"Mr. Telephone Man" is a song by

New Edition New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 19 ...

, and the second single from their eponymous second album, ''

''. Released as a single, by December 8, 1984, it was being added to the most "Hot Black" radio station playlists.

Overview

"Mr. Telephone Man" included lead vocals from

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released the album '' Ralph Tresvant'' (1990). In 2008, he ...

, Ricky Bell and

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

with a rap by

Michael Bivins New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 1980 ...

and was written by

Ray Parker Jr. Ray Erskine Parker Jr. (born May 1, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. As a solo performer, he wrote and performed the theme song to the 1984 film '' Ghostbusters''. Previously, Parker achieved a US top-10 h ...

The song was originally recorded by teenage singer

Junior Tucker Leslie Tucker, known as Junior Tucker (born 1966 in Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica), is a Jamaican reggae singer, who started his career in secular music but who now sings Christian music. His hits included "Happy" and his own composition, "Don ...

, who included the song on his self-titled debut album on

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

in 1983. Parker produced the original version as well as the cover by New Edition. The song is about a conversation between a telephone operator and a guy who can't accept the fact that his lover has hung up on him. Instead of accepting she no longer wants to speak to him, he sadly thinks there is a problem with the phone connection. The single reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart and was the group's third number-one single on the Black Singles chart. Mixes included the instrumental and the "Extended Version".

Track listing

*1. Mr. Telephone Man (Extended Version) – 6:30 *2. Mr. Telephone Man (Instrumental) – 5:40

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References