Rick Springfield (1949-) was one of the most popular rock and roll singers of the 1970s and 1980s. He was a former member of Zoot from 1969 to 1971 before making it big as a solo artist. Springfield is also an actor who played Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital.
The song that most people remember from Rick Springfield is Jesse's Girl, which was released in 1981. The song is about a case of unrequited love. A man who falls in love with his best friend's girlfriend. At the start of the video, Jesse (played by Steve Antin) is shown spray-painting "Patty Is Jessie's Girl" on a nearby brick wall as Springfield watches on. Most of video shows Springfield and his band performing the song in front of that same wall. He deeply wishes that she was with him instead even though it appears that she doesn't know that he exists. This is shown in a scene where he attempts to go to talk with the girl, but she and Jessie walk away from him without saying a word. Springfield is left wondering why she doesn't like and breaks his bathroom mirror after seeing her image. Knowing that someone you love is in love with someone else is a terrible feeling to have, Springfield felt the same way when he wrote the song. The song became a #1 hit in Australia and the United States. It also won Springfield a Grammy Award in 1981. Springfield later performed this song as his Dr. Noah Drake character on General Hospital when Drake has to fill in for Eli Love (also played by Rick Springfield). Jessie's Girl helped Rick Springfield become a mega-superstar.
Springfield wrote the song about an experience he had in college. Most songwriters choose write about their personal experiences. In his college days, he was smitten with his friend Gary's girlfriend. The three of them were in a stain glass course together. It was later revealed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he does not remember her name and that he was never introduced to her. He wanted to use Gary's name in his song but changed the name of the guy to Jessie after seeing a girl with that name on her jersey. The identity of Springfield's inspiration remains a mystery to this day.
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