The song was written by the husband-and-wife team of Joe and Audrey Allison, and was inspired by a phone conversation between them in which they had trouble making themselves understood.
Because of background noise and Audrey Allison's naturally soft voice, her husband had to ask her to put her mouth very close to the receiver.
It was released to country radio as the B-side of "In a Mansion Stands My Love", which some music executives considered a stronger song.
The recording features a small group of musicians: Floyd Cramer on piano, Marvin Hughes on the vibraphone, Bob Moore on bass, Buddy Harman on drums, Hank Garland on guitar, and the Anita Kerr Singers providing the background vocals.
[4] The first verse set the tone: "Put your sweet lips a little closer to the phone/Let's pretend that we're together all alone/I'll tell the man to turn the juke box way down low/And you can tell your friend there with you he'll have to go.
"[5] In 1960, the song reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1960, kept from the top spot by Percy Faith's "Theme from A Summer Place".
[16] Guitarist Ry Cooder recorded a version with a Mexican Norteño-style arrangement for his 1976 album Chicken Skin Music.
Elton John performed the song several times live, during a variety of solo tours and television apparances, and at various stops on his 1979 Tour with Ray Cooper, including the series of shows the two played at the Rossya Hall in Moscow, Russia, the last night of which was broadcast live on BBC Radio.