As they reissue their 1981 festive EP Yuletide Throwdown, we rate the best of the New York band who strutted through punk, disco and pop with absolute cool 5. Hanging on the Telephone (1978) Sometimes, a song takes a while to find its ideal singer. The original of Hanging on the Telephone, a 1976 single by LA powerpop band the Nerves, is pretty good, but Harry’s commanding performance owns the song, while Blondie’s arrangement is louder, brasher, tighter and tougher: the stuff of which classics are made.