My Gen X Playlist: Jenny (867-5309) – Tommy Tutone

We met friends for brunch on Saturday. Someone suggested dim sum and we were all over it. I discovered dim sum after college and wondered why I wasn’t introduced to it sooner. I never get tired of it.

We were talking about restaurants over brunch and Tommy’s came up. The Original Tommy’s is an iconic burger place in Los Angeles. Actually, it’s more like a burger hut than anything else. It’s open 24 hours in a not so good part of town. I remember 2 AM burger runs back in the day. The secret is in their chili that they smother on their burgers and dogs. It simmers on the stove 24/7 and we always assumed that if they kept adding to the pot, there must be bits in there older than us. I can’t remember the last time I ate at Tommy’s. At brunch, my friend proclaimed that a Tommy’s burger is her death row last meal. Whoa.

I started thinking about my death row last meal. What would I choose? I love all kinds of food so I thought it might be a tough choice. So I started ticking down my list. Perfectly cooked medium rare steak, miso black cod, seafood pasta, sushi. While I love all of these foods, I thought about the feelings I want to circulate through my mind, body and soul before, during and after the meal. Anticipation, the first bite sensation and the Ahhhhh feeling as you lean back in your chair, maybe causing you to unbutton the top button on your pants so you can breathe. I want all three of these and the foods on my list may only tick off a few. Then I watched this dude eating at Tommy’s. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but my friend might be on to something here and Tommy’s may have crept onto my list. And the dude is right. You’ve got to get the chili cheese fries, too. Add the chili cheese dog? Overkill, but who cares. I’d probably special request my last meal to be at 2 AM because everything tastes better with a side order of nostalgia.

Speaking of nostalgia…

Tommy Tutone released Jenny (867-5309) in 1982. I haven’t heard this song in decades. I remember feeling sorry for those who actually had that number. Can you imagine?

When a phone number is needed for a movie or TV show, they usually use a fake one starting with 555, which doesn’t exist in the real world. The group didn’t want to use a fake number for this because it wouldn’t sound right. It made the song a lot more intriguing, but made life very difficult for people who had that number. Many of them had to change it because they were flooded with prank calls, usually kids asking for “Jenny.”

During the men’s restroom scene in the 1982 “Coach Returns to Action” episode of Cheers, graffiti can be seen on the wall near the door. It says “For a good time call Diane Chambers” and offers the 867-5309 Tommy Tutone phone number.

A lot of women . . . use the name and number as a brush off . . . A guy wakes up with a hangover, he’s been obnoxious to some girl in a bar last night, he opens up a folded piece of paper and it’s ‘Jenny – 867-5309.’ 

Songfacts

I wasn’t in love with this song when it first came out. It took awhile, but it eventually grew on me. Pretty soon I was bobbing my head and singing the 7-digits while driving down the road. Just like a Tommy’s burger gradually became a candidate for my death row last meal, this song gradually went from meh to me liking it. I never bought the CD, though. This was one of those songs that didn’t quite make it over the hump. It was missing that extra something. Too bad you couldn’t spoon a ladle of Tommy’s chili over it. That just might do the trick.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to?
You give me somethin' I can hold on to
I know you think I'm like the others before
Who saw your name and number on the wall

Jenny, I got your number
I need to make you mine
Jenny, don't change your number
867-5309 (867-5309)
867-5309 (867-5309)

Jenny, Jenny, you're the girl for me
Oh, you don't know me, but you make me so happy
I tried to call you before, but I lost my nerve
I tried my imagination, but I was disturbed

Jenny, I got your number
I need to make you mine
Jenny, don't change your number
867-5309 (867-5309)
867-5309 (867-5309)

I got it (I got it), I got it
I got your number on the wall
I got it (I got it), I got it
For a good time, for a good time call

(Hey!)

Jenny, don't change your number
I need to make you mine
Jenny, I called your number
867-5309 (867-5309)
867-5309 (867-5309)

Jenny, Jenny, who can I turn to? (867-5309)
For the price of a dime
I can always turn to you (867-5309)
867-5309 (867-5309)
867-5309 (867-5309)
5309 (867-5309)
5309 (867-5309)
5309 (867-5309)