Songs About Telephones: The Best Phone Songs, Call Songs, Number Songs, and Voicemail Classics

Telephone songs have changed right along with the technology. Early phone songs used operators, party lines, switchboards, and long-distance calls. Later songs moved into answering machines, hotlines, payphones, cell phones, texting, voicemail, missed calls, and the very modern art of staring at your phone while pretending you are not waiting for it to light up.

This list collects songs about telephones, songs with phone numbers in the title, songs about calling someone, songs about waiting for a call, and songs where phones help tell the story. Some are classic oldies, some are rock and pop staples, some are hip-hop and R&B hits, and some became major pop-culture landmarks through movies, videos, memes, or unforgettable phone-number hooks.

For PopCultureMadness, the strongest phone songs are not ranked only by chart history. A song gets a boost if people still recognize it, sing along with it, remember the number, quote the hook, connect it to a movie or video, or understand the phone reference instantly. A rotary dial and a smartphone may not have much in common, but a missed call still hurts in every decade.

Use this telephone songs list for trivia, throwback playlists, radio segments, road-trip mixes, party themes, breakup playlists, or any situation where “call me” was either romantic, desperate, suspicious, or all three before dinner.

Best Telephone Songs for a Playlist

These are the strongest phone songs to start with because they are famous, clearly telephone-related, culturally memorable, or especially useful for playlists and trivia.

867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Telephone – Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé
Call Me – Blondie
Hotline Bling – Drake
Hello – Adele
I Just Called to Say I Love You – Stevie Wonder
Telephone Line – Electric Light Orchestra
Payphone – Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa
Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels) – Jim Croce
Hanging on the Telephone – Blondie
Mr. Telephone Man – New Edition
The Call – Backstreet Boys
Need You Now – Lady A
Kiss Me Thru the Phone – Soulja Boy Tell ’Em featuring Sammie
Memphis, Tennessee – Chuck Berry
Pennsylvania 6-5000 – Glenn Miller Orchestra
Beechwood 4-5789 – The Marvelettes
634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.) – Wilson Pickett
Ring Ring – ABBA

Phone Songs with Huge Pop-Culture Recognition

Some telephone songs became bigger than ordinary singles because the phone hook, music video, movie connection, or number itself became part of pop culture. These are the songs people remember even before they remember the verses.

867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Telephone – Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé
Hotline Bling – Drake
Call Me – Blondie
Payphone – Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa
Hello – Adele
Hello – Lionel Richie
Stan – Eminem featuring Dido
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap – AC/DC
Video Phone – Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga
The Telephone Hour – Cast of Bye Bye Birdie

Classic Telephone Songs and Number Songs

Long before smartphones, music was full of operators, exchanges, long-distance calls, and memorable numbers. These songs are perfect for oldies playlists, trivia nights, and anyone who remembers when a phone number could become a hook.

Pennsylvania 6-5000 – Glenn Miller Orchestra
Beechwood 4-5789 – The Marvelettes
634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.) – Wilson Pickett
Chantilly Lace – The Big Bopper
Hello Ma Baby – Arthur Collins
Memphis, Tennessee – Chuck Berry
Memphis – Johnny Rivers
Don’t Hang Up – The Orlons
Telephone Man – Meri Wilson
Switchboard Susan – Nick Lowe
Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) – Four Tops
853-5937 – Squeeze
777-9311 – The Time

Rock and New Wave Songs About Telephones

Rock and new wave artists loved telephone imagery because a phone call can be romantic, awkward, dramatic, annoying, or the perfect excuse for a huge chorus. These songs capture busy signals, bad connections, numbers on scraps of paper, and people who really should have called sooner.

867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone
Call Me – Blondie
Hanging on the Telephone – Blondie
Hanging on the Telephone – The Nerves
Telephone Line – Electric Light Orchestra
Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels) – Jim Croce
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number – Steely Dan
Telephone Operator – Pete Shelley
Star 69 – R.E.M.
Wrong Number – The Cure
Cellphone’s Dead – Beck
Never There – Cake
No Phone – Cake
Bad Connection – Yazoo
The Telephone Always Rings – Fun Boy Three
Party Line – The Kinks
Off the Hook – The Rolling Stones
Talk – Coldplay
Looking for Clues – Robert Palmer

Pop Songs About Calls, Missed Calls, and Cell Phones

Pop music moved smoothly from landlines to cell phones because the feeling did not change much. Whether it is a payphone, a flip phone, or a smartphone, people are still waiting, calling, texting, ghosting, regretting, and pretending they did not see the notification.

Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Hello – Adele
Telephone – Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé
Payphone – Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa
I Just Called to Say I Love You – Stevie Wonder
Hello – Lionel Richie
One Call Away – Charlie Puth
Call Me When You’re Sober – Evanescence
Call Me – Go West
Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair) – Sheena Easton
Text Me in the Morning – Neon Trees
My Phone’s on Vibrate for You – Rufus Wainwright
Call Your Girlfriend – Robyn
Phone Numbers – Dominic Fike
Call Me Every Day – Chris Brown featuring Wizkid

R&B, Hip-Hop, and Hotline Songs

Phones are everywhere in R&B and hip-hop because they are tied to romance, gossip, nightlife, distance, temptation, drama, and late-night confidence. Sometimes the phone is a lifeline. Sometimes it is evidence. Sometimes it should have been left in the other room.

Hotline Bling – Drake
Kiss Me Thru the Phone – Soulja Boy Tell ’Em featuring Sammie
Area Codes – Ludacris featuring Nate Dogg
Mr. Telephone Man – New Edition
Operator – Midnight Star
The Call – Backstreet Boys
Baby Don’t Forget My Number – Milli Vanilli
Call Me – Skyy
Private Number – The Jets
Private Number – Judy Clay & William Bell
Smooth Operator – Sade
Pick Up the Phone – Young Thug & Travis Scott featuring Quavo
Call Out My Name – The Weeknd
Text Me – R. Kelly

Country Phone Songs and Long-Distance Calls

Country music understands phone songs because country music understands distance, regret, pride, breakups, parents, and calling someone when you probably should not. A country phone song can be funny, devastating, or one quarter away from a bad decision.

Need You Now – Lady A
Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares) – Travis Tritt
It’s Your Call – Reba McEntire
Last Call – Lee Ann Womack
Cat’s in the Cradle – Harry Chapin
Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
Call Me on Your Way Back Home – Ryan Adams
Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman

Answering Machines, Operators, and Wrong Numbers

Before voicemail and read receipts, music had answering machines, operators, wrong numbers, payphones, and bad connections. That old technology created great song drama because a person could be present, absent, unreachable, or one operator away from heartbreak.

Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels) – Jim Croce
Operator – Midnight Star
Answering Machine – Rupert Holmes
The Telephone Call – Kraftwerk
Wrong Number – The Cure
Bad Connection – Yazoo
Obscene Phone Caller – Rockwell
Star 69 – R.E.M.
No Reply at All – Genesis
Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You – Sugarloaf

Phone Songs from Movies, TV, and Stage

Some telephone songs earned extra pop-culture life from movies, stage musicals, and iconic videos. A phone on screen can be romantic, comic, threatening, glamorous, or deeply inconvenient for the plot.

Call Me – Blondie, from American Gigolo
Telephone – Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé, with its famous cinematic music video
The Telephone Hour – Cast of Bye Bye Birdie
Hello Ma Baby – Arthur Collins, later famous through animation and musical nostalgia
Ghostbusters does not belong on this list, but “Who you gonna call?” is the phone-adjacent question that refuses to leave pop culture alone.

Top 100 Songs About Telephones, Calls, Numbers, and Messages

This Top 100 balances landline classics, phone-number songs, operators, hotlines, payphones, cell phones, texting, voicemail, long-distance calls, pop hits, rock staples, R&B favorites, country calls, and songs where the phone helps define the story.

