George Peel, aka Orange Peel Moses, is the undisputed champion of singing telegrams in Colorado. His career started in 2004 and became a full-time job within five years. Peel has since booked nearly 5000 singing telegram gigs in 20 years and performed the majority of them himself; he has a couple of contract singers he works with when he isn’t available. “We’re doing 300-plus a year right now,” Peel says of his business Custom Singing Telegrams.
Image: Heart Led Media
Styling: Shannon Ryan
Location: Archipelago
Light spills through the balcony doors of Archipelago’s idyllic attic, bathing Orange Peel in a warm golden glow that complements his fuzzy, fluorescent-orange jumpsuit and Orange Crush beanie. He places an orange net bag cradling several ripened navel and blood oranges on the floor, waves to a few friends and settles into his chair, perfectly at home in the cavernous space.
Peel, who is also known by his musical moniker Orange Peel Moses, asked to meet at Archipelago, a social health club, for a reason. He first learned of music’s health benefits at a 2021 Music as Medicine workshop guided by Touch Copple and held at the historic mansion. Since then, that knowledge has grown into a philosophy that shapes how he views his health, his happiness and his career as a singing telegram.
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Styling: Shannon Ryan
Image: Ryan Fila
“Orange Peel is a professional singing ‘telegram’ who is hired to go to locations and sing songs for unsuspecting people, usually for things like Valentine’s Day or birthdays. Upon learning that I wrote for the Westword, he informed me of the time that he came into our offices and serenaded two pregnant employees with ‘Push It’ by Salt N Pepa; the only appropriate song to sing in this situation.”
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Focus attention on the guest of honor with a customized (outdoor) singing telegram from Orange peel moses of Custom Singing Telegrams. Jenny Baker-Strasburg says clients are regaled by two or three songs and gifted handwritten lyrics as a keepsake.
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George Peele has been dressing up as Cupid and serenading people for the last 15 years. This Valentine’s, be bold and different by sending your love interest a surprise serenade.
From Valentine’s Day to anniversaries to birthdays, a singing telegram is the epitome of saying “I love you” in a song. Denver 7’s Gerardo Federico shows us a Colorado man in his fifteenth year, with over 3000 satisfied customers.
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Over the past fifteen years, George Peele, who goes by Orange peel moses, has delivered over 3,000 singing telegrams.
Valentine’s Day’s usually the biggest day of the year for his business, but he’s also performed for a guy getting a vasectomy and a person celebrating the last day of chemo; anniversaries, proposals and going-away parties also keep him employed.
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Ever order a singing telegram? Probably not, but Orange Peel Moses wants to make sure you know it's not completely a thing of the past. We talked to Moses about his strange and wonderful career, as well as his love for Denver and cannabis legalization.
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Cannabis Paint: The Artist Kelsie for Clinic Colorado
Event: High Times Cannabis Cup Denver 2015
"Orange peel moses is an entertainer bringing joy door to door. He specializes in singing telegrams, and he joined us on Living Local to brighten your day. Whether you're looking to surprise someone at work, a loved one, or an old buddy, he has you covered."
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"Ok, that is a grown man in a diaper."
Watch the moment when Denver singing Cupid George Peele surprises 9 News anchor Liz Kotalik during her Valentine's Day live shot at the King Soopers in Glendale.
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When Mile High Sports Radio jocks Benjamin Allbright and Benny Bash spied a spandex clownfish-clad man with a guitar attempting to deliver a singing telegram to a nearby business, they decided to invite him into the studio for an impromptu interview.
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On Valentine's Day, Channel 2 reporter Kevin Torres followed Custom Singing Telegrams' founder George Peele and singer Melissa Ivey around for a couple of hours. Click on the image above to see the TV segment that aired.
On Valentine's Day, George Peele and singer Melissa Ivey performed a Custom Singing Telegram live on KYGO 98.5 FM for morning show host Tracy Dixon. Click the link below to see how it went.
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Custom Singing Telegrams gives a multitude of costume options for its messengers, including a naughty nurse, Harry Potter, Jesus, a unicorn, “Cock Rocker,” “Crosstitute,” a vampire and more. The gorilla in a tutu is the most popular costume request, but Hammerberg says David Bowie is his favorite costume. Or, rather, it used to be. Image courtesy Mark Cafiero.
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