I was thinking that a good future FAWM challenge topic could be songs that feature a telephone conversation. Maybe either a duet that includes both sides of the conversation, or just one singer but the story they're telling is a call to another person?

Wondered how many hit songs there have been that have incorporated that?

I Just Called to Say I Love You springs to mind.

'Hello' by Adele is a one sided phone convo...maybe we need to write the response...

Blondie - Hanging on the Telephone comes to mind.

There was a telephone call challenge, or possibly skirmish, a few years ago, and this was my response https://goddammitjeremiah.bandcamp.com/track/i-fell-in-love-with-the-speaking-clock

These are just the ones that come directly to mind, and I know I'm missing a bunch more:

Jim Croce - Operator

E.L.O. - Telephone Line

Blondie - Call Me

Tommie Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny

B-52's - 6060-842 (and I'm waiting for you...)

Johnny Rivers - Memphis

I had to look up the Johnny Rivers one, because I couldn't remember the name of the song, and it seems his version is a cover of a Chuck Berry tune.

@helenseviltwin - Blondie's Hanging on the Telephone was one of the first ones I thought of. Your I Fell in Love with the Speaking Clock response is great! Definitely has that same punk vibe.

@scottmcb - your suggestion was the other song that came to mind for me. A classic!

@spaniel - I haven't heard of that song but what a great idea to write a response to it!

@robertmyers - thanks. What a great list. Must check them out. The B52s is a bit if a blast from the past - remember them being big when I was in school!

I think Alice Cooper's Under My Wheels might count. Has part of the song where he sings what his girlfriend has said to him on the phone and what he said back

'The telephone is ringing
You got me on the run
I'm driving in my car now
Anticipating fun
I'm driving right up to you babe
I guess that you couldn't see yeah yeah
But you were under my wheels honey
Why don't you let me be
'Cause when you call me on the telephone saying
"Take me to the show"
And then I say "honey I just can't go
Old lady's sick and I can't leave her home"

I remember one from @billwhite51 where he leaves a message in the answering machine... but I couldn't find it.

I have this one from FAWM 2011, featuring guest vocals from @nuerdetjuligen:

https://vomvorton.bandcamp.com/track/heartline

@elesimo is this it? https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/track/hi-bill-its-curtis

I did this song with @corinnecurcio last year..she did such a wonderful vocal performance. This is an one sided telephone call about a breakup

https://soundcloud.com/garrett-kirby-472150950

Joe Satriani's "The Phone Call". Unusually for the king of shred, there are banjos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNRnG026Dr8

"Hello It's Me" - Todd Rundgren

I did a lyric like that for a challenge on the Muse Songwriters forum last summer called "But Anyway". Never put it to music, but I think maybe I should.

Here's a link to the lyrics the various participants did for that challenge, including mine: https://www.musesongwriters.com/forums/index.php?/topic/78772-june-lyrics-design-strategies-challenge-part-ii-click-here-to-post-2-july/

these come to mind, although they're mostly one-sided:

"past life" — tame impala
"le jeu du téléphone" — natacha snitkine
"star 69" — REM
"last train to clarksville" — monkees

no actual telephone conversations, but its about calling time because the person you want to call is dead. https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/track/ti4-8900

Mogwai's Tracy is a pretty good 'recorded phone conversation' track!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3uIwEY27DQ

Great idea for a challenge. One of my favorites from this genre is “Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook.

has been used as a device in rap songs, one album by Kendrick Lamar features several 'dramatic reenactments' of phone conversations, tying into an overall concept

Help Me on the album You Gotta Go There To Come Back ( Stereophonics ) - some odd noises down the phone

Say Anything's intro track to the album Is A Real Boy has a conversation recording between two people in the car, talking about an idea for the song that follows the sample. Maybe not a phone conversation, but this inspired me to start using vocal samples recorded on my own phone

Ocean Spray by the MSP has a sample of a guy talking in (fake?) Japanese language at the start on the album version and in a version of the video

Mike Patton has used phone effects on some of his songs ( or sounds like he uses filters similar to ) and used this on his Peeping Tom album

though none of these i think are big hits, just songs that have em

Trio - Sabine. From their 1981 debut album. You only get to hear one side of the call. Background choir sing his thoughts, like "I love you" even when the conversation does not lead into that direction.

Some more great selections there.

@chldomn5 - your Mike Patton suggestion was sent me down a rabbit hole of listening to loads of peeping songs on YouTube. Love his work with Faith No More and knew of his Mr Bungle side project, but Peeping Tom had somehow passed me by, Some really cool sounds!

@sph - liking the Sabine Sabine Sabine song too even though I can't understand most of the conversation!

Problem with these telephone conversations, is that they are not realistic. Usually they go something like this:

-Hello? leka speaking...
-Uh..
-Uh-uh..
-Right...
-Well... I'll have to check...
-Ok..
-Ok..
-Sorry could you repeat that?
-Ok, sure...
-Ok, thanks fo calling. Bye.