Today's blog post was inspired by a brainstorm I had last night. Back when I was a teenager, I used to listen to the radio as I got ready for school. The radio station would inevitably play silly novelty songs which, as a giddy teen, very much appealed to me. Meri Wilson was born in 1949 on a military installation in Nagoya, Japan. She died in December 2002 in Americus, Georgia, after the car she was driving hit some ice and she had an accident.
A lot of people wouldn't know who Meri Wilson is, but as one who listened to a lot of morning radio in the 1980s, I can tell you that you might have heard at least one of her novelty songs. In 1975, Wilson was in a car accident that put her in a full body cast for months. During that downtime, she discovered she had a talent for songwriting. She wrote a classic novelty hit called "Telephone Man"...
Wilson is giggly and silly on this song full of double entendres, which was unleashed upon an unsuspecting public in 1977... Then in 1981, she followed up with "Peter, the Meter Reader", which was not as popular, but I actually liked it more...
Further attempts to continue her career stalled and she slipped into obscurity until 2002, when she released an updated version of "Telephone Man", "Internet Man"...
I will admit, I heard that song for the first time last night as I was exploring Wilson's older, more established "hits"... I understand these songs caused a lot of guys to pitch tents early in the morning, if you catch my drift. Frankly, even as a very silly person, I think these songs are a bit on the stupid side. But I will admit enjoying them as a teenager, when I loved this kind of stuff.
Sad that Meri Wilson is no longer with us. She was a well-educated woman, having earned a master's degree from Georgia State University. She was also a model. Sounds like she had the whole package, yet made her mark in novelty music. I guess making people laugh is not the worst use of one's talents!
A lot of people wouldn't know who Meri Wilson is, but as one who listened to a lot of morning radio in the 1980s, I can tell you that you might have heard at least one of her novelty songs. In 1975, Wilson was in a car accident that put her in a full body cast for months. During that downtime, she discovered she had a talent for songwriting. She wrote a classic novelty hit called "Telephone Man"...
Wilson is giggly and silly on this song full of double entendres, which was unleashed upon an unsuspecting public in 1977... Then in 1981, she followed up with "Peter, the Meter Reader", which was not as popular, but I actually liked it more...
Further attempts to continue her career stalled and she slipped into obscurity until 2002, when she released an updated version of "Telephone Man", "Internet Man"...
I will admit, I heard that song for the first time last night as I was exploring Wilson's older, more established "hits"... I understand these songs caused a lot of guys to pitch tents early in the morning, if you catch my drift. Frankly, even as a very silly person, I think these songs are a bit on the stupid side. But I will admit enjoying them as a teenager, when I loved this kind of stuff.
Sad that Meri Wilson is no longer with us. She was a well-educated woman, having earned a master's degree from Georgia State University. She was also a model. Sounds like she had the whole package, yet made her mark in novelty music. I guess making people laugh is not the worst use of one's talents!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments on older posts will be moderated.