Jenny, they've all got your number

As I was looking back on some of my old journalism class assignments, I came across this story. I had written it during the summer of 2007, so any references and facts may not be true anymore. The assignment was to write a story about the Tommy Tutone one-hit wonder "867-5309/Jenny" using a variety of Internet sources, referencing at least two Web sites. We were also given an article from the Detroit Free Press to use as background. This is what I came up with:

Jenny must have changed her number because the seven digits made famous by a 1980s one hit wonder “867-5309/Jenny” now belong to several businesses in different area codes.
The lyrics of the catchy chorus go something like this: “Jenny, don’t change your number, 8-6-7-5-3-0-9.” Anyone who has seen the 2004 Cingular commercial that featured this pop tune knows the nine sounds more like “nigh-ee-i-een.”
The once popular song from the band Tommy Tutone, which reached the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1982, has been the cause of many prank calls over the past 26 years. Some callers ask for Jenny, others play the memorable chorus, and others simply hang up when they hear a man’s voice instead of Jenny’s.
When a reporter from the Detroit Free Press dialed the infamous 867-5309 in the 313 area code, he didn’t find Jenny either. Instead a local business owner of Rock City DJs answered the call.
Kerry Rucks, the business owner from Walled Lake, Mich., had actually requested the phone number from AT&T. Although he does not advertise the phone number, it has helped his disc jockey business, he said.
When asked how callers behave Rucks said, “They’ll call me some expletives, ‘Don’t you know that’s from an ‘80s song?’”
Rucks said he has a good time dealing with the crank calls, but for other businesses this phone number has been the cause of some legal action.
Crank callers in the 401 area code asking for Jenny may be surprised to have reached an operating phone number. The phone number is not assigned in most area codes, and dialers of this number will likely hear a standard message stating, “We’re sorry, the phone number you are trying to reach has been disconnected.”
But in Lincoln, Rhode Island, crank callers find Gem Plumbing & Heating, which trademarked the phone number two years ago. Gem uses the number in the 401 area code in Rhode Island and the 617 area code in southern Massachusetts.
Another company, Florida-based Clockwork Home Services, uses the number in New England as a toll free number. Clockwork Home Services is a national plumbing franchise and a competitor of Gem Plumbing & Heating.
The two companies have gone to court to claim right to the famous number. A federal judge in Boston barred Clockwork Home Services from using the phone number in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The Providence Journal, available online at www.projo.com, also reported Clockwork Home Services owns a license to use the one hit wonder, and the firm claims it did not steal anything from Gem. However, Gem plumbing attributes much of its recent success to the use of the phone number and sought retribution for financial damages from its competitor.
Chief legal officer for Clockwork Robert Beckman told the Providence Journal, “We licensed them from Warner Chapel Music and some other owners, including Tommy Tutone.”
Tommy Heath from the band Tommy Tutone would prefer if neither company used the number.
“It’s ridiculous,” Heath said. “If I wanted to get into it, I could probably take the number away from both of them.”
According to www.snopes.com, a Web site dedicated to clearing up urban legends and rumors, the 867 extension was used at Brown University and the students who had the 867-5309 telephone number had received numerous prank calls and messages left on their answering machine with the “Jenny I got your number” playing in the background.
Jenny’s number may have caused problems for most phone customers with that phone number, but for Rucks and the Gemma brothers, owners of Gem Plumbing & Heating, the prank calls have also come with a boost in business.