Rick Springfield shares the story of “Jessie’s Girl” with AXS TV

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — Turns out Jessie wasn’t really a friend….and his name was actually Gary.

Rick Springfield is sharing the origins of his classic song “Jessie’s Girl” in a new episode of the AXS TV series “Mixtape”

Springfield says he was taking a stained glass class in 1980 and he had his eye on a young lady who was there.  The problem?  She was already in a relationship.

Springfield says he doesn’t remember her name but admits she wanted nothing to do with him and her boyfriend’s name was Gary.

So as songwriters do, he wrote about his feelings for her.

The song started out as “Gary’s Girl” then “Randy’s Girl” He eventually settled on “Jessie’s Girl” after the name popped into his head.

“Jessie’s Girl” was released in 1981 and became a number one hit that summer.

Springfield says we may never know the identity of Jessie’s Girl. The stained glass instructor passed away and his family got rid of the information on his classes.

The episode of “Mixtape” featuring Springfield airs Thursday night on AXS TV.