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| They are both Tommy Tutone. |
The Hit
“I saw her about five years ago and asked her if she wanted anybody to know who she was and she said no.”
First, yes, there was a real Jenny. Also, Tommy Heath (wait for it) told classicbands.com that 867-5309 was her parents phone number, which makes you worry a little. I remember hearing rumors about what happens when you dial 867-5309 (also, is it stuck in your head yet?) back in early ‘80s suburban Ohio – some trafficking in the ridiculous shit pre-teen boys make up when they try to sound worldly before they’ve seen much of it – but calling a random number from a song also sounded like something people would do (and then we got the internet and now we get that shit on loop.)
The rumors were true: people really did call the phone number Tommy Tutone made famous – and in nearly every area code, apparently – and at least one person who interviewed him repaid the favor:
“It caused a lot of trouble, which I learned about because people who were mad at me put my phone number in their article about me. I had to change it. I’m sorry folks, we were just messing around.”
Tommy Tutone’s “Jenny/867-5309” has a wide enough grip on a certain period of pop culture that if you fed 100 random strangers the number “867,” I’m guessing most could come back with “5309” - though some might refuse to along because you just got the damn song stuck in their head.
50% song, 50% punchline. I remember mocking Heath’s vocals at the time – sounded like he gargles milk before picking up the mic (says the long-time Elvis Costello fan) – but it’s not a terrible song. I comes from a fairly specific, short-lived sub-genre of 80s rock – post-dad-rock (e.g., Foreigner), but with new-wave tones/production on the guitar and about one-third to one-half the tempo of punk – and I don’t hate that sound...maybe it’s the way the hook takes over until it’s all you hear that makes it what Heath acknowledges it to be:
“I don't know about people who never heard of me. Maybe people that didn't take it too seriously. It's a novelty song basically.”
The rumors were true: people really did call the phone number Tommy Tutone made famous – and in nearly every area code, apparently – and at least one person who interviewed him repaid the favor:
“It caused a lot of trouble, which I learned about because people who were mad at me put my phone number in their article about me. I had to change it. I’m sorry folks, we were just messing around.”
Tommy Tutone’s “Jenny/867-5309” has a wide enough grip on a certain period of pop culture that if you fed 100 random strangers the number “867,” I’m guessing most could come back with “5309” - though some might refuse to along because you just got the damn song stuck in their head.
50% song, 50% punchline. I remember mocking Heath’s vocals at the time – sounded like he gargles milk before picking up the mic (says the long-time Elvis Costello fan) – but it’s not a terrible song. I comes from a fairly specific, short-lived sub-genre of 80s rock – post-dad-rock (e.g., Foreigner), but with new-wave tones/production on the guitar and about one-third to one-half the tempo of punk – and I don’t hate that sound...maybe it’s the way the hook takes over until it’s all you hear that makes it what Heath acknowledges it to be:
“I don't know about people who never heard of me. Maybe people that didn't take it too seriously. It's a novelty song basically.”
