My Top 2000 Songs #1156: Hanging On The Telephone

Short-lived early power pop band The Nerves only stuck around for a few singles, their legend looming larger than their actual body of work. Part of that stems with their members going on to bigger things in the power pop universe--bassist Peter Case forming The Plimsouls, and drummer Paul Collins forming The Beat (or Paul Collins' Beat, not to be confused with the [English] Beat). But some of that legend is based on 1976 single "Hanging On The Telephone," written by guitarist Jack Lee (who later released a few solo albums but didn't find the same acclaim as Case or Collins), which blew up once it was covered by Blondie on 1978's big-selling breakout Parallel Lines.

The Nerves' original version is a stripped-down indie release, full of jangle and killer hooks, maybe a little too raw for radio at the time but easily slotting into the early power pop pantheon. Blondie wisely didn't change much, but once you swap in some Debbie Harry, and just enough studio polish, you can't really go wrong.

Blondie version:

Blondie on The Midnight Special:

Paul Collins & Peter Case at a 2007 in-store performance:

L7 cover:

Def Leppard (surprisingly catchy power pop!):

Jessica Manning turns it into a torch song: