’80s Singer Rick Springfield Reveals the True Inspiration Behind Hit Song ‘Jessie’s Girl’ originally appeared on Parade.
More than four decades after “Jessie’s Girl” first hit the airwaves and became an ’80s anthem, Rick Springfield, 75, recently shared the real story behind the smash hit. In a candid new interview, the rocker opened up about the unrequited crush that inspired the song and how it changed his life for good.
“I hadn’t had much success, and I’d been recording and writing and recording and touring a little bit, and I started looking elsewhere to make some money,” Springfield recently told Hard Rock’s “The Song” show.
“I always liked working with my hands, so I started going to a stained glass class in Pasadena with the honest thought of supporting my future family with my stained glass mastery,” he continued with a chuckle. “There was this girl there that really caught my attention, and she had a boyfriend.”
Evidently his name was Gary, not Jessie, but never-the-less it prompted him to go home and write about his “sexual angst.”
“[I] just picked up my guitar and and the song just the story just came from that of wanting her,” he admitted.
Related: Rick Springfield Responds to Critics Who Call Him a One-Hit Wonder
He went on to say that seeing the song’s story be realized and related to was like a “dream come true.” Springfield is also hyper aware that the song completely changed his life and basically helped launch his career.
The song certainly kicked off his career, but Springfield’s consistent dedication to the craft sustained it; the 75-year-old still performs shows with an insane amount of energy and does it often totally shirtless.
Many are less likely to know that the story of “Jessie’s Girl” was revived with a dark and comedic twist in 2020.
Rock band Coheed & Cambria collaborated with Springfield to make “Jessie’s Girl 2” which explored the aftermath of the original song’s narrative, suggesting that the protagonist gets the girl and regrets ever meeting her because she is mentally unstable. Springfield’s vocals are heard on the track and he appears in the music video as well.
Currently Springfield has shows scheduled until at least mid-November across the U.S.
’80s Singer Rick Springfield Reveals the True Inspiration Behind Hit Song ‘Jessie’s Girl’ first appeared on Parade on Aug 19, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
