Various types of communications media…letters, telegrams, telephone calls…have long played a role in popular music. Just for some weekend fun, here are some songs, ranging from the light-hearted to the very sad, in which various forms of communication make an appearance.
Conventional Mail:
Please Mr Postman, The Marvelettes (1961)
Return to Sender, Elvis Presley (1962)
Unconventional Mail:
The Carrier Dove, (1836)
Telegraph:
Western Union, The Five Americans, 1967
Telephone:
Sylvia’s Mother, Dr Hook (1972) (also recorded by Bon Jovi in 2003)
Memphis, Tennessee, Chuck Berry/Johnny Rivers (1963/1964)
Operator, Jim Croce (1972)
Missing You, John Waite (1984)(also recorded with Alison Krauss in 2007)
Why Haven’t I Heard from You?, Reba McIntire (1994)
Telephone: Lady Gaga (2009)
Telephone Line: Electric Light Orchestra
Broadcast Radio:
Border Radio, Dave Alvin (also this version)
Marine Radio:
Ship to Shore, Chris De Burgh
Newspapers and Magazines:
Escape (The Pina Colada Song), Rupert Holmes
My True Confession, Brook Benton
How about e-mail and text messaging?…are there any good songs featuring these media?
Here is a collection of songs featuring e-mail that I found…haven’t listened to them all. There are quite a few songs referring to text messaging, haven’t found any particularly impressive ones so far.
This post is an updated version of my earlier post on the same theme: fixed some broken links and added some communications types.