867-5309/Jenny

2025-09-08T12:24:21Z

2601:189:8480:8A4A:784B:AEBF:2984:97F9: /* Popularity and litigation */ name the Rhode Island plumber who acquired Brown U's number, as they're already referenced later in this section (2007 lawsuit)

{{short description|1981 single by Tommy Tutone}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox song
| name = 867-5309/Jenny
| cover = Tommy Tutone - 867-5309 Jenny (single cover).jpg
| alt =
| caption = US single label
| type = single
| artist = [[Tommy Tutone]]
| album = [[Tommy Tutone 2]]
| B-side = Not Say Goodbye
| written = 1981
| released = {{Start date|1981|11|16}}
| studio =
| genre = * [[Power pop]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's, Vol. 5 – Various Artists {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/just-cant-get-enough-new-wave-hits-of-the-80s-vol-5-mw0000116387|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=May 29, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Adams|first=Bret|title=Tutone.rtf – Tommy Tutone {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/tutonertf-mw0000041039|access-date=July 8, 2020 |website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 24, 2012|title=World Series Showdown: Music of Detroit vs San Francisco |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/474487/world-series-showdown-music-of-detroit-vs-san-francisco |access-date=July 8, 2020|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref><ref name= "Billboard Pop 500">{{cite magazine|first1=Rania|last1=Aniftos|first2=Katie|last2=Atkinson|first3=Katie|last3=Bain|first4=Eric|last4=Renner Brown|first5=Anna|last5=Chan|first6=Ed|last6=Christman|first7=Hannah|last7=Dailey|first8=Stephen|last8=Daw|first9=Kyle|last9=Denis|first10=Frank|last10=DiGiacomo|first11=Thom|last11=Duffy|first12=Chris|last12=Eggertsen|first13=Ingrid|last13=Fajardo|first14=Griselda|last14=Flores|first15=Josh|last15=Glicksman|first16=Quincy|last16=Green|first17=Paul|last17=Grein|first18=Lyndsey|last18=Havens|first19=Rylee|last19=Johnston|first20=Becky|last20=Kaminsky|first21=Gil|last21=Kaufman|first22=Carl|last22=Lamarre|first23=Elias|last23=Leight|first24=Jason|last24=Lipshutz|first25=Joe|last25=Lynch|first26=Meghan|last26=Mahar|first27=Elizabeth|last27=Dilts Marshall|first28=Rebecca|last28=Milzoff|first29=Taylor|last29=Mims|first30=Gail|last30=Mitchell|first31=Melinda|last31=Newman|first32=Jessica|last32=Nicholson|first33=Danielle|last33=Pascual|first34=Glenn|last34=Peoples|first35=Isabela|last35=Raygoza|first36=Kristin|last36=Robinson|first37=Dan|last37=Rys|first38=Marc|last38=Schneider|first39=Andrew|last39=Unterberger|first40=Christine|last40=Werthman|display-authors=5|title= The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List|magazine= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url= https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-pop-songs-all-time-hits/|date= October 19, 2023|accessdate= February 10, 2024|quote= The power-pop gem that turned seven digits’ worth of bathroom graffiti into the catchiest (and most-pranked) phone number of the 1980s. }}</ref>
* [[New wave music|new wave]]<ref name="Weisbard & Marks 1995">{{cite book|editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor1-link=Eric Weisbard |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |year=1995 |title=[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]|chapter= Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits|publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |location=New York |isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages= 204–206}}</ref>
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=45}}
| label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer = * [[Alex Call (singer)|Alex Call]]
* [[Jim Keller (musician)|Jim Keller]]
| producer = * Jim Keller
* [[Chuck Plotkin]]
* [[Geoff Workman]]
* [[Tommy Tutone]]
| prev_title = [[Angel Say No]]
| prev_year = 1980
| next_title = Get Around Girl
| next_year = 1983
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = 867-5309 Jenny excerpt.ogg
}}
}}
"'''867-5309/Jenny'''" is a song written by [[Clover (band)|Alex Call]] and [[Jim Keller]] and performed by Keller's band [[Tommy Tutone]]. It was released on the album ''[[Tommy Tutone 2]]'' (1981) through [[Columbia Records]]. It peaked at number four on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and number one on the [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Rock Top Tracks]] chart in April 1982. The song led to a [[fad]] of people prank calling unsuspecting victims by dialing 867-5309 and asking for "Jenny".<ref>{{cite web|date=November 10, 2000|title=Did the Song 'Jenny' Produce a Flood of Calls to 867-5309?|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/867-5309-jenny/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912044357/http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/8675309.asp|archive-date=September 12, 2012|access-date=August 20, 2014|publisher=[[Urban Legends Reference Pages]]}}</ref><ref name=HudsonReporter>{{cite news |last= LaMarca |first= Stephen |url= http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/14791420/article-867-5309-won%E2%80%99t-lead-to-Jenny-After-30-years--famous-phone-number-still-generates-calls--profit- |title= Jenny 867-5309 Won't Lead to Jenny |work= [[The Hudson Reporter]] |date= July 24, 2011 |page= 3 |access-date= January 22, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140203212103/http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/14791420/article-867-5309-won%E2%80%99t-lead-to-Jenny-After-30-years--famous-phone-number-still-generates-calls--profit- |archive-date= February 3, 2014 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Creation==
According to lead guitarist Jim Keller, interviewed by ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' in 1982: "Jenny is a regular girl, not a [[prostitute|hooker]]. Friends of mine wrote her name and number on a [[Public toilet|men's room]] wall at a bar. I called her on a dare, and we dated for a while. I haven't talked with her since the song became a hit, but I hear she thinks I'm a real jerk for writing it."<ref name="people1982">{{cite magazine|last=Bricker|first=Rebecca|date=May 31, 1982|title=Tommy Tutone's Got Your Number—if It's 867-5309—as America Dials Up a Musical Party Line|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20082266,00.html| url-status=dead| magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |volume=17| issue=21 |pages= 34–38| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090604142927/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20082266,00.html|archive-date=June 4, 2009|access-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref>

