Finally, A Use for the Phone Number Everyone Knows

Those of us who grew up on pop music radio know it by heart: 867-5309.

Officially, the song is titled 867-5309/Jenny. It came out in 1981 and reached #4 on the Billboard chart. Original fans of the song are now at the age where cancer screenings are part of life. And that’s what makes this idea so brilliant.

Call Anytime From Anywhere

Now, when you call the number from any area code, you’ll reach the global nonprofit, Cancer Support Community. It’s a hotline for anyone affected by the disease and needing someone to talk to.

I remember my mother telling me that she didn’t want to talk about her cancer on the phone. “I’m alone and I don’t want to spiral into depression,” she said. When I was with her, she would discuss it. But what if she had had someone knowledgeable to call? Someone whom she didn’t feel like she was burdening. I think she might have used this service.

Gilda’s Place is also involved. That’s the charity founded in honour of the amazing Gilda Radner who died from ovarian cancer in 1989,

This endeavor has the support of Tommy Heath, the vocalist whose voice we hear singing that legendary number. Now, 45 years after the song was a hit, Heath even has a minor case of skin cancer. And he tells People Magazine that the hotline is proving helpful for callers.

Memories, Like the Corners of My Something-Or-Other

Why I can remember song lyrics like it was yesterday but can’t remember what I made for dinner…yesterday? Some of us will never forget them, even if we try. I’ve been known to burst into a Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds tune out of nowhere. They were only on the air in the early-mid-1970s. And how do I still know all the words to songs I don’t even like, such as Muskrat Love?

The use of this phone number for something so positive should be the start of a trend.

A divorce lawyer could use 505-0505 from Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” Reach a travel agent by calling 555-5500 from the Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” Workers Compensation could change their number to 555-1616. That one goes way back to “16 Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford. A bit of a stretch but, hey, I’m just brainstorming!

Meantime, if you did forget Tommy Tutone’s 867-5309/Jenny, or just want to hear it again, here you go: