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Q: What is a Singing Telegram?
A: Singing telegrams are a hilarious way to send a message or greeting that is a lot more fun than sending a fax, email, instant message or greeting card. USA Singing telegrams will be happy to send someone over to sing, dance, or act out your message to the recipient. They'll even dress up to do it, in anything from a tux and top hat to a gorilla suit! Think of it as a mini-show that will bring laughs into the workplace, home, public engagement or party. (scroll to the bottom of the page for a brief history of the Singing Telegram.)
Q: How long does a Singing Telegram Performance last?
A: Performance times vary from five to fifteen minutes depending on the character. However, Our performers will always allow a little extra time after the performance for photos and silliness. And being experienced improvisers, they're happy to joke around with a willing audience!
Q: Can you handle "same day" orders for the time I request?
A: Yes we can, if the order is placed early enough in the day. However, if our schedule is very heavy or you place an order later in the day you may have to be flexible on the time. (please allow plenty of time for your local traffic conditions, weather, etc..)
Q: Can I get a copy of the song or telegram?
A: Yes. Most performers deliver a writen or printed copy of the message or song. If Your character does not provide one you will be told prior to placing your order.
Q:DO You Have Other Characters or Celebrities not listed on your site?
A: Yes. There are more characters than we have room to list! However, not all characters are available in every location. Please call for details and we'll help you find the perfect performer for your date, location, and time.
Q: Can your performer bring other extras like a cake, flowers, extra balloons, or such?
A: In most situations we can easily accommodate your requests.As long as it isn't too outlandish! Additional fees would also apply.
Q: Is a Singing Telegram just for birthdays or Valentines day?
A: No. They are great for EVERY OCCASION! & EVERY EVENT! Birthdays, Graduations, Get Well, Anniversaries, Happy Retirement, Going Away Parties, Welcome Home, Weddings, Holidays, Just to say "hi", and Even for no reason at all!
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A brief History of the Singing Telegram:
George P. Oslin, a Western Union executive, created that durable art form, the singing telegram, in the year of 1933.
Mr. Oslin is credited with sending history's first singing telegram -- sung by a Western Union operator named Lucille Lipps -- to the star vocalist Rudy Vallee on July 28, 1933, which was Vallee's birthday.
At that magical moment, Mr. Oslin was the public relations director of Western Union, then based in New York. He held the post for 35 years, retiring in 1964.
In an interview after he died, his wife, Susanna Meigs Oslin, noted that by the time Lucille Lipps sounded her first note, telegrams had come to convey mixed associations. During World War I, Mrs. Oslin noted, ''To a lot of people, the telegram was a scary thing because it meant you were being told you lost a loved one.''
And Mr. Oslin recalled in 1993 that back in 1933 he had thought that he had to convince people ''that messages should be fun.'' But he reported in his book ''The Story of Telecommunications'' (1992, Mercer), that when he invented the singing telegram, ''I was angrily informed that I was making a laughingstock of the company.''
Mr. Oslin also liked to accentuate the positive in singing-telegram history. He once said that the message he sent to Vallee -- which was chronicled by the newspaper columnist Walter Winchell -- ''started America on a zany musical binge.''
And a retired Western Union spokesman, Warren Bechtel, recalled recently that it ''was certainly an imaginative, innovative idea,'' and that singing-telegram business boomed.
Although Western Union is no longer in the Singing Telegram Business, The tradition is Proudly kept alive by the folks here at
USA Singing Telegrams..
