In the early 1980s, Tommy Tutone’s power-pop smash “867-5309/Jenny” became an inescapable earworm, but its catchy chorus hid a chaotic real-world fallout. Songwriter Alex Call invented the name “Jenny” and the phone number while sitting in his backyard with a cheap four-track recorder; his bandmate Jim Keller added the iconic “for a good time call” line. Columbia Records pushed the track hard, it rocketed up the charts, and millions of listeners began dialing the actual number across area codes. Innocent families and even a school were bombarded with prank calls day and night, forcing them to disconnect service and sparking legal headaches. The band perpetuated a fabricated backstory about a real Jenny for years before the truth came out, turning one innocent song into what the video calls one of the most expensive jokes in rock history.
