Biography
Born in Nagoya, Japan, on June 15, 1949, Meri Wilson achieved her chief recognition via the risqué 1977 novelty hit “Telephone Man.” Raised in a military household, she studied at the Indiana University School of Music and later completed a master’s degree in music theory at Georgia State University. A serious car crash confined her to a body cast for months, during which she began composing original material; once recovered, she performed regularly at Underground Atlanta. The owner of the Daddy’s Money restaurant chain caught one of those sets and persuaded her to move to Dallas, where she also sang at dinner clubs such as Arthur’s and Papillion. Modeling assignments and advertising jingles filled her schedule at the same time. Former Bloodrock vocalist Jim Rutledge discovered her and introduced her to producer Owen “Boomer” Castleman. For Castleman’s BNA label she recorded the self-written “Telephone Man,” a double-entendre account of an encounter with an AT&T technician; the single reached the Billboard Top 20 in the United States and the Top Five in the United Kingdom, earning gold certification on both sides of the Atlantic and becoming a staple of Dr. Demento’s syndicated program. She next joined GRT to release her debut album, First Take, yet attempts to repeat the formula with “Peter the Meter Reader” and “Dick the DJ” failed commercially. Wilson then retired to Americus, GA, to raise her family and direct a choir. Apart from the holiday singles “Santa’s Coming” and “My Valentine’s Funny,” she stayed away from recording until 1999, when she reworked the original hit as “Internet Man.” Airplay on drive-time radio led to a short-lived contract with the now-defunct Time Warner imprint Giant, resulting in the 2002 self-titled album issued on the Ansley label. Wilson died in an SUV accident on December 28 of that year.
Albums
