They say imitation is the best form of flattery... After finding
Grievous Angels Chain, Chain, Chain cache this song came on the
radio, and the chorus managed to get stuck in my head the rest of
the day. In GA style I pay homage to the early 80's.
It is often said that the phone number 867-5309 was that of an
apartment building in State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn
State University. The number is said to have belonged to a girl
living in downtown State College in either the Beaver Hill or
Cedarbrook apartment buildings. Allegedly, this female had
connections (although not clear what kind of connections) to the
band, which is why her phone number was used
The lyrics imply that 867-5309 was the real phone number of a
girl named Jenny, which was acquired from a men's room wall under
the legend, "For a good time, call...". The song caused a fad of
people dialing 867-5309 (which was then a valid phone number in
dozens of area codes) and asking for "Jenny".
Throughout the song, Tommy Tutone sings about the mysterious
Jenny and how happy she makes him. It is more or less implied that
the men's room graffiti featuring her name and number mentioned
that she was an "easy girl," and that this is the reason for the
singer's interest. However in the music video, Jenny gives the
singer her phone number along with her name.
When the song became a hit, listeners began dialing 867-5309 in
high volume, with diverse effects on the people who actually had
that number: * Subscribers with same or similar numbers in other
area codes also ordered them disconnected after receiving many
calls. * Some radio stations at the time were applying to obtain
lines with +1-areacode-867-5309 numbers for promotional purposes
(some, such as WLS in Chicago, actually succeeded).* Phones in
dormitories at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island begin
with 867, and students with 867-5309 for a time had to deal with
prank calls. The number was later acquired by a local business (see
below). * A more recent attempt to auction the number
+1-212-867-5309 on eBay received bids in the $200,000 range before
the auction listing was pulled at the request of Verizon.
Chart (1982) Peak position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4 U.S.
Mainstream Rock Tracks 1 click here to watch
the video Watch at your own risk, it may get stuck in
there.
Be careful of the pokey tree, I nearly lost an eye!
