Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny (Official Video)
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN links it to explain the cultural reference when 867-5309 shows up as a stand-in phone number.
What it is
The official music video for Tommy Tutone's 1981 hit 867-5309/Jenny. The chorus is built around a phone number.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2017 to 2022.
What Hacker News said
Cites kbenson · 2019-01 · on “Criminals Are Tapping into the Phone Network Backbone to Empty Bank Accounts”
Because it's likely one of the most memorable numbers in history at this point, as it's been immortalized by pop music.[1] 1: [this video] see 50 seconds in or so for the chorus...
Cites adrianmonk · 2020-07 · on “Rite Aid deployed facial recognition systems in hundreds of U.S. stores”
It's from the chorus of a song ("867-5309/Jenny" by Tommy Tutone): [this video] On a side note, the phone system has a reserved number range (555-XXXX) for fictitious numbers for TV/movies/etc. to use. This song didn't use that but instead used a real number. When the song came out in 1981, people who had this number got so many phone calls they had to change their number. I'm not sure, but phone companies may have retired the number because it has become impractical to use. See: [LINK]
Cites elgenie · 2022-11 · on “FTC restores rigorous enforcement of law banning unfair methods of competition”
For anyone not getting the cultural reference, it's due to a 40 year old pop song that used that phone number (as one belonging to a Jenny to be called "for a good time"). [this video] In the overwhelming majority of US television and movies, onscreen phone numbers are of the form 555-xxxx to prevent clashes with those telecoms actually hand out. However, numbers of the form 867-xxxx are perfectly valid; and when Brown University made the mistake of handing out 867-5309 to an unfortunate dorm room around 1999 or so, those people were deluged with phone calls asking for Jenny.