Steppin' Out (Joe Jackson song)

"Steppin' Out"
Single by Joe Jackson
from the album Night and Day
B-side "Another World" (UK 7")
"Chinatown" (U.S. 7")
Released August, 1982 (U.S.)
October 1982 (UK)
Format 7", 12"
Genre New wave, synthpop
Length 4:23 (album version)
3:43 (single version)
Label A&M
Writer(s) Joe Jackson
Producer(s) David Kershenbaum, Joe Jackson
Joe Jackson singles chronology
"Real Men"
(1982)		 "Steppin' Out"
(1982)		 "Breaking Us in Two"
(1983)
Music sample
"Steppin' Out"

"Steppin' Out" is a song written by Joe Jackson, originally included on his 1982 album Night and Day.[1] The song, inspired by Jackson's time in New York City, was his highest charting single in America.

Background

The song is about the anticipation and excitement of a drive out around the town.[2] Released as a single in early August 1982, it became Jackson's biggest hit in the United States, peaking at #4 in Cash Box and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[1] It also reached #4 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.[3] The infectious tune was Jackson's second biggest hit on the UK Singles Chart, also reaching number six.[1] Only "It's Different for Girls", which reached #5 in the UK in 1980, did better.[4] The music video for the song, directed by Steve Barron, featured a housekeeper pretending she was a Cinderella figure. It was filmed over one night in the St. Regis Hotel in New York City during the summer of 1982.[2]

"Steppin' Out" eventually earned Grammy nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.[5]

Reception

In a retrospective review of the single, Allmusic journalist Chris True praised the song as a "mélange of simple piano hooks, rudimentary electronic treatment and classic vocal pop, with a rhythm track that is quaint in its simplicity and driving enough to invoke images of the big city at night."[6]

In 2015, Pitchfork Media placed "Steppin' Out" at 153 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1980s." [7]

Covers

The song was most recently covered by AM & Shawn Lee on their 2013 album La Musique Numérique. It was also covered by Stanley Jordan on his 2008 album State of Nature,[8] Kurt Elling on his 2011 album The Gate,[9] and Fantastic Plastic Machine on his 1998 self-titled album.

Charts

Chart (1982/83) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 30
Canada Singles Chart 5
German Singles Chart 28
Irish Singles Chart[11] 5
New Zealand Singles Chart 21
UK Singles Chart[12] 6
US Billboard Hot 100 6
US Mainstream Rock Chart 7

References

  1. 1 2 3 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 485–486. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  2. 1 2 "Steppin' Out" by Joe Jackson at Songfacts.com
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 123.
  4. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 274. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. ↑ "Biography by William Ruhlmann". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  6. ↑ Chris True. "Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
  7. ↑ "Staff Lists: The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
  8. ↑ State of Nature, Album review, 17 Nov. 2008.
  9. ↑ Kurt Elling: The Gate - review, Album review, 10 Mar. 2011.
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 151. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ↑ "Screen shot of search results for 'Joe Jackson', from http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement". Fireball Media. Retrieved 2015-12-04. External link in |title= (help)
  12. ↑ "Official Charts > Joe Jackson". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 2015-12-04.

External links

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