The band's lead singer [[Tommy Heath]] had a different version of the song's origin, but also with a real girl and number. He claims the number belonged to a girl he knew, and that he wrote it on a bathroom wall in a [[motel]] where they were staying, as a joke. "We laughed about it for years," he said.<ref>{{cite news |first= Tommy |last= Tutone |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aeBlPysd1E |title= Tommy Tutone '867-5309/Jenny' Live |work= [[WGN Morning News]] |location= Chicago |publisher= [[WGN-TV]] |via=YouTube |date=March 28, 2008 |access-date=September 1, 2011}}</ref>

However, co-writer [[Alex Call (singer)|Alex Call]] explained his version of the song's origins in a June 2004 interview with ''Songfacts'':
{{quote|Despite all the mythology to the contrary, I actually just came up with the 'Jenny,' and the telephone number and the music and all that just sitting in my backyard. There was no Jenny. I don't know where the number came from, I was just trying to write a 4-chord Rock song and it just kind of came out. This was back in 1981 when I wrote it, and I had at the time a little squirrel-powered 4-track in this industrial yard in California, and I went up there and made a tape of it. I had the guitar lick, I had the name and number, but I didn't know what the song was about. This buddy of mine, [[Jim Keller]], who's the co-writer, was the lead guitar player in Tommy Tutone. He stopped by that afternoon and he said, 'Al, it's a girl's number on a bathroom wall,' and we had a good laugh. I said, 'That's exactly right, that's exactly what it is.'

Tommy Tutone's been using the story for years that there was a Jenny and she ran a recording studio and so forth. It makes a better story but it's not true. That sounds a lot better than I made it up under a plum tree in my backyard.

I had the thing recorded. I had the name and number, and they were in the same spots, 'Jenny... 867-5309.' I had all that going, but I had a blind spot in the creative process, I didn't realize it would be a girl's number on a bathroom wall. When Jim showed up, we wrote the verses in 15 or 20 minutes, they were just obvious. It was just a fun thing, we never thought it would get cut. In fact, even after Tommy Tutone made the record and '867-5309' got on the air, it really didn't have a lot of promotion to begin with, but it was one of those songs that got a lot of requests and stayed on the charts. It was on the charts for 40 weeks.

