A hotline is a direct, private line between two parties who have an urgent need to talk to one another. Like Obama and Putin. Or you and your BFF. Or your lover.
”Hotline” by the Sylvers (1976) opens with that lovely lady relic from the past, “The Operator,” asking for “your number please” and all eight of the Sylvers family shouts back “Hotline” in the most optimistic and energetic way.
The song lyrics indicate the guy wants to call his girl, late at night. Maybe the couple will pretend to cuddle, or pretend to kiss. Or maybe just declare their love. It’s a “feel-good” disco song that was a “Top 5” hit in both Top 40 and R&B formats.
Cut to 2016 and “Hotline Bling.” Drake is decidedly less upbeat than the Sylvers; rather, he’s in a big downer, recalling the nights when his cell phone use to ring—his “Hotline Bling–and it meant “just one thing–” the girl he loves calling for late night love. But instead, the girl is out on the town with her friends, at clubs and parties, and Drake is hurting–for 4 minutes and 55 seconds–confirming that misery loves company, because the YouTube video of “Hotline Bling” has almost 400 million views.
The technology has changed, from the now obsolete “Operator” to the ubiquitous cell phone, but the ups and downs of love & lust stay pretty much the same.
About Drake
“Hotline Bling” was one of 2015 most played Top 40 hits.
He’s Canadian.
Named “2015 Artist Of The Year” by Spin Magazine
The video for “Hotline Bling” is artsy, sophisticated, fashionable, spare, visually elegant. High end.