“Uptown Girl” – Single by Billy Joel from the album An Innocent Man
B-side “Careless Talk”
Released September 19, 1983
Label Columbia
Songwriter Billy Joel
Producer Phil Ramone
Charted No.1 in UK; No.3 in US; No.1 in Ireland; No.18 in West Germany; No.4 in Canada; No.1 in Australia; No.8 in Denmark; No.3 in Norway.
As he explained to Howard Stern, Joel was on vacation in the Caribbean when he was playing the piano, looked up, and saw Elle Macpherson, Christie Brinkley and Whitney Houston (who was more a model than a musician at that point) standing over his piano in wonderment watching him play. Joel thanked his creator for his good fortune, and began dating Elle. His first attempt at the song had the lyrics, “Uptown girls, I’ve been around the world.” The music was more of a classical piece when it started.
Joel is from Long Island, New York, and always considered himself a working-class, regular guy. This song reflects his surprise at his ability to attract such beautiful, glamorous women. In a 1987 interview with Q magazine, Joel said: “The fact that I can attract such a beautiful woman as Christie should give hope to every ugly guy in the world!”
Joel said that the song was inspired by the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
The video depicts Joel and his backup singers working as auto mechanics. Brinkley arrives in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce as Joel and the mechanics dance with her. A poster of Brinkley can be seen in the garage as well as on a billboard above the garage advertising “Uptown Cosmetics”. At the end of the video Joel and Brinkley ride off on a motorcycle. Before the song starts, footage from the music video “Tell Her About It” is seen playing on a portable TV.
In 1985, Joel said, “‘Uptown Girl’ I wasn’t too crazy about, because they wanted me to dance. I sort of said, OK, you know, I’ll give it a try. We shot it on the two hottest days of the year.
