"Operator, Operator" (also titled "Heart on the Line (Operator, Operator)") is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

song co-written and recorded by

Larry Willoughby Larry Willoughby (February 24, 1950 – January 14, 2021) was an American country music singer-songwriter and the vice president of A&R at Capitol Records. Biography Willoughby's debut album, ''Building Bridges'', was released in 1984 by Atlan ...

, a cousin of country music singer

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

, and Janet Willoughby. He released the song in 1983 from the album ''Building Bridges'', and took it to number 65 on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts.

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. The classic and most well-known lineup of the group, which performed together for over 40 years, consisted of William Lee Golden (baritone), Duane Allen (lead), Richard Sterban (bass), and Joe ...

also recorded it under the original title, as the

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to their 1983 single "

Love Song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

".Whitburn, p. 303 A 1985 recording by

Eddy Raven Edward Garvin Futch (born August 19, 1944), known professionally as Eddy Raven, is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active from 1962 to 2018, Raven has recorded for several record labels, including ABC, Dimension, Elektra, RCA, ...

, under the title "Operator, Operator", appeared on his album ''

Love and Other Hard Times ''Love and Other Hard Times'' is the sixth studio album by American country music singer Eddy Raven. It was released in 1985 by RCA Records. Content and reception Three singles from the album made the Hot Country Songs charts: "Operator, Operator ...

''. This version went to number 9 on the same chart.Whitburn, p. 340 Two versions of Raven's version were issued: One has a standard fade during the reprisal of the refrain, the other has a slightly different transition into the final refrain, with Raven – after being cut off – screaming into the phone that he has no more change to continue the call, with that track being played over Raven singing.

Chart performance

Larry Willoughby

Eddy Raven

References

1983 singles 1985 singles 1983 songs The Oak Ridge Boys songs Larry Willoughby songs Eddy Raven songs Song recordings produced by Paul Worley RCA Records Nashville singles Songs written by Larry Willoughby Songs about telephone calls {{1983-country-song-stub