Jackie's Strength

"Jackie's Strength"
Single by Tori Amos
from the album From the Choirgirl Hotel
B-side "Never Seen Blue" "Beulah Land"
Released September 15, 1998 (US)
February 23, 1999 (Remixes)
Format CD, 12
Recorded 1997
Genre Baroque pop, alternative rock, piano rock
Label Atlantic
Producer(s) Tori Amos
Tori Amos singles chronology
"Spark"
(1998)
"Jackie's Strength"
(1998)
"Cruel/Raspberry Swirl"
(1998)

"Jackie's Strength" is a song by Tori Amos, released as the second single from her 1998 album From the Choirgirl Hotel. It reached #54 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. The remix single, released the following year, reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the U.S.[1] The lyrics refer to Jackie Onassis, there is also a brief reference to the Kennedy assassination ("Shots rang out, the police came"), though Amos herself explained that the song also concerns her own personal doubts about marriage.[2] Amos reiterated this in an interview with columnist Steven Daly in Rolling Stone Magazine (Issue #789; June 25, 1998).

Music video

The music video, which is in black and white, portrays Amos as a bride on her wedding day. She travels in a taxi cab, hiding from her wedding party as the taxi passes by the church where she is to be married. The video includes imagery of realistic situations such as teen pregnancy, pre-marital sex, interracial relationships and use of medication by elderly persons. The video can be interpreted as a commentary on life-changing decisions. It was directed by James Brown.

Track listing

US Enhanced CD single

Includes videos of "Jackie's Strength" and "Raspberry Swirl"

  1. "Jackie's Strength" - 4:17
  2. "Never Seen Blue" - 3:41
  3. "Beulah Land" - 2:56

US CD remix single

  1. "Jackie's Strength (Wedding Cake Edit)" - 4:03
  2. "Father Lucifer (Sylkscreen Remix)" - 4:30
  3. "Jackie's Strength (Wedding Cake Club Mix)" - 8:40
  4. "Jackie's Strength (One Rascal Dub #1)" - 6:24
  5. "Father Lucifer (Sylkscreen Remix Instrumental)" - 4:26
  6. "Jackie's Strength (Wedding Cake Meltdown Mix)" - 8:19
  7. "Jackie's Strength (One Rascal Dub #2)" - 5:02
  8. "Jackie's Strength (Bonus Beats)" - 2:41

Charts

Year Chart Position
1998 U.S. Hot 100 Singles 54
1998 U.S. Hot 100 Airplay 42
1998 U.S. Hot 100 Singles 33
1999 U.S. Hot Dance Club Play 1
U.S. Hot Dance Single Sales 5
1999 Canadian Hot 100 12

Sources

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 20.
  2. Quotes from interviews with Tori Amos

See also

Preceded by
"Nothing Really Matters" by Madonna
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
March 27, 1999
Succeeded by
"Heatbreak Hotel" by Whitney Houston featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price
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