This weekend, Tommy Tutone (Tommy Heath), who pounded the phone number 867-5309 into our cultural memory, will be performing along with the ever-popular local band the Pulsators following a Santa Rosa crab feed.

First of all, I should point out that the rockers don’t actually make a habit of playing crab feeds. In fact, Tommy and the Pulsators will be performing at the Great American Music Hall on Feb. 16. He also has a new CD in the works with Spectra Records. So, why a crab feed? It turns out that Tommy is now living in Santa Rosa to be with his fiancé Lisa Scholz. And Lisa was helping put together a fundraiser for the school her kids go to. One thing led to another, and next thing he knew, Tommy was agreeing to play at the benefit. “He is so completely amazing with my kids,” Lisa gushed over the phone.

Lisa was also responsible in bringing Tommy and the Pulsators together. She had seen the band perform several times and loved them. So, when she and Tommy met, she took him to a couple of their shows. Tommy ended up on stage, jamming with the band. Now they’re working on several projects together.

They’ll be playing some new songs at the crab feed. But they also promise to pull out the crowd-pleaser “867-5309 / Jenny.”

That song became a fixture on the radio back in 1982 and spent 27 weeks on the charts. But that’s just half the story. The song is infamous for all the havoc it wreaked with the phone companies and their customers. All those folks who had the number 867-5309 were deluged with prank calls. People magazine later turned the tables on Tommy and printed his phone number in their pages. Snopes.com devotes an entry to the urban legends surrounding Jenny 867-5309. And the song also has its own Wikipedia entry.

Even now, a quarter of a century later, people still prank call that number. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, I tried calling it here, in the 707 area code, but there’s no 867 prefix in these parts. I’d read that the New York (212 area code) number had been sold on eBay. But, when I called, it rang once and nothing else. I also heard that a radio station in Chicago had bought 312-867-5309. But, when I called there, I got a recording informing me that the number “is being checked for trouble.” In fact, after all the calls, I only got through once, and that was to an answering machine. We’ll see if that poor man returns my call.

The Pulsators featuring Tommy Tutone will perform Saturday, Feb. 3 at Finley Auditorium at a fundraiser to benefit Jack London and Piner-Olivet Charter School. There will be a silent and a live auction plus a crab feed with fresh cracked crab, pasta, salad, bread, soft drinks and dessert. Bar drinks available. 6:30 pm to midnight. $45. 2060 West College Ave., Santa Rosa. For information, call (707) 494-2834. Ask for Jenny.