Rick Springfield, aka the world’s youngest looking 71-year-old - it was his birthday this week (August 23rd); and it’s freaking obscene, how does he do it?? – is back, guesting with cult New York prog-rock popsters Coheed and Cambria in a sequel to his unforgettable 1981 smash “Jessie’s Girl.”
Let’s take a minute to recap what happened in the original, shall we? Young Rick basically wished he had his friend Jessie’s girl. But he didn’t. And it’s eating him up. Skip forward 40 years, and we find out Rick did the dirty on his friend and got the girl. And has lived to regret it. Boy, has he lived to regret it; in the final verse, Rick tells us what’s really on his mind, as he wonders how his life might have been if he “left that monster in the ‘80s”!!
Yes, it’s kinda heavy, but also so unexpected it’s laugh-out-loud funny.
The video tells the story from a fun angle. Rick is a barman – an unbelievably young and good-looking barman, of course, for someone who stole his best friend’s girlfriend 40 years ago - in a small bar, and a young couple comes in. The woman – a blonde – clearly reminds him of someone (a quick look back to the old “Jessie’s Girl” film clip confirms the object of his desires 40 years ago was a blonde too). And this woman is behaving horribly. Rick looks on, clearly with things on his mind. And then, in that before-mentioned final verse, he spills the beans, and we realise that this woman’s appalling behaviour is precisely what Rick has been living with since he made his big mistake. If you think maybe we should have given you a spoiler alert here, don’t worry; just make sure you watch the video to the very end. The last scene – the pay off at the end of the video - is a stroke of genius.
The song its self is pretty cool too. It doesn’t have quite as strong a hook as Rick’s original (what does?), but the riffing echoes the original and the overall sound and feel is similar. These guys Coheed and Cambria seem to specialise in sounds of this era – I imagine they cut their teeth on stuff like “Owner of A Lonely Heart”, “Africa” and the occasional Cars and Van Halen tune. And it’s great to hear Rick sing that verse.
Check out the video here, after you re-familiarise yourself with Rick’s original gem from 1981. If you like what you hear and think you might want to hear more of Coheed and Cambria, there’s a link to stream their latest album below the two videos too. Have fun!
Rick Springfield | "Jessie’s Girl"
Coheed and Cambria | "Jessie’s Girl 2" [feat. Rick Springfield]
Listen to Coheed and Cambria on Spotify:
Listen to Coheed and Cambria on Apple Music:
