenny by Tommy Tutone
Album: 2
Date: 1981
Key lyrics:
Jenny I’ve got your number
I need to make you mine
Jenny don’t change your number
Eight six seven five three oh nine
5.) Hello by Adele
Album: 25
Date: 2015
Key lyrics:
Hello from the other side
I must’ve called a thousand times
To tell you I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done
But when I call, you never seem to be home
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6.) Young Lust by Pink Floyd
Album: The Wall
Date: 1979
Key lyrics:
Hello?
This is United States calling, are we reaching…
See he keeps hanging up, and it’s a man answering
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7.) Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez
Album: Diamonds & Rust
Date: 1975
Key lyrics:
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I’d known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall
8.) Don’t Call Me Up by Mabel
Album: Ivy to Roses
Date: 2017
Key lyrics:
Don’t call me up
I’m going out tonight
Feeling good now you’re outta my life
9.) Memphis, Tennessee by Chuck Berry
Album: (released as a single)
Date: 1959
Key lyrics:
Long distance information, give me Memphis, Tennessee
Help me find the party trying to get in touch with me
She could not leave her number, but I know who placed the call
‘Cause my uncle took the message and he wrote it on the wall
10.) 634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.) by Wilson Pickett
Album: The Exciting Wilson Pickett
Date: 1966
Key lyrics:
No more lonely nights, when you’ll be alone
All you gotta do is pick up your telephone and dial now…
11.) Cat’s In The Cradle by Harry Chapin
Album: Verities & Balderdash
Date: 1974
Key lyrics:
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
12.) Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen
Album: Kiss
Date: 2012
Key lyrics:
Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy
But here’s my number, so call me maybe
13.) Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You by Sugarloaf
Album: Don’t Call Us – We’ll Call You
Date: 1975
Key lyrics:
Listen kid you paid for the call
You ain’t bad but I’ve heard it all before
Don’t call us, we’ll call you
14.) Hello Hello Hello by Remi Wolf
Album: I’m Allergic To Dogs!
Date: 2020
Key lyrics:
There he go, my baby never answers in the room
Steps outside, or puts it on snooze
He just do whatever he do
15.) The Last Train to Clarksville by The Monkees
Album: The Monkees
Date: 1966
Key lyrics:
Take the last train to Clarksville
Now I must hang up the phone
I can’t hear you in this
Noisy railroad station, all alone
16.) You Wear It Well by Rod Stewart
Album: Never A Dull Moment
Date: 1972
Key lyrics:
I’ve been meaning to phone you but from Minnesota
Hell it’s been a very long time
You wear it well
A little old fashioned but that’s all right
17.) Never There by Cake
Album: Prolonging the Magic
Date: 1998
Key lyrics:
On the phone
Long, long distance
Always through such strong resistance
First you say you’re too busy
I wonder if you even miss me
More phone call songs
Pop / Rock phone call songs
- All I’ve Got To Do by the Beatles
- Tonight’s the Night by Rod Stewart
- Baby Don’t Forget My Number by Milli Vanilli
- Call Me by Deee-Lite
- Call Me Back Again by Wings
- The Call by the Backstreet Boys
- Chantilly Lace by The Big Bopper
- Down Drinking at the Bar by Loudon Wainwright III
- The Fly by U2
- Gettin’ Ready for Love by Diana Ross
- Give Your Heart a Break by Demi Lovato
- Had To Phone Ya by Beach Boys
- Hanging on the Telephone by Blondie (originally by the Nerves)
- Hello Operator by The White Stripes
- I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder
- I’d Really Love to See You Tonight by England Dan & John Ford Coley
- Is Vic There? by Department S
- I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You by Bee Gees
- Just Be A Man About It by Toni Braxton
- Lips of an Angel by Hinder
- Long Distance Operator by The Band or Dylan
More pop and rock songs
- Love on the Telephone by Foreigner
- No Reply by the Beatles
- Old Love / New Love by Twin Shadow
- Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand by Bruce Cockburn
- Party Line by The Kinks
- Promised Land by Chuck Berry
- Ring Ring by Abba
- Ring Ring Ring by De La Soul
- Sex on the Phone by E-Rotic
- Sex Over the Phone by the Village People
- Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight by R.E.M.
- Sometimes a Fantasy by Billy Joel
- Spiderwebs by No Doubt
- Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand by Primitive Radio Gods
- Stephen by Kesha
- Sylvia’s Mother by Dr. Hook
- Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair) by Sheena Easton
- Telephone by Lady Gaga
- The Telephone Call by Kraftwerk
- Telephone Is Ringing by Alice Cooper
- Video Phone by Beyoncé
Country phone call songs
- Callin’ Baton Rouge by The Oak Ridge Boys
- Heartaches for a Dime by Buck Owens
- It’s Your Call by Reba McEntire
- He’ll Have to Go by Jim Reeves
- Operator, Operator by Why Don’t That Telephone Ring by Tracy Byrd
- Yes, Mr. Peters by Roy Drusky and Priscilla Mitchell
- He’ll Have to Stay by Jeanne Black
Rap / Hip Hop phone call songs
- Hotline Bling by Drake
- Kiss Me Thru the Phone by Soulja Boy
- Love on the Line by Blazin’ Squad
- Me So Horny by 2 Live Crew
- If Madonna Calls by Junior Vasquez
- Payphone by Maroon 5 with Wiz Khalifa
- Pick Up the Phone by Young Thug and Travis Scott
- Star67 by Drake
- How Ya Doin’? by Little Mix
R&B / Blues phone call songs
- Call Me by Skyy
- Phone Booth by Albert King
- Don’t Hang Up by The Orions
- Operator by Brenda Holloway
- Phone Booth by Robert Cray
- Thank You For Calling by Hank Snow
- Woman to Woman by Shirley Brown
Phone call songs that mention a telephone number
- Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot
- Star 69 by R.E.M.
- Pennsylvania 6-5000 by Glenn Miller
- 6060-842 by The B-52s
- 842-3089 (Call My Name) by Etta James
- 1-800-273-8255 by Juanes
- Beechwood 4-5789 by The Marvelettes
- Don’t Push by Sublime
- Lonesome 7-7203 by Hawkshaw Hawkins
- 865 by Morgan Wallen
- 777-9311 by The Time
- 853-5937 by Squeeze
- 555 by Jimmy Eat World
- What’z Ya Phone # by Tupac Shakur
- Diary by Alicia Keys
- 50ft Queenie by PJ Harvey
- 7171-551 by Deke Leonard
- 1-800-273-8255 by Logic
- 44/876 by Sting & Shaggy
Phone call songs that mention a dime
- Do Ya Think I’m Sexy by Rod Stewart
- Happy Together by The Turtles
- It Only Costs a Dime by The Everly Brothers
- Too Much Monkey Business by Chuck Berry
- Loan Me a Dime by Boz Scaggs
- How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore by Prince
- One Thin Dime by Reba McEntire
- Spiders and Snakes by Jim Stafford
- Memphis Tennessee by Chuck Berry
We hope you enjoyed this look at the best phone call songs ever written. Be sure to also check out these fun music lists:
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By Greg Johnson | Published 2/3/2021
