Jessie 's Girl - Wikipedia Jessie 's Girl `` Jessie 's Girl '' Single by Rick Springfield from the album Working Class Dog B - side `` Carry Me Away '' Released February 1981 Format Vinyl record ( 7 `` ) Genre Power pop Length 3 : 14 Label RCA Songwriter ( s ) Rick Springfield Producer ( s ) Keith Olsen Rick Springfield singles chronology `` Take a Hand '' ( 1976 ) `` Jessie 's Girl '' ( 1981 ) `` I 've Done Everything for You '' ( 1981 ) `` Take a Hand '' ( 1976 ) `` Jessie 's Girl '' ( 1981 ) `` I 've Done Everything for You '' ( 1981 ) Audio sample file help `` Jessie 's Girl '' is a song written and performed by Australian singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album Working Class Dog. The song is about unrequited love and centers on a young man in love with his best friend 's girlfriend. Upon its release in the United States in 1981, the song 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 number one at that time. It remained at No. 1 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. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for all of 1981. The song also peaked at No. 1 in Springfield 's native Australia and later won Springfield a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. The song was released in the United Kingdom in March 1984 and peaked at number 43 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1984. Springfield recorded an acoustic version of the song for his 1999 album, Karma. Contents 1 Background 2 Chart performance 2.1 Weekly charts 2.2 Year - end charts 2.3 Certifications 3 Music video 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Background Springfield was taking a stained glass class along with his friend Gary and Gary 's girlfriend. He initially wanted to use the actual name of the friend he was singing about, but instead decided to go with a different name -- `` Jessie ''. He was wearing a T - shirt with the name of football player Ron Jessie on it and changed the name from Gary to Jessie, then recorded the song. Springfield says that he does not remember the name of the girlfriend, and believes that the real woman who inspired the song has no idea that she was `` Jessie 's Girl '', telling Oprah Winfrey, `` I was never really introduced to her. It was always just, like, panting from afar. '' Springfield told Songfacts that Oprah 's people 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, it was named No. 20 on VH1 's `` 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s ''. Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1981 ) Peak position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) 6 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 21 US Billboard Hot 100 US Billboard Top Tracks 10 US Cash Box US Record World Chart ( 1984 ) Peak position Ireland ( IRMA ) 25 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) 43 Year - end charts Chart ( 1981 ) Position Australia ( Kent Music Report ) 15 Canada ( RPM Top 100 Singles ) 55 US Billboard Hot 100 5 US Cash Box Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales Canada ( Music Canada ) Gold 75,000 United States ( RIAA ) Gold 1,000,000 sales figures based on certification alone shipments figures based on certification alone Music video The music video depicts Springfield watching a young couple with envy for the girl 's love. It opens with Jessie ( played by Steve Antin ) spray painting `` Jessie 's Girl '' onto a brick wall, then leaving with his girlfriend, as Springfield watches and gives a monologue in the form of the song 's first verse. Springfield runs into the couple one more time on the sidewalk, and he just stares as they walk away from him. Later, he goes home and looks in the mirror and mourns over why Jessie 's girlfriend does n't like him, and angrily smashes the mirror after he sees an illusion of Jessie 's girlfriend in the mirror. 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. '' The song was covered on Glee in the episode `` Laryngitis '' ( 2010 ). Finn Hudson ( Cory Monteith ) sings this song to Rachel Berry ( Lea Michele ) to express his opinions on her relationship with her then - boyfriend, Jesse ( Jonathan Groff ). This version was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association in 2010. See also List of Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles of 1981 List of number - one singles in Australia during the 1980s References Jump up ^ Huey, Steve. `` Rick Springfield -- Artist Biography ''. AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 4 May 2014. After a solid decade 's worth of work in the ' 70s, Rick Springfield turned into an international star in the early ' 80s thanks to the power pop classic `` Jessie 's Girl. '' ^ Jump up to : Whitburn, Joel ( 1991 ). Joel Whitburn 's Top Pop Singles 1955 -- 1990. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin : Record Research Inc. p. 545. ^ Jump up to : Grein, Paul ( 8 May 1982 ). `` Chartbeat ''. Billboard. 94 ( 18 ) : 6. ISSN 0006 - 2510. Jump up ^ `` Billboard Hot 100 ''. Billboard. 93 ( 30 ) : 68. 