"Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" | ||||
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Single by Primitive Radio Gods | ||||
from the album Rocket | ||||
B-side | "Feel Me" | |||
Released | June 1996 | |||
Format | CD | |||
Recorded | 1991 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, trip hop, downtempo | |||
Length | 5:39 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Writer(s) | Chris O'Connor, Leonard Feather | |||
Producer(s) | Chris O'Connor | |||
Primitive Radio Gods singles chronology | ||||
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"Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand" is a song by American alternative rock group Primitive Radio Gods. It was released in June 1996 as the lead single from their debut album, Rocket and became a popular radio hit over the next few months, reaching number 2 in Canada and peaking at number 10 on the US Hot 100 Airplay in September 1996. It became popular after being featured in the movie The Cable Guy, as well as its film soundtrack, and soon after peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Its chorus consists of a sample from the 1964 B.B. King song "How Blue Can You Get": "I've been downhearted baby, ever since the day we met."
It was covered by The Copyrights on the Methadones/Copyrights split CD. The melody and lyrics remain unchanged, but the song was retitled "Locked Outside a Motel Without Shoes, a Wallet or a Phone".
There is an unrelated song, also called "Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand", on Bruce Cockburn's 1978 album Further Adventures Of.
John Nolan, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of Taking Back Sunday, released a cover of the song on his Live at Southpaw EP.
Irish Band Fight Like Apes covered the song on the 2015 charity compilation Forever Young: The Windmill Lane Sessions.