It was as much a part of the glory days of Top 40 radio as the British Invasion - the prank phone call, in which a disc jockey (usually a morning man) called a business or specially selected person and pretended to be someone else, presenting a completely ridiculous scenario and seeing how they would react. 

Jungle Jay Nelson had a segment on his CHUM morning show called "Hello Toronto" that some here may remember. 

 

Maybe the most famous was Imus in the Morning on WNBC, whose "Crime Fighters' Notebook" was actually turned into an album. It featured some bizarre phone calls, including my personal favourite, "1,200 Hamburgers To Go." I wasn't always fond of these put-ons, but this one remains a true classic. 




You don't really hear a lot of this kind of thing anymore, although it was once a common feature. And there are a number of reasons for it. One, I'm convinced, is the cell phone, caller I.D. and voice mail, where it's a lot harder to find someone's cell number and it's more difficult to cover who's calling. And if you're like me, I never answer a number if I don't know who it is, to avoid scam artists. 

Like the old TV show "Candid Camera," (which started on radio as "Candid Microphone") these bits now appear to be relics from a bygone era. But in the hands of a truly talented host, they sure were fun while they lasted.