Diary

Album: The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003)
Charted: 8
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Songfacts®:

  • This features the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! The success of this single gave them their first US Top 20 chart entry in 11 years.
  • The phone number in this song's lyrics "489-4608" was Keys' when she lived in New York. After recording the song it was kept active and her fans were able to reach her with a recorded message if they dialed it with the area code 347. However, people in other area codes also had the number, including a Georgia man named JD Turner. He was totally unaware of this song until fans of Keys in Georgia started ringing his number. Turner complained at the time to the Statesboro Herald: "I get 20 to 25 calls a day. Sometimes at 4:30 a.m., and they say, 'I want to talk to Alicia Keys.'"

    Other songs that drove the phone companies and customers nuts were "Jenny (867-5309)" by Tommy Tutone, "853-5937" by Squeeze, "Whatever You Want" by Tony! Toni! Tone and "777-9311" by Morris Day & The Time. Songwriters rarely use the generic "555" like Hollywood does. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Nikki - Chicago, IL

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