"Hanging on the Telephone" is a song written by Jack Lee. The song was released in 1976 by his short-lived US West Coast power pop band The Nerves; in 1978, it was recorded and released as a single by American new wave band Blondie. Blondie had discovered the song via a cassette tape compilation which Jeffrey Lee Pierce had given the band. Beginning with a phone sound-effect courtesy of producer Mike Chapman, Blondie's version of the song was released on the band's breakthrough third album, Parallel Lines. The single was a top five hit in the UK and has since seen critical acclaim as one of the band's best songs.