I've met a few Jennys who've said, "Oh, you're the guy who ruined my high school years." But for the most part, Jennys are happy to have the song.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/alex-call-867-5309/|title=Alex Call (867-5309): Songwriter Interviews |website= Songfacts.com |access-date=January 28, 2018}}</ref>}}

"There was no Jenny," Call also told a [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], [[Florida]], columnist in June 2009. "The number? It came to me out of the ether."<ref>{{cite news |first= John |last= La Porte |url= http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=FMTB&p_theme=fmtb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=12936E532BAD1F30&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title= BOB Stock Back |work= [[Fort Morgan Times]] |via=NewsBank |date=July 3, 2009 |access-date=September 1, 2011}}</ref>

In the [[music video]], the "Jenny" character is played by [[List of Playboy Playmates of 1978#July|Karen Elaine Morton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.noblemania.com/2014/07/the-girl-in-video-867-5309jenny-1981.html|title=The Girl in the Video: "867-5309/Jenny" (1981) |publisher= Noblemania| website= noblemania.com}}</ref>

==Popularity and litigation==
The song, released in late 1981, initially gained popularity on the American West Coast in January 1982; many who had the number soon abandoned it because of unwanted calls.

{{quote|When we'd first get calls at 2 or 3 in the morning, my husband would answer the phone. He can't hear too well. They'd ask for Jenny, and he'd say "Jimmy doesn't live here any more." ... Tommy Tutone was the one who had the record. I'd like to get hold of his neck and choke him.|Lorene Burns, an Alabama householder formerly at +1-205-867-5309; she changed her number in 1982.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PaVOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6320,11943 |title= 867-5309 Is not Jenny |work= Lakeland Ledger |page= 2A |date= May 16, 1982}}</ref>}}

Asking telephone companies to trace the calls was of no use, as Charles and Maurine Shambarger (then in West Akron, Ohio, at +1-216-867-5309) learned when Ohio Bell explained: "We don’t know what to make of this. The calls are coming from all over the place." A little over a month later, they disconnected the number and the phone became silent.<ref>{{cite news|last=Price|first=Mark J.|date=April 29, 2012|title=Local History: There Is No Jenny at 867-5309|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|url=https://www.beaconjournal.com/article/20120430/LIFESTYLE/304309455|url-status=live|access-date=December 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410131411/https://www.ohio.com/article/20120430/LIFESTYLE/304309455|archive-date=April 10, 2019}}</ref>

