Millions of music fans know the song "Hanging on the Telephone," which opened Blondie's hit 1978 album "Parallel Lines." However, few people know the band that originally created it. In the 1970s, an American rock trio called The Nerves wrote the track and practiced until their hands bled, but their own version never made them stars.
Formed in 1974 by musicians Jack Lee, Peter Case, and Paul Collins, The Nerves worked tirelessly. They rehearsed for up to 16 hours a day in a cheap apartment building and made their own records when music companies ignored them. In 1977, the trio drove across the country in a station wagon, playing 39 concerts in 16 cities alongside famous punk groups like the Ramones. Despite their relentless effort and catchy two-minute songs, they struggled to find an audience.
Exhausted by constant travel and a lack of money, the group broke up in 1978. Shortly after their split, Blondie recorded a cover version of "Hanging on the Telephone." The new version became a worldwide success, but it largely erased The Nerves from public memory. While other artists continued to record their songs over the years, the original trio remained mostly unknown to mainstream listeners.
Now, fifty years after the band formed, their work is receiving fresh recognition. Before guitarist and songwriter Jack Lee died, he asked his daughter, Cynthia Cook, to help release his hidden music. Cook spent years searching through boxes of old cassette tapes, and a new collection of his unreleased songs is now being released by Third Man Records, finally giving the overlooked songwriter his moment in the spotlight.