Jessie's Girl

Background

In the late 1970s, Rick Springfield took a stained glass class in Pasadena. Also in the class was a man named Gary as well as Gary's girlfriend. Springfield became friends with both, while developing feelings for the girlfriend. He wrote the song based on the negative feelings he had about the situation. Springfield initially wanted to use the actual name of his friend, but decided to go with a different name as "Gary" didn't sound good when being sung. He chose "Jessie" because he was wearing a T-shirt with the name of football player Ron Jessie on it.

Springfield says that he does not remember the name of the girlfriend, and he believes that the real woman who inspired the song has no idea that she was "Jessie's Girl". He told Oprah Winfrey, "I was never really introduced to her. It was always just, like, panting from afar." Springfield told Songfacts that Winfrey's people had 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. In 2006, the song was named No. 20 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s".

Personnel

Credits sourced from Mix

• Rick Springfield – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitars
• Neil Giraldo – lead guitars, bass guitar
• Gabriel Katona – synthesizers
• Mike Baird – drums

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Coheed and Cambria sequel

On 21 August 2020, the American progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria released a music video entitled "Jessie's Girl 2" to their official YouTube channel. The video depicts Springfield, who supplies some of the song's vocals, working in a bar while the titular "Jessie's Girl" wreaks havoc. The lyrics state that the protagonist from the original song was successful in stealing the Girl away from Jessie, but realizes that she is mentally unstable. The protagonist muses that he was likely set up by Jessie, in order for him to be rid of the woman, and that he (the protagonist) is now trapped in a loveless marriage with children and a future he did not want. The video ends with the Girl stealing the barkeeper's keys and escaping. The song also references Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny" via lyrics that mention the protagonist changing his number.

The band's frontman, Claudio Sanchez, stated that the song is "kind of like a National Lampoon’s movie meets So I Married an Axe Murderer." Sanchez had originally come up with the idea of a sequel during a 2019 studio session and later approached Springfield to pitch the idea via an Instagram Live session. Springfield liked the draft prepared by Coheed and Cambria and agreed to participate.

Coheed and Cambria released the single digitally and as a 7-inch single in September 2020.

In popular culture

In regards to the song's use in films such as Boogie Nights (1997) and 13 Going on 30 (2004) 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."

"Jessie's Girl" was covered on Glee in the first season episode "Laryngitis" (2010). Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) sings it to Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) to express his opinions about her relationship with her then-boyfriend, Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff). This version was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association in 2010.

References

References

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8. (March 21, 1981). "Single Picks".
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10. "Is Rick Springfield Jessie's Girl a Real Person?". [[The Oprah Winfrey Show]].
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22. (August 3, 2022). "Nielsen SoundScan Charts June 23, 2016". Nielsen.
23. Johnson, Josh. (21 August 2020). "Coheed and Cambria continues the story of "Jessie's Girl" with new song, "Jessie's Girl 2"". [[ABC News Radio]].
24. Rea, Carla. (24 August 2020). "Jessie's Girl 2: He Got Jessie's Girl - But There's a Twist". 96.3 KKLZ.
25. Lenker, Maureen Lee. (21 August 2020). "Exclusive: Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl' gets murderous sequel in Coheed and Cambria music video".
26. Kaufman, Spencer. (21 August 2020). "Coheed and Cambria unleash "Jessie's Girl 2" featuring Rick Springfield: Stream".
27. Childers, Chad. (21 August 2020). "Coheed & Cambria Give Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl' a Sequel".
28. Turman, Katherine. (21 August 2020). "Coheed and Cambria Share 'Jessie's Girl 2' Video Featuring Rick Springfield".
29. Murtagh, Heather. (18 June 2010). "Are you ready to rock?: '80s legend Rick Springfield to perform at county fair". [[San Mateo Daily Journal.
30. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Singles". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].