In some cases, the number was picked up by commercial businesses or acquired for use in radio promotions.
* In 1982, [[WLS (AM)|WLS]] radio obtained the number from a [[Chicago]] woman, receiving 22,000 calls in four days.<ref name="people1982"/>
* In 1982, [[Southwest Middle School (Gastonia, North Carolina)|Southwest Junior High School]] received up to two hundred calls daily asking for Jenny in [[area code 704]].<ref name="people1982"/>
* [[Brown University]] obtained the +1-401-867 prefix in 1999, assigning 867-5309 to a student dormitory room that was promptly inundated with [[nuisance call]]s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brener|first=Julie|date=September 10, 1999|title=New Phone Exchange Leads to Confusion, Prank Calls|work=[[The Brown Daily Herald]]|location=Brown University|url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/867-5309-jenny/}}</ref> The number was subsequently assigned to the Rhode Island company Gem Plumbing & Heating, which registered it as a trademark in 2005.<ref>{{cite news|last=Boniface|first=Dan|date=May 19, 2007|title=Plumbers fight for famous phone number: 867-5309|work=9News|url=https://www.9news.com/article/news/weird/plumbers-fight-for-famous-phone-number-867-5309/73-343849209}}</ref>
* A February 2004 auction for the number in a [[New York City]] code was shut down by [[eBay]] after objections from [[Verizon]]; bidding had reached $80,000.<ref>{{cite news|last=Thanh Dang|first=Dan|date=March 9, 2004|title=1-800-Catchy-Number- Makes-a-Lot-of-Money|work=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2004-03-09-0403090052-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=May 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608095742/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-03-09/news/0403090052_1_number-portability-wireless-number-toll-free-numbers|archive-date=June 8, 2013}}</ref> The US [[Federal Communications Commission]] takes the position that most phone numbers are "public resources" that "are not owned by carriers or their customers" but did not rule out the number being sold as part of a business.<ref>{{cite news|last=Yardley|first=William|date=February 19, 2004|title=Hey, Jenny, Your Number Was on Wall, And on eBay|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/19/nyregion/hey-jenny-your-number-was-on-wall-and-on-ebay.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207075644/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/19/nyregion/hey-jenny-your-number-was-on-wall-and-on-ebay.html|archive-date=December 7, 2019}}</ref>
* A subsequent February 2004 auction for the number in [[area code 800]] and [[area code 888|888]] listed Jeffrey Steinberg's Philadelphia business JSS Marketing for sale, including both numbers as part of the bundle. This circumvents eBay restrictions, which prevent selling the numbers on their own.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y04/m02/i20/s03 |title=Jenny Is Now Toll-Free: Seller Puts 800-867-5309 on eBay |publisher= Ecommercebytes |date= February 20, 2004 |access-date= May 28, 2013}}</ref>
* 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 [[Area codes 201 and 551|201 area code]], hoping it would improve his [[disc jockey|DJ]] business.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Applebome|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Applebome|date=January 31, 2009|title=Jenny, Don't Change Your Number; You Might Want to Sell It on eBay|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/nyregion/01towns.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=August 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422223429/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/nyregion/01towns.html|archive-date=April 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=February 2, 2009|title=Man selling 867-5309 number on eBay|work=[[United Press International]]|url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2009/02/02/Man-selling-867-5309-number-on-eBay/64701233592708/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722034116/http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2009/02/02/Man-selling-867-5309-number-on-eBay/64701233592708/|archive-date=July 22, 2015}}</ref> Unable to handle the overwhelming volume of calls, he sought to sell the number on eBay in February 2009.<ref name="CNN eBay">{{cite news|last=Duke|first=Alan|date=February 2, 2009|title='867-5309' number for sale on eBay|publisher=[[CNN]]|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/02/ebay.jennys.number/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203075353/http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/02/ebay.jennys.number/|archive-date=February 3, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Michaels|first=Sean|date=February 4, 2009|title=Phone number behind Tommy Tutone hit 867-5309 (Jenny) listed on eBay|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/04/tommy-tutone-phone-number-ebay|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128152828/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/feb/04/tommy-tutone-phone-number-ebay|archive-date=January 28, 2021}}</ref> 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 1980s origin of the number tied in with their business's retro theme.<ref name=HudsonReporter/>
* In 2006, Benjamin Franklin Franchising, a large national plumbing [[franchising|franchise]], began using a [[Toll-free telephone number|toll-free]] version of the number (+1-866-867-5309), which it advertised as "867-5309/Benny".<ref>{{cite news|last=McDonald|first=Mac|date=October 22, 2013|title=Tommy Tutone Headlines the First Rock and Chocolate Fest|work=[[The Monterey County Herald]]|department=Go Magazine|url=http://www.montereyherald.com/gomagazine/ci_24365426/tommy-tutone-headlines-first-rock-and-chocolate-fest|url-status=dead|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226215608/http://www.montereyherald.com/gomagazine/ci_24365426/tommy-tutone-headlines-first-rock-and-chocolate-fest|archive-date=February 26, 2014}}</ref> In 2007, Gem Plumbing & Heating brought suit against Clockwork Home Services, the parent company of Benjamin Franklin Franchising, alleging a violation of its trademark.<ref>{{cite news|date=May 19, 2007|title=Rival plumbers fight over 'Jenny's' digits|work=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.today.com/id/wbna18756150|url-status=live|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916095704/http://www.today.com/id/18756150|archive-date=September 16, 2020}}</ref> Clockwork contended that Gem's trademark was invalid. Effective in May 2007, Clockwork was ordered by a court to stop using the number in [[New England]].<ref>{{cite news|date=May 20, 2007|title=Plumbers Fight for 'Jenny' Number|work=[[USA Today]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-05-19-phone-number-fight_N.htm|url-status=live|access-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204084814/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-05-19-phone-number-fight_N.htm|archive-date=February 4, 2019}}</ref> According to Tommy Heath, lead singer of Tommy Tutone: "It's ridiculous. If I wanted to get into it, I could probably take the number away from both of them."<ref>{{cite news|date=May 19, 2007|title=2 Plumbing Companies Battle for Rights to 867-5309 Telephone Number|publisher=[[Fox News]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/2-plumbing-companies-battle-for-rights-to-867-5309-telephone-number|url-status=live|access-date=October 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029232726/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/05/19/2-plumbing-companies-battle-for-rights-to-867-530-telephone-number/|archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>
* In 2009, nutrition firm Natrient LLC leased +1-800-867-5309 from 5309 Partners Ltd for $25 million as part of a radio ad campaign.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Negus |first= Beth |url= http://chiefmarketer.com/telemarketing/nutrition-firm-leases-800-867-5309-jenny-probably-not-included |title= Nutrition Firm Leases 800-867-5309: Jenny Probably Not Included |journal= Chief Marketer |date= March 17, 2009 |access-date=December 27, 2012}}</ref>
* In July 2009, Jason Kaplan had +1-267-867-5309 assigned to a [[Vonage]] phone line in the name of a small business<ref>{{cite news|last=Klein|first=Michael|date=August 4, 2009|title=Ringing up 867-5309|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/Ringing_up_267-867-5309.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919175010/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/Ringing_up_267-867-5309.html|archive-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref> and then listed the entire business for sale on [[eBay]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Collington|first=Theresa|date=July 28, 2009|title=867-5309 For Sale|publisher=[[WTSP-TV]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=110425|url-status=dead|access-date=January 28, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217025025/http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=110425|archive-date=February 17, 2013}}</ref> The auction closed at $5,500.<ref name="CNN eBay"/><ref>{{cite news|last=Duke|first=Alan|date=February 3, 2009|title='867-5309' Bids up to $365,000|publisher=[[CNN]]|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/03/ebay.jennys.number/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206090841/http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/03/ebay.jennys.number/|archive-date=February 6, 2012}}</ref>
* In January 2013, Five309 LLC announced plans to use 855-867-5309 and 888-867-5309 to promote the website JennySearch.com.<ref>{{cite news|last=McKay|first=John|date=January 29, 2013|title=Tommy Tutone's One-Hit Wonder '867-5309′ Now Really Is for a Good Time!|publisher=[[KFLD]]|url=https://newstalk870.am/tommy-tutones-867-5309-now-really-is-for-a-good-time/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919200518/https://newstalk870.am/tommy-tutones-867-5309-now-really-is-for-a-good-time/|archive-date=September 19, 2020}}</ref>
* In 2013, Florida realtor Carrie Routt was still receiving fifty [[prank call]]s daily at +1-850-867-5309.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hijek|first=Barbara|date=November 19, 2013|title=Woman OK with crank calls to her rockin' phone number 867-5309|work=[[Sun-Sentinel]]|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2013-11-19-sfl-flduh-jenny-8675309-20131118-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227092014/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-11-19/news/sfl-flduh-jenny-8675309-20131118_1_crank-calls-tommy-tutone-867-5309|archive-date=February 27, 2014}}</ref>
* A [[Fort Collins, Colorado]], restaurant, Totally 80's Pizza, uses +1-970-867-5309 as part of its 1980s theme.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Udell|first=Erin|date=August 17, 2018|title=Totally 80's Pizza changed its number to 867-5309 in epic 80s homage|work=[[Fort Collins Coloradoan]]|url=https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2018/08/17/totally-80-s-changed-its-number-867-5309/1009734002/|url-status=live|access-date=August 23, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210511190120/https://www.coloradoan.com/story/life/2018/08/17/totally-80-s-changed-its-number-867-5309/1009734002/|archive-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref>

