Jessie's Girl
"Jessie's Girl" is a song written and performed by Australian singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album Working Class Dog, which was released in February 1981. The song is about unrequited love and centres on a young man in love with his best friend's girlfriend.
| "Jessie's Girl" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Rick Springfield | ||||
| from the album Working Class Dog | ||||
| B-side | "Carry Me Away" | |||
| Released | February 1981 | |||
| Genre | Power pop | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Rick Springfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Keith Olsen | |||
| Rick Springfield singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
| ||||
Upon its release in the United States in 1981, "Jessie's Girl" was slow to break out. It debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 chart on 28 March but took 19 weeks to hit No. 1 reaching that position on 1 August, one of the slowest climbs to No. 1 at that time. It remained in that position for two weeks and would be Springfield's only No. 1 hit. The song was at No. 1 when MTV launched on 1 August 1981. The song ultimately spent 32 weeks on the chart. Billboard ranked it as No. 5 for all of 1981.
The song also peaked at No. 1 in Springfield's native Australia and later won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
"Jessie's Girl" was released in the United Kingdom in March 1984 and peaked at No. 43 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1984.
Record World said that "a strong rhythm guitar fuels the pop-rocker while Rick's determined vocal works the hook."
Springfield recorded an acoustic version of the song for his 1999 album, Karma.