1 August 1981. ISSN 0006 - 2510. ^ Jump up to : `` Jessie 's Girl by Rick Springfield ''. Songfacts. Retrieved 4 May 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Top 100 Hits for 1981 ''. The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 4 May 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Rick Springfield : Artist Chart History ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` '' Jessie 's Girl '' cracks the Top 40 ``. Entertainment Weekly. 7 May 1999. Retrieved 4 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Is Rick Springfield Jessie 's Girl a Real Person ? ''. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008... The Oprah Winfrey Show. Jump up ^ `` 100 Greatest Songs of the 80 's : # 1 -- 100 ''. Archived from the original on 22 July 2009... VH1 Classic. MTV Networks. Jump up ^ `` Australia No. 1 hits -- 1980 's ''. World Charts. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Top RPM Singles : Issue 0363. '' RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Rick Springfield -- Jessie 's Girl ''. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 June 2013. ^ Jump up to : `` Rick Springfield -- Awards ''. AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 26 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` CASH BOX Top 100 Singles -- Week ending JULY 25, 1981 ''. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012... Cash Box. Jump up ^ `` Record World Singles '' ( PDF ). Record World. 1 August 1981. p. 25. ISSN 0034 - 1622. Retrieved 17 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Irish Charts -- Search Results -- Jessie 's Girl ''. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 June 2013. Jump up ^ `` Forum -- ARIA Charts : Special Occasion Charts -- Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts -- 1980s ''. Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` Top Singles -- Volume 35, No. 22, December 26, 1981 ''. RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` The CASH BOX Year - End Charts : 1981 ''. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012... Cash Box. Jump up ^ `` Canadian single certifications -- Rick Springfield -- Jessie 's Girl ''. Music Canada. Jump up ^ `` American single certifications -- Rick Springfield -- Jessie_s Girl ''. Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH Jump up ^ Murtagh, Heather ( 18 June 2010 ). `` Are you ready to rock ? : ' 80s legend Rick Springfield to perform at county fair ''. The Daily Journal. Retrieved 4 May 2014. Jump up ^ `` ARIA Charts -- Accreditations -- 2010 Singles ''. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 August 2010. External links Rick Springfield discusses `` Jessie 's Girl '' - RetroRewind interview Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Preceded by Devo Live EP by Devo Australian Kent Music Report number - one single 31 August 1981 ( 1 week ) Succeeded by Devo Live EP by Devo Preceded by `` The One That You Love '' by Air Supply US Billboard Hot 100 number - one single 1 August 1981 -- 8 August 1981 ( 2 weeks ) Succeeded by `` Endless Love '' by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie US Cash Box number - one single 25 July 1981 ( 1 week ) Succeeded by `` Elvira '' by The Oak Ridge Boys Rick Springfield Studio albums Beginnings ( 1972 ) Comic Book Heroes ( 1973 ) Wait for Night ( 1976 ) Working Class Dog ( 1981 ) Success Has n't Spoiled Me Yet ( 1982 ) Living in Oz ( 1983 ) Hard to Hold ( 1984 ) Beautiful Feelings ( 1984 ) Tao ( 1985 ) Rock of Life ( 1988 ) Karma ( 1999 ) shock / denial / anger / acceptance ( 2004 ) The Day After Yesterday ( 2005 ) Venus in Overdrive ( 2008 ) Songs for the End of the World ( 2012 ) Rocket Science ( 2016 ) Live albums Stripped Down Compilation albums Playlist : The Very Best of Rick Springfield Singles `` Jessie 's Girl '' `` I 've Done Everything for You '' `` Love Is Alright Tonite '' `` Do n't Talk to Strangers '' `` Affair of the Heart '' `` Human Touch '' `` Bruce '' `` State of the Heart '' Related articles Discography Zoot Book : Rick Springfield Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jessie%27s_Girl&oldid=801131340 '' Categories : 1981 singles 1981 songs Rick Springfield songs Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Number - one singles in Australia RCA Records singles Songs about women Song recordings produced by Keith Olsen Songs written by Rick Springfield Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from August 2011 Use Australian English from August 2011 All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Canadatopsingles Singlechart called without artist Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for Ireland2 Singlechart usages for UKchartarchive Singlechart making named ref Certification Table Entry usages for Canada Certification Table Entry usages for United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 17 September 2017, at 21 : 14. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who sang i wish i had jessie's girl
Answer: Australian singer Rick Springfield