John Wilson croons special tunes

Wilson, who plays with local bands and has created his own persona over the years as the AccaFella, will deliver a singing telegram of your choice for any occasion.

His specialty covers those baritone and tenor singers of the 20th century in a cappella, but he keeps an open mind, having recently delivered a Valentine’s Day smile with a Bruno Mars tune.

Valentine’s Day is Wilson’s busiest for requests, but the love-song service actually began delivering smiles, tears and occasional confusion in 1999 as a favor to Wilson’s now mother-in-law, then a friend’s baby shower, a message delivered to a bank teller, a car salesman and many others delivered via cellphone message or email.

Now, it’s the easiest way for Wilson to make a little money with the baby at home.

Prices range depending on the request — and on a sliding scale — but generally the cost is less than a dozen roses.

“I had one guy from Chicago, too, who found my service and wanted to use it to get back with his girlfriend,” Wilson said. “He had me leave a message on her voicemail. I never heard what happened after that.”

Recently, Wilson added extended visits to the homes of people having trouble getting out who enjoy the music of Elvis, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Cash.

“I’m just a delivery man for a song,” Wilson said. “I have to grab people’s attention, but not for too long; you don’t want the experience, the moment, to be passing. Keep it fresh, like getting a plate of eggs and bacon while it’s still hot.”

When that fleeting moment of joy and surprise passes, it’s time to wrap it up and get out.

The goal is to be in and out in under two minutes, like a singing greeting card. The trick is finding a decent place to end the song, because “if you stay in a moment for too long, you wreck it,” Wilson said.

In a singing telegram, you want to limit the pauses in a song, offering just a little touch, because no one really wants the whole song, he added.

Wilson also tries to absorb most of the embarrassment, he said, because often the messages are delivered to loved ones while they’re at work.

A bit of history

The first singing telegram was delivered in 1933, a rendition of “Happy Birthday” delivered by the Postal Telegram-Cable Company to Hollywood singing star Rudy Vallee.

Western Union also delivered singing telegrams from 1933 until the start of World War II, and after the war, messages sung by the company’s phone operators picked back up until 1974.

In the 1980s, the art of singing telegrams became a multimillion-dollar business, but interest died down about a decade later.

Just like a cockroach, though, the now 85-year tradition was revived in 2011 with a modern twist.

Western Union brought back its singing message service with special songs performed by the sender or a performer of the sender’s choice recorded and delivered via email.

In a nod to the past, the Johnny Valentine Emergency Intimate Love Song Service — which was established in the late 1990s — has no website, but give Wilson a call, and you can set up a romantic love song to your sweetie in person, over the phone or via email: 802-730-5521.