===Springsteen controversy===
Singer-songwriter [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s 2007 single "[[Radio Nowhere]]" features a set of guitar riffs at the beginning that many fans considered particularly similar to "867-5309/Jenny", although the lyrics and the tone of the two songs are quite different. Regarding legal action, Heath said, "I think it's close enough that if I wanted to, I could work with it... I don't really get into that sort of thing, but the kids do need braces, so maybe I will."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Caro|first=Mark|date=September 2, 2007|title=Name that Tutone tune|website=[[Chicago Tribune]]|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-09-02-0708310375-story.html|url-status=live|url-access=limited|access-date=December 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229001130/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-09-02-0708310375-story.html|archive-date=December 29, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Dansby|first=Andrew|date=August 13, 2019|title=Tommy Tutone dials up roots rock to accompany '867-5309'|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/Tommy-Tutone-dials-up-roots-rock-to-accompany-14298262.php|url-status=live|access-date=May 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813072200/https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/Tommy-Tutone-dials-up-roots-rock-to-accompany-14298262.php|archive-date=August 13, 2019|quote=Springsteen came damn close to cribbing the guitar riff from “867-5309” for his “Radio Nowhere” a few years back. The rudiments of their music overlap more than some would admit.}}</ref> He later clarified that he had no interest in suing and felt "really honored at a similarity, if any".<ref>{{cite web|title=Sue Me, Sue You: Musical 'Plagiarism' in Court |first=Carl F. |last=Horowitz |url=http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=2229 |access-date=November 23, 2008 |publisher=[[National Legal and Policy Center]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524041323/http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=2229 |archive-date=May 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref>

