Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Western Union Tries To Freshen Up The Singing Telegram

Snoop Dogg at the Snoop Dogg Supafest 2011.(Eva Rinaldi)

Snoop Dogg at the Snoop Dogg Supafest 2011.(Eva Rinaldi)

Western Union, the telegraph and global payment company, is bringing back its singing telegram. And they’re adding some glitz.

Instead of being serenaded on your birthday by a Western Union representative, now the likes of rappers Snoop Dogg or K’naan will wish you well–though they won’t actually show up on your doorstep, the greetings are delivered via email.

And the celebs aren’t singing alone– the person sending the telegram gets to add their voice too, creating a duet of sorts.

Singing telegrams first started in 1933 and Western Union ended the service in 2006 to focus on its money transfer business.

“We’re bringing them back in a virtual and social way, in tune with the times,” Diane Scott, executive vice president of Western Union in Englewood, Colo. told the New York Times.

Right now the telegrams are free, but Western Union plans to begin charging eventually.

Guest:

  • Pat Vialpando, who used to deliver singing telegrams the old fashioned way

We welcome comments from all of our listeners. Post below. Please stay on topic and be civil. Comments may be moderated by us, but you are solely responsible for the content of your comments.

  • Ukeogram

    I enjoyed this story. I just started a singing telegram company in the Lansing, MI area called Uke-O-Gram that delivers them the old-fashioned way; sung in person, played on the ukulele. http://www.ukeogram.com

  • http://www.soundsofconcord.org/ Steve Nester

    Nice feature!  I especially enjoyed it because I am an annual “Singing Valentine” deliverer in the Boston area.  I sing in the Sounds of Concord barbershop chorus and almost all barbershop choruses are involved in this endeavor.  It’s a lot of fun and my knees have stopped shaking.  So live deliveries are still…alive @ http://www.singingvalentines.com

With Sponsorship from:
Accelerating the pace of engineering and science
Underwriting:
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
0522_tales-fourth-grade-nothing2

When author Judy Blume published her “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” in 1972, she introduced the world to Fudge, a toddler who makes his older brother Peter’s life miserable. We look back on the book with Blume.

1 Comment | more »
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Nik Wallenda performs a walk on a tightrope in the rain during training for his walk over Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (AP)

Nik Wallenda is busy practicing for a tight rope walk across the Niagara Falls, the first attempt ever.

Comment | more »
Friday, May 18, 2012
The Appian Road, in the Monti Aurunci area of Italy. (Robert Kaster/University of Chicago Press)

For many people, this time of year is an occasion for road trips — up and down the coasts, across the U.S., through Europe. For Robert Kaster, it was a time to venture along the most ancient roads of all time: the Appian Way in Italy.

2 Comments | more »
From Twitter