Rick Springfield’s ‘Jessie’s Girl’: The True Story Behind The Song

After Zoot disbanded in 1971, Rick Springfield embarked on a solo career and released his debut single, “Speak to the Sky,” which made it to the Australian Top 10 in mid-1972. However, the defining moment of his solo career came in 1981 when he released “Jessie’s Girl.”

The song topped charts in Australia and the USA, earning him the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. And in a new revelation, the 74-year-old disclosed that the inspiration behind “Jessie’s Girl”  was an experience that he had earlier in life.

Rick Springfield says the song was based on a lady he admired from afar

Springfield revealed he was timid while growing up. “As a child, I was insecure, I had a problem with too much wanking,” he admitted. “At school, I was always girl-obsessed but unbelievably shy. I didn’t get a whole lot of satisfaction, so to speak. So ‘Jessie’s Girl’ was based on something that happened to me later on.”

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He revealed that he encountered the lady who was the song’s subject during a glass-making class in Pasadena, California. Interestingly, Springfield never directly conversed with the person who ignited his feelings as she was dating one of his coursemates, Gary.

“Jessie’s Girl”

The singer further stated that her memory remained ingrained in his thoughts even after losing contact with Gary and the lady in question. While brainstorming concepts for his fifth album, Working Class Dog, he transformed his personal experience into the song. The singer collaborated with guitarist Neil Giraldo, and the duo seamlessly merged the song’s candid lyrics with an irresistible hook.

“The riff came first, and although it’s a pretty simple-sounding song, it wasn’t easy to write. It took about two months working on the guitar and piano,” Springfield said. “Neil added a vibe to the song, but it was the producer, Keith Olsen, who convinced me to shorten a long guitar solo I’d played on the demo, which was right out of the seventies. It’s a bubbly and vivacious song, but it’s dark. It’s also covetous, which a lot of my music is.”