Tommy Tutone Was A One-Hit Wonder That Destroyed Telecommunications
In the early 1980s, Tommy Tutone and Columbia Records unleashed “867-5309/Jenny,” a power pop hit that sparked a telecommunications meltdown and a nationwide harassment epidemic. What began as a fabricated story about a bathroom wall number turned into a disaster when millions of teenagers dialed the digits, tormenting innocent families from Alabama to Ohio. We explore how Jim Keller and Alex Call wrote the track, the label’s marketing lies about a real girl named Jenny, and the absurd legal battles over the cursed phone number that followed the band for decades. From plumbing trademark wars to eBay auctions, discover the true cost of this manufactured prank. Please like and subscribe for more stories where rock history collides with reality.
The Most Expensive Joke In Rock History,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx-QOfdgEYA
The Fake Indie Band That Conned the 90s,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh1g61kLJ3U
The 1 Song That Trapped Her Forever,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZhhrmUd5Xk
The 3 Days That Made The Industry Hate Her,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk6ybC4SDh0
He Fired 3 Bands. Then Lost Everything.,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91cebEh9cqo
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@JERDONCLAR
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Collateral damage
@peppermintspacecapsule9898
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I guess this wasn't a hit in the UK. I don't think I've ever heard it before! 😅
@Jonny-Law
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I called 5 area codes and they're all disconnected. Oh….i tried.
@jeffreydarnell366
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
In Tommy's defense…… 555 – 5309 just doesn't sound right.
@sentforth5
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Yorktown, Virginia too…well, Tabb, Virginia anyways…some old guy would pick up the phone and kinda laugh along with us. That probably changed after the 1st hundred calls 😅
@timog2202
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
What if I told you that you rock brother!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘
@BillyRoss-dv6dk
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Tommy Tutone was a fraud. He had nothing to do with the Ska or Two Tone scene. Nothing.
@jasoncampbell3955
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I guess I was never surprised that Tommy Tutone were one-hit wonders… They just always came across as a garage band with guys who had legitimate day jobs.
@MarcPlaysDrumsOfficial
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I remember this song. Great song. I never actually thought to call that number, though.
@annemarieheller8771
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Great video, as always!
@andrewmartinez8117
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I dialed this number a few years ago where I live and it was an advertising company but an answering machine picks up with " hi this is Jenny "
@FranktheHorse-e9l
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
You gotta dial it. 😀
@aaroncostello8812
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
This is a local number in my city in Washington State. 😂
@StoutStoat
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Whenever a store wants a phone number for membership benefits or whatever, like Walgreens, I just use this number.
@angelotro
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
It was the go-to number to type in at stores that want you to type in your number. It was in the system, and you got a discount🤓
@BassingtonFfrench-0
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Squirrel powdered 4 track 🐿♻️
@Baltimore813
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
My HS gym teacher was in a band called Bracket that did a punk rock cover of this song. Was on Fat Wreck Chords comp that I had in middle school
@watchfulone9717
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I got to see the band perform. Good song
@pamusso1466
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
This song sucked butt. (a 555 area code would've solved the problem).
@RuthlessMojo
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
BELIEVE THE HYPE! Seriously one of the hardest working YouTube creators covering 70’s to 2000’s music. This has become my daily music fix. Can’t get enough of it.
@souflikar6702
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Lol…millions of people with questionable intelligence! Man, isn’t that spot on!
@eboticus3421
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I live in north alabama where 867 numbers are still used. Its so dead here thats one of our claims to fame. That and the peanut hall of fame or something hell i dont know
@hsatin20
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
That's great
@davegeorge7094
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I remember phone numbers easy now
@Joseph-o7k
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
People are stealing your opening phrase….one guy is a regular Beatle poster, suddenly he's opening with…what if I told you….BASTARDS!
@0therun1t21
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I couldn't go anywhere without hearing that most mediocre song of all time and it worked my last nerve, especially the damn Muzak version, all beating that meaningless number into our heads. It's gotta be a psyop or a Manchurian candidate code or some sh1t.
…Did you just say COMPUTER PROGRAMMER? Duuuuuude…Ok man everything is fine.
@alisterfolson
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Me and my friend called it back then; it went to a message and a radio station in Chicago.
@8101nevermind
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Damn that song was an ear worm not a bad one ,but catchy one 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
@veepee1656
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
you rock, I love this channel!
@AmericaTheEnslaved
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
867five3o9
@Mo_Ketchups
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I hadn’t even exorcised “606-0842” by the B-52’s from my coconut as a kid when I got domed by this phone song (the former was the B-side of “Rock Lobster”). I was forgettin my OWN number. 🥸😵💫
Love these. Just effin love em. 🤷♂️🤘🤘
@TheNinjaPicker
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Back in the day if you had a 800 number and someone called it and it connected you were charged a nickel or quarter. That would get expensive quick!
@Sasquatch_by_Day
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
There used to be a company in Canada called K-Tel Records that made compilation albums, I had a bunch of them as a kid in the 1980's. In 1982 they released one called "Hit Express", the second song on side 1 was "867-5309/Jenny". It had 16 songs in total, in addition to "867-5309" there was: Aldo Nova "Fantasy", Journey "Don't Stop Believin'", Loverboy "Working for the Weekend" and 12 other big hits. They were awesome albums.
@matthewb8229
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
My 17yo knows the number. He was rather disappointed some dude answered. That's not true (just call me Tommy Two Tone), but he does know the number.
@SELIMNIVEK
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Someone is going on google, to find this number and call someone!!
@KingArlo1975
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Thanks right on time for my Saturday night smoke session 🤙
@killrmillr
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
You know what other girl never existed? The girl in the flatbed Ford in Winslow Arizona. It was actually a girl in a Toyota at Der Wienerschnitzel in Flagstaff that Jackson Browne saw. Glenn Frey changed it. Can't blame him. Who would want to sing a song with "Der Wienerschnitzel" in it for the next 50 years.
@grandpa_the_nerd
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Damn you Tommy Tutone!!
@ChiaotzuSenbonzakura
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
I had that number when I lived in California we had to get it changed. At the time in California if you had to change your number without a court order you had to pay $100. We were lucky that we didn't have to pay that fee because of that stupid ass song
@jimmynotch
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
We use this phone number at the grocer store whenever they ask for the "club rewards card", or at the gas pumps, or when you gotta sign up for whatever marketing crap to get the free widget , etc. About 30% of the time there's an instant discount involved, which is always awsome.
@ozbrown007
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
What if i told you this is my favourite channel?
@RR-ux1ti
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Someone should buy all of the numbers and then when you call them this song plays. No Rick Roll…… Jenny Revenge
@steved2656
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
This number is a Popeye’s Chicken in my area code. Lol
@ElectricBoogalooPt2
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
Poor Jenny was getting stalked back when you could reasonably agonize over people and not go on a registry. Although I will admit this probably went a little hard in the paint.
@DEVOn.A.Skertic
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
❤️🩹📞💃
@bubbadagger
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
It was a real number here in Nova Scotia too
@BrickCarnston
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
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@eddiee8478
June 21, 2026 at 12:14 pm
What if I told you……..for a good time!. Call!