867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone
Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
Telephone – Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé
Call Me – Blondie
Hotline Bling – Drake
Hello – Adele
I Just Called to Say I Love You – Stevie Wonder
Telephone Line – Electric Light Orchestra
Payphone – Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa
Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels) – Jim Croce
Hanging on the Telephone – Blondie
Mr. Telephone Man – New Edition
The Call – Backstreet Boys
Need You Now – Lady A
Kiss Me Thru the Phone – Soulja Boy Tell ’Em featuring Sammie
Memphis, Tennessee – Chuck Berry
Memphis – Johnny Rivers
Pennsylvania 6-5000 – Glenn Miller Orchestra
Beechwood 4-5789 – The Marvelettes
634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.) – Wilson Pickett
Ring Ring – ABBA
Hello – Lionel Richie
Call Your Girlfriend – Robyn
Video Phone – Beyoncé featuring Lady Gaga
One Call Away – Charlie Puth
Call Me When You’re Sober – Evanescence
Spiderwebs – No Doubt
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number – Steely Dan
Stan – Eminem featuring Dido
Telephone – Diana Ross
Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair) – Sheena Easton
Telephone Man – Meri Wilson
The Telephone Call – Kraftwerk
Operator – Midnight Star
Call Me – Skyy
Call Me – Go West
Hello It’s Me – Todd Rundgren
Hello, I Love You – The Doors
Baby Don’t Forget My Number – Milli Vanilli
Don’t Lose My Number – Phil Collins
Any Time at All – The Beatles
Private Number – Judy Clay & William Bell
Private Number – The Jets
Area Codes – Ludacris featuring Nate Dogg
Pick Up the Phone – Young Thug & Travis Scott featuring Quavo
Phone Numbers – Dominic Fike
Call Out My Name – The Weeknd
Call Me Every Day – Chris Brown featuring Wizkid
Text Me in the Morning – Neon Trees
Text Me – R. Kelly
My Phone’s on Vibrate for You – Rufus Wainwright
Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares) – Travis Tritt
It’s Your Call – Reba McEntire
Last Call – Lee Ann Womack
Sylvia’s Mother – Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
Cat’s in the Cradle – Harry Chapin
Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman
Call Me on Your Way Back Home – Ryan Adams
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap – AC/DC
Chantilly Lace – The Big Bopper
Talk Dirty to Me – Poison
Talk – Coldplay
Smooth Operator – Sade
Switchboard Susan – Nick Lowe
Answering Machine – Rupert Holmes
Sometimes a Fantasy – Billy Joel
Obscene Phone Caller – Rockwell
Dial My Number – Romano Bais
No Reply at All – Genesis
Star 69 – R.E.M.
Long Distance Runaround – Yes
Back of My Hand (I’ve Got Your Number) – The Jags
Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You – Sugarloaf
Hung Up – Madonna
Hello Ma Baby – Arthur Collins
Telephone Operator – Pete Shelley
Don’t Wanna Call – The Donnas
Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand – Primitive Radio Gods
Misunderstanding – Genesis
Never There – Cake
Tears on the Telephone – Hot Chocolate
Call Me (Come Back Home) – Al Green
Vienna Calling – Falco
The Telephone Always Rings – Fun Boy Three
Long Distance Call – Muddy Waters
853-5937 – Squeeze
777-9311 – The Time
Bad Connection – Yazoo
Love by the Telephone – Foreigner
Battlestations – Wham!
The Telephone Hour – Cast of Bye Bye Birdie
Wrong Number – The Cure
Cellphone’s Dead – Beck
How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore? – Prince
Just Seven Numbers (Can Straighten Out My Life) – Four Tops
Off the Hook – The Rolling Stones
Looking for Clues – Robert Palmer
Party Line – The Kinks
Memorize Your Number – Leif Garrett
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft – Klaatu

More Phone Songs Worth Calling Back

A Top 100 cannot hold every number, operator, call, and broken phone booth. These songs are also worth hearing for longer playlists, trivia expansion, and deeper cuts.

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft – Carpenters
No Phone – Cake
It’s Me Again, Margaret – Ray Stevens
The Telephone Song – Astrud Gilberto
Car Phone – Julian Smith
Don’t Hang Up – The Orlons
Long Distance Call – Phoenix
Hotline – Pretty Ricky
On Call – Kings of Leon
Call on Me – Eric Prydz

Telephone Songs Trivia

867-5309/Jenny became the most famous phone-number song in pop history, and the number has caused real-world calls for decades.
In 2026, the famous 867-5309 number was repurposed as part of a cancer-support helpline campaign, giving the old Tommy Tutone hit a surprising new use.
Call Me Maybe became one of the defining viral pop songs of the early 2010s, helped by its huge chorus, playful video, and endless lip-syncs and parodies.
Lady Gaga and Beyoncé’s Telephone became famous not only as a pop single but also as a cinematic music video filled with crime-movie, fashion, and pop-art energy.
Blondie’s Call Me was tied to the 1980 film American Gigolo, giving it one of the strongest movie connections on this list.
Hotline Bling turned a phone phrase into a modern meme-era hit, helped by Drake’s colorful video and much-imitated dancing.
Electric Light Orchestra’s Telephone Line is one of the great lonely-call songs, using the idea of a telephone line as both technology and heartbreak.
Pennsylvania 6-5000 used an old telephone exchange-style number and remains one of the most famous big-band phone songs.
Beechwood 4-5789 and 634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.) show how phone numbers could become irresistible hooks in early pop, soul, and R&B.
Kiss Me Thru the Phone helped move the phone-song tradition into the cellphone era. Alexander Graham Bell probably did not see that one coming.

Why Telephone Songs Still Work

Telephone songs last because they are really songs about connection. The device changes, but the story stays familiar: call me, answer me, don’t hang up, wrong number, private number, missed call, late-night call, long-distance call, or the phone call someone should not have made in the first place.

A strong phone playlist should mix old telephone-number songs with modern call, text, and hotline songs. Start with Tommy Tutone, Carly Rae Jepsen, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, Blondie, Drake, Stevie Wonder, ELO, Jim Croce, Maroon 5, and New Edition, then add the oldies, country heartbreak, hip-hop hotlines, and answering-machine deep cuts. The technology keeps changing, but pop music still knows how to make the phone ring.