Uptown Girl
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- This article is about the song. For the similarly named film, see Uptown Girls.
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| “Uptown Girl” | |||||
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| Single by Billy Joel from the album An Innocent Man |
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| Released | 1983 | ||||
| Format | 7" | ||||
| Recorded | 1983 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 3:15 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Producer | Phil Ramone | ||||
| Billy Joel singles chronology | |||||
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"Uptown Girl" is a song performed by musician Billy Joel, whose lyrics deal with a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl". The song was first released in 1983 on his album An Innocent Man. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts in the US, and #1 in the UK; in 1988, Rolling Stone ranked "Uptown Girl" #99 on their list of the 100 most important singles of the period 1963-1988. The style of music, including the doo-wop beat, the close harmonies and Joel's frequent use of falsetto singing, is reminiscent of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (as the song is meant to be Joel's response to the Four Seasons song "Rag Doll"); the verse melody bears some resemblance to Ravel's "Boléro". The song also has the uncommon feature of changing key from the original two times before giving back, for a total of three keys.
Covers of this song have been performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Aaron Carter, and most notably in 2001 by Irish boy band Westlife, again reaching #1 in the UK, albeit only for a single week.
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[edit] Music video
The title character in the music video was played by Joel's girlfriend (later wife) Christie Brinkley, who was the inspiration for the song in real life. They divorced in 1994 and subsequently the song was missing from the setlist during Joel's 1994 "River of Dreams" tour.
Different versions of the music video opening were produced, in which an auto mechanic is watching the end of Joel's previous hit "Tell Her About It" on a small TV. Then, depending on the version, the next image on the TV is either a blank screen or the logo of the network or TV show the video was on. The only logos known to be used are MTV and Friday Night Videos.
When Billy Joel decided to have Christie Brinkley in the video, she showed up at his house to discuss it. He answered the door and immediately told her "I don't dance", which was true at the time. Brinkley had to give Joel basic dance steps so he could "dance" in the video with her. This started their romance which eventually led to their marriage.
[edit] Chart positions
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 18 |
| German Media Control Charts | 18 |
| Japan Oricon Singles Chart | 64 |
| Norway Singles Chart | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
[edit] Westlife version
| “Uptown Girl” | |||||
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| Single by Westlife from the album Coast To Coast |
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| Released | February 26, 2001 | ||||
| Format | CD single | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Length | 3:06 | ||||
| Certification | Platinum | ||||
| Westlife singles chronology | |||||
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| "Uptown Girl" CD2 | |||||
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| Coast To Coast (Deluxe Edition) Bonus Disc track listing | |||||
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| World of Our Own (UK & Ireland Version) track listing | |||||
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| Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 track listing | |||||
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"Uptown Girl" was covered and then released as a single by Irish boyband Westlife from their album Coast to Coast. The single was then also released as a special Comic Relief charity single.
The song is the #14th best selling single of the 21st century in the UK.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] CD1
- "Uptown Girl"
- "Angel's Wings"
- CD Rom Function
[edit] CD2
- "Uptown Girl"
- "Angel's Wings" (2001 Remix)
- CD Rom Function
[edit] Music video
The video for this song was shot in a Cafe setting with Claudia Schiffer as the title character while Robert Bathurst, James Wilby, Ioan Gruffudd, Crispin Bonham-Carter and Tim McInnerny were featured as high class customers.
[edit] Chart performance
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United World Chart | 10 |
| World Airplay Chart | 10 |
| Argentinian Singles Chart | 16 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 6 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 12 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 29 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Brazilian Singles Chart | 10 |
| Chile 100 Singles Chart | 1 |
| French Singles Chart | 8 |
| German Media Control Charts | 8 |
| Irish singles chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 29 |
| Japanese Oricon Singles Chart | 64 |
| Japanese Tokio Hot 100 | 20 |
| Netherlands Singles Chart | 2 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 4 |
| Norway Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 13 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
Note: The song also reached #1 in several radio charts in Asia like the Philippines.
[edit] Video album
| Uptown Girl | |||||
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| Video by Westlife | |||||
| Released | March 12, 2001 | ||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||
| Label | Sony BMG | ||||
| Westlife video chronology | |||||
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A video album for this single was released on March 12, 2001 and went straight to #1.
[edit] External Links
"Uptown Girl" - Billy Joel Official Music video
| Preceded by "Reckless (Don't Be So)" by Australian Crawl |
Australian Kent Music Report number one single (Billy Joel version) December 5, 1983 |
Succeeded by "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton |
| Preceded by "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club |
UK number one single (Billy Joel version) October 30, 1983 for 5 weeks |
Succeeded by "Only You" by The Flying Pickets |
| Preceded by "It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy featuring Rikrok |
UK number one single (Westlife version) March 11, 2001 for 1 week |
Succeeded by "Pure and Simple" by Hear'Say |
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