Day 2 - Uptown Girl

Billy Joel

1983

Click here to read the Top 40 Intro

Disclaimer: All perspectives, opinions, and memories in this entry are mine and mine alone. Some content is rugged, raw, and - sometimes - NSFW, but it's all authentic and included with purpose.

Why It’s On The List:

My dad was born in 1942 and my mom was born in 1949, so they both grew up with the doo-wop tunes of the 50’s and 60’s. So that’s what I grew up with as well. It would be IMPOSSIBLE to pick just one favorite from that era for me (check out that list below) so I cheated a bit here.

I can’t help but feel like Billy Joel came along in 1983 and produced the best song of the 50’s in “Uptown Girl.”

He has even said that “Uptown Girl” was even inspired by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and that makes a ton of sense. It has has that 50’s vibe done with an 80’s flare. Probably why it resonates so strongly with me.

My first exposure to this song came from one of my favorite 80’s cartoons, “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” Little did I know at the time that The Chipmunks ripped their version right from Billy Joel’s original video (see below). And it’s a great video. It sums up the 80’s vibe so well with the Bruce Springsteen-esque white t-shirt and jeans dude chasing the dolled-up Barbie doll of the era.

And something else to know about me - I love songs that come with history and legacy and backstory.

Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley eventually started dating after filming the "Uptown Girl" music video but ultimately broke up. To the rest of our detriment, he stopped performing the song live because it was tied to that failed relationship. I was devastated when I finally got to see him live in concert in 2007 and he wouldn’t sing this song.

So it was beyond epic when he finally broke out the song again over 30 years later in 2014 with Christie Brinkley in the front row (wait for Brinkley’s reaction at the end of the video).

Interesting reminder that while these songs can be fun for us, they are deeply personal for the people that wrote them, performed them, and lived them.

Listen to "Uptown Girl" here:

Favorite Line:

I don’t know how else to describe this but around the 2:12 minute mark of the song, the second batch of “oh oh oh’s” elevate to the next octave behind the chorus. I always love trying to climb those notes.

While We’re Here:

I mentioned “Alvin and the Chipmunks” above, so I would be remiss not to list my Top 5 All-Time favorite cartoons from growing up:

5. Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids - we didn’t have a color TV until I was 6 or 7 years old so I was STUNNED when I finally found out that The Cosby Kids were black. Looking back now, I appreciate the early exposure to a culture set outside of my white suburban neighborhoods.

4. Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers - I have no idea why this show landed with me so much but it did. Loved everything about it and played the Nintendo video game ad nauseum. It's been fun lately to see Jack gravitate it towards as well now that it's on Disney+.

3. DuckTales - The crown jewel of the Disney Afternoon. Great adventure stories.

2. Alvin and The Chipmunks - Tapped so well into 80’s Americana.

1. G.I. Joe - My entire life was G.I. Joe for a good 5-7 years early on. All I wanted for any birthday, Christmas, good report card, etc. was a new G.I. Joe action figure. I would gather all of my Joes and have them act out the cartoons. It really was my best life.

If You Like This Song...
Here are my favorite "Oldies" as referenced above:
- Earth Angel
- Blue Moon
- Barbara Ann
- Walk Like a Man
- Come Go With Me
- Silhouettes (gun to my head, I think this would have been my choice as a "favorite" from this era)