== Charts ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1982)
!Peak<br>position
|-
| Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|title=[[Kent Music Report|Australian Chart Book 1970–1992]]|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W |year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 22
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|2|chartid=6491|access-date=March 5, 2023}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|32|artist=Tommy Tutone|song=867-5309/Jenny|access-date=July 2, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|4|artist=Tommy Tutone|access-date=July 2, 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboardmainstreamrock|1|artist=Tommy Tutone|access-date=July 2, 2017}}
|-
|US [[Cashbox (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Top 100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19820522.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921091046/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19820522.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending May 22, 1982 |work=Cash Box Magazine |date=May 22, 1982 |archive-date=September 21, 2012 |access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref>
|align="center"|5
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart (1982)
!Rank
|-
|Canada Top Singles (''RPM'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Top 100 Singles of 1982 |magazine= [[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume= 37 |issue= 19 |date= December 25, 1982 |url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6167&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6167.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6167 |access-date= July 14, 2018}}</ref>
|align="center"|20
|-
|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1982.htm |title=Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982 |website=Music Outfitters |access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|16
|-
|US ''Cash Box'' Top 100<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1982YESP.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921090617/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/1982YESP.html |website=Cash Box |title=Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles |date=December 31, 1982 |archive-date=September 21, 2012 |access-date=July 14, 2018}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|38
|}
{{col-end}}

== See also ==
* {{section link|Denial-of-service attack|Telephony denial-of-service}}
* [[Fictitious telephone number]]
* [[List of Billboard Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s|List of ''Billboard'' Mainstream Rock number-one songs of the 1980s]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Allmusic|class=song|id=t1688172|title="867-5309/Jenny"}}
* [https://telephoneworld.org/landline-telephone-history/867-5309-jenny-in-all-us-and-canadian-area-codes/ 867-5309 in all US and Canadian Area Codes] (Telephone World)

{{Tommy Tutone}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:867-5309 Jenny}}
[[Category:1981 songs]]
[[Category:1981 singles]]
[[Category:1982 singles]]
[[Category:Columbia Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs about telephone calls]]
[[Category:Songs used as jingles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Alex Call]]
[[Category:Telephone numbers in the United States]]
[[Category:Tommy Tutone songs]]

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