Tommy Tutone
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Tommy Tutone is a rock band from San Francisco, California, best known for its 1982 hit "867-5309/Jenny", which peaked at #4 on the Billboard pop charts. The song became so popular that people in the United States to this day dial this telephone number and ask for "Jenny" as a prank. Regarding the famous number, "We had people threatening to sue us. It was the Chief of Police in Buffalo's daughter's number in New York," said Tommy Heath. Although they are frequently remembered as a "one-hit wonder", they actually had another top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Angel Say No" in 1980, predating "Jenny" by a couple of years.
A common misconception is that Tommy Tutone is the name of the lead singer; it is the name of the band. The lead singer's name is Tommy Heath. The name of the band developed from the original name "Tommy and the Tu-tones" to merely Tommy Tutone.
Tommy Heath and Jim Keller founded the band in the late 1970s , with Heath acting as the lead vocalist, also playing keyboards; Keller playing lead guitar and supporting vocals. Bassist Jon Lyons who replaced original bassist Terry Nails (Steve Jones, Ozzy Osbourne) was later replaced by Greg Sutton. Original drummer Mickey Shine (Clover and drummer on 1st Elvis Costello album) was replaced byVictor Carberry who in turn was replaced with Jerry Angel. Steve LeGassick Who was involved on and off with the band from the beginning joined later as permanent member, playing keyboards and synthesizer.
Tommy Heath is now a computer analyst and resides in Portland, Oregon.
In 2007, the band signed a recording deal with Spectra Records.
[edit] Chart positions
Year | Single | Chart | Peak |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | "Angel Say No" | Pop Singles | 38 |
1982 | "867-5309/Jenny" | Mainstream Rock | 1 |
1982 | "867-5309/Jenny" | Pop Singles | 4 |
Year | Album | Chart | Peak |
---|---|---|---|
1980 | Tommy Tutone | Pop Albums | 68 |
1982 | Tommy Tutone-2 | Pop Albums | 20 |
1983 | National Emotion | Pop Albums | 179 |