Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) - Jim Croce (cover-live by Bill Sharkey)

Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) (Jim Croce, 1972). Live cover performance by Bill Sharkey, Home Studio, Hawaii Kai, HI. 2021-11-21. "Keeping the Oldies Alive"

"Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" was Jim Croce's second release and second top 20 hit, landing at the #17 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1972 (Whitburn, 2013). During an interview with Carl Wiser of songfacts.com (May 1, 2007), his widow Ingrid Croce told the story of how the idea for Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels) was developed. Jim was in the National Guard, one day "he was standing there in the rain at a payphone. And he was listening to these stories of all these [National Guardsmen], the 'Dear John' stories, that were standing in line waiting their turn in the rain with these green rain jackets over their heads . . . all of them in line waiting for their 3-minute phone call. . . . some of them were getting these 'Dear John' letters, or phone calls. I think that was the most important aspect of the song, because it was just so desperate. You know, 'I only have a dime' and 'You can keep the dime' because money was very scarce and very precious. . . . 'Operator, could you help me place this call?' I'm picturing Jim out in the rain and this long line of guys where they're really trying to reach somebody. It was hard to get through, so you always had the operator do it for you." Jim, himself, recalled that "There wasn’t a phone booth; [the phone] was just stuck up on the side of the building and there were about 200 guys in each line waiting to make a phone call back home to see if their ‘Dear John’ letter was true" (B. Stilwell, wearethemighty.com, Jan. 26, 2021).

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