The idea for National Ding-A-Ling Day came in 1971 when Franky Hyle of the Chicago area was at home with friends. "Some husbands and wives were sitting around my house, talking and drinking and thinking people ought to be friendlier to one another," he said. They looked up what "ding-a-ling" meant in a dictionary, and they found one of the definitions said it was "one who hears bells in his head." Hyle decided to create a day where celebrants would call people they haven't seen in years, in order to rekindle old friendships. He wanted to encourage people to be natural and let their guard down. Perhaps the idea of having a phone be involved in the day had to do with the fact that it rings, just like a ding-a-ling is associated with ringing.
In 1972, Hyle began placing an advertisement in Chase's Calendar of Annual Events saying December 12 was National Ding-A-Ling Day, and that a ding-a-ling was a "wonderful, friendly, intelligent, loving, responsible and desirable person." By 1975, almost 900 people had answered the ad and joined the Ding-A-Ling Club. They paid one dollar to become members, and received a bumper sticker which said: "Be a Bell Ringer."