I must admit, I never liked his voice although my daughter Karen loved his music. To me, he seemed to whine in musical terms. However, his messages came through loud and clear in this song. Since then, so many more things have been made redundant by the march of technology.
The news announced yesterday that paper maps are to be consigned to the dustbin after 300 years in the latest list of things we once took for granted.
Using a public phone box, visiting the travel agents and writing to pen friends are all dying out.
We still have a public phone box in our local shopping area, although it's made of glass and metal rather than the old red public phone box or the blue Police call box of 'Doctor Who' fame. I'm amazed that anybody would use it since the arrival of mobile phones.
There were once four travel agents in the High Street. I think one remains--probably for the elderly residents who still want to arrange their holiday in the traditional way.
And pen friends--I guess Facebook has replaced that need to share your everyday life with others.
Few people ring the cinema to check film times. Instead, they'd use the smartphone app. Directory inquiries used to give out a phone number. Now you simply check Google. The speaking clock has been replaced by the mobile phone if you want to check the time. It's a wonder people wear watches any more.
Gone are the VHS video recorders, the photos printed out at the shop and displayed in albums, faxed documents, and searching the encyclopedia for a town or country.
'The Times, They Are a-changin', but are we better off? What would happen if technology breaks down? Does humanity still possess the skills to work out problems in their own brain or find information on paper?