Rick Springfield Says 'Jessie's Girl' Started as 'Gary's Girl'
Martin Kielty Published: September 25, 2019
Rick Springfield revealed the origins of his classic song "Jessie's Girl," explaining that it began life as "Gary's Girl" then became "Randy's Girl" before acquiring its final title.
Speaking in a new episode of the AXS TV series Mixtape, Springfield said the 1981 song, which appeared on his hit album Working Class Dog, was inspired by a real-life experience of being interested in a woman who didn't want to know him.
"I started going to this stained-glass place in Pasadena," Springfield said. "And the reason I kept going was because there was this girl there that was burning hot. And she had a boyfriend, his name was Gary, and she didn't want anything to do with me. So I took my sexual angst home and wrote a song about her."
You can watch the clip below.
Springfield recalled that he "tried 'Gary's Girl,' but it didn't ring. I actually had this original lyric sheet and I changed it to 'Randy's Girl.' I'd actually started writing 'Randy is a friend,' and halfway through that line I thought, 'You know what? No.' So this name Jessie popped up in my head. I loved it. I went full tilt on the writing and recording thing."
Mixtape airs on Thursdays at 8:30PM ET on AXS TV. "The eight-episode season puts the spotlight on a different rock icon each week as they sit down to discuss their favorite songs of all time, sharing their own personal mixtape playlist of meaningful music that shaped their lives and left an enduring impact on their legendary careers," the network said.
Next: The Hunt for 'Jessie' from 'Jessie's Girl'
Source: Rick Springfield Says 'Jessie's Girl' Started as 'Gary's Girl'
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