Bob Dylan & The Band: Long Distance Operator
[purchase]
Jim Croce: Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels)
[purchase]
Roman Reese: Come in Operator
[purchase]
Bert's post got me thinking about the now obsolete job of the telephone operator. Odds are that my daughter, who is now three months old will never have the experience of picking up a phone and simply dialing the switchboard operator for assistance with making a call. Heck, I'm 32, and I don't think I've ever done it either.
My grandfather worked 30 years for AT&T. When he started working for the phone company, the switchboard operator was an absolutely essential piece of the puzzle. Now his great-granddaughter will likely have no idea the job ever existed. Maybe he can tell her about it someday.
The first two songs here are fairly classic. The third is a more recent track from former Knoxvillian (now in the DC area) Roman Reese about a more metaphorical phone call. In it, the singer is sending up a prayer, and God is working the switchboard.
