Jenny We Need That Number. 867-5309.

Hi ATS,

I was wondering if you would like to participate with me in a little rock and roll fun?

Do you remember this song from the 80s?



That's 867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone. It was huge when I was a kid.

The stories involving the phone number and the poor folks that happened to have it when the song came out are legendary.

Anyhow, today I was having lunch with a buddy and the song came on. We started laughing and I had my cell so I decided to call the number. I decided on the oldest L.A. area code and punched it in. I was almost deafened by the song as it came over the speaker,

"Jenny I need that number, I need to make you mi-ine".

It's ghostly presence still sending out its 80s bad-hair and leg-warmers signal 30 years later. It made me turn up the collar of my Izod polo.

Hilarious! And it really took us back. Here is a little lore from WikiPedia...

"There was no Jenny," songwriter Alex Call told a Tampa, Florida, columnist in June 2009. "The number? It came to me out of the ether." However, on March 28, 2008, Tommy Tutone lead singer Tommy Heath stated on the WGN Morning News that the number was real and it was the number of a girl he knew. As a joke, he wrote it on a bathroom wall in a motel where they were staying. "We laughed about it for years," he said.

In 2004, Weehawken, New Jersey resident Spencer Potter picked up the number for free after discovering to his surprise that it was available in the 201 area code, hoping it would improve his DJ business. Unable to handle the overwhelming volume of calls, he sought to sell the number on eBay in February 2009. Although bids reached $1 million, his inability to confirm the identity of the bidders led him to sell it privately to Retro Fitness, a gym franchise with a location in Secaucus, New Jersey that felt the 80's origin of the number tied in perfectly with their business's retro theme.

en.wikipedia.org...

And there are many anecdotes on the web which I will add as we go, if you wish.

So I called all local area codes for 867-5309. All but 213 have full mailboxes. I do not believe we will be bothering anyone so...

If you are inclined to do so and think this is amusing, give it a whack, and let us know which area codes play the song back to you.

Again, in L.A., CA. it is 213-867-5309.

Jenny, we need that number.

Have fun.

X.

More Links:

www.snopes.com...

danstheman.com...

I'm not intrigued by the number. I just think it's a hell of a song. Really really good song - musically speaking. I always loved it.

reply to post by Xoanon

SF Bay Area. When this came out we "heard" it was someone in the South Bay area . The city of Saratoga prefix is 867. Area code (408). No answer...

Hi ATS,

I don't think anyone is really following this but,

The subject came up today amongst family and we got to laughing.

The Tommy Tutone song really has made the phone number 867-5309 useless across the nation. I think that's pretty funny...

And if you live in Detroit you can still hear the song at 303-867-5309.

I just find this to be funny as hell. I guess it's an age thing.

X.

I know that song! Good song, one of my favorite oldies. Now i know about another song thats been stuck in my head, I used to hear it a long when i was going up, along with alot of other older songs. When i heard this song a few weeks ago, i was surprised to hear it on the radio! The thing is I didnt hear the name of the band or song.

I am sorry to report that neither Boston, Detroit (Rock, City? Yeah right.) nor Cleveland (for god's sake) have this number up. And they are supposed to be three of America's biggest rock and roll towns. I am not sure what to think of that. Sorry to report in the negative.

X.