Jessie's Girl
| "Jessie's Girl" | |||||||||
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| Single by Rick Springfield | |||||||||
| from the album Working Class Dog | |||||||||
| B-side | "Carry Me Away" | ||||||||
| Released | February 1981 | ||||||||
| Format | Vinyl record (7") | ||||||||
| Recorded | December 1980 | ||||||||
| Genre | Power pop[1] | ||||||||
| Length | 3:14 | ||||||||
| Label | RCA | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Rick Springfield | ||||||||
| Producer | Keith Olsen | ||||||||
| Rick Springfield singles chronology | |||||||||
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"Jessie's Girl" is a rock song written and performed by Australian pop-rock singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album Working Class Dog. The song is about unrequited love, and centers on a young man in love with his best friend's girlfriend.
Upon its release in 1981 the song became an instant hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, and later won Springfield a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. The song was at #1 when MTV launched on 1 August 1981.[2]
The song was released in the United Kingdom in March 1984 and peaked at number 43 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1984.[3]
Springfield re-recorded the song as an acoustic version for his 1999 album, Karma.
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Background [edit]
Springfield was taking a stained glass class along with his friend Gary and Gary's girlfriend. He initially wanted to use the actual name of the friend he was singing about, but instead decided to go with a different name — "Jessie". He happened to see a girl in a softball jersey with the name "Jessie" on it and changed the name from Gary to Jessie, then recorded the song.[4]
Springfield says that he does not remember the name of the girlfriend, and believes that the real woman who inspired the song has no idea that she was "Jessie's Girl", telling Oprah Winfrey, "I was never really introduced to her. It was always just, like, panting from afar."[5] Springfield told Songfacts that Oprah's people tried to find her, and they got as far back as finding out that the teacher of the class had died two years previously and that his class records were thrown out one year after his death.[6]
"Jessie's Girl" remains a staple of many lite rock and classic hits FM radio stations. In 2006, it was named #20 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s".[7]
Music video [edit]
The music video depicts Springfield watching a young couple with envy for the girl's love. It opens with Jessie (played by Steve Antin) spray painting "Jessie's Girl" onto a brick wall, then leaving with his girlfriend, as Springfield watches and gives a monologue in the form of the song's first verse. Springfield runs into the couple one more time on the sidewalk, and he just stares as they walk away from him. Later, he goes home and looks in the mirror and mourns over why Jessie's girlfriend doesn't like him, and angrily smashes the mirror after he sees an illusion of Jessie's girlfriend in the mirror.
Personnel [edit]
- Produced by Keith Olsen
- Engineered by Chris Minto at Sound City
- Mastered by Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders
Popular culture [edit]
In regards to the song's use in films such as Boogie Nights and 13 Going on 30 over 20 years after its original release, Springfield said, "I’m thrilled by it. As a writer, all you can ask is that a song has legs. It has an appeal that keeps coming back."[8]
In 1982, Alvin and the Chipmunks released a cover version entitled "Jessie's Squirrel" for their album Chipmunk Rock.
The song was covered on Glee in the episode "Laryngitis". Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) sings this song to Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) to express his opinions on her relationship with her then-boyfriend, Jesse (Jonathan Groff). This version was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association in 2010.[9]
See also [edit]
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1981 (U.S.)
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
References [edit]
- ^ Sarah Liss. Unnecessary Comeback Corner: Rick Springfield. CBC. 29 July 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield Songfacts.com
- ^ Chart Stats > Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl
- ^ "Jessie's Girl cracks the Top 40". Entertainment Weekly. 7 May 1999.
- ^ Remarks to Oprah Winfrey on The Oprah Winfrey Show, original airdate 26 February 2008
- ^ ""Jessie's Girl"". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
- ^ http://www.vh1classic.com/view/playlist/1553683/59441/100_Greatest_Songs_of_The_80_s_1_100/Jessie_s_Girl/index.jhtml
- ^ Murtagh, Heather (18 June 2010). "Are you ready to rock?: ’80s legend Rick Springfield to perform at county fair". The Daily Journal. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2010 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
External links [edit]
- Rick Springfield discusses "Jessie's Girl" - RetroRewind interview
- Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
| Preceded by "The One That You Love" by Air Supply |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single 1 August – 8 August 1981 |
Succeeded by "Endless Love" by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie |
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