Uptown Girl

About this song

The song appears on Billy Joel's 1983 album An Innocent Man and was inspired by Frankie Valli's "Rag Doll". It was written about Joel's girlfriend at the time, model Elle Macpherson, while Christie Brinkley, who became his wife, appeared in the music video. It was a major international hit, reaching number one in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, where it stayed at the top for five weeks and sold over a million copies. In 1988, Rolling Stone ranked it number 99 on its list of the 100 most important singles from 1963 to 1988.

What it's about

A working-class young man, the "downtown boy", sings in his own way to a girl raised in a more affluent background.

Fun facts

• Sampled in 19 other songs, like “Say You Mines by Water.lo”.
• Covered 9 times, including “Uptown Girl by The Holophonics”.
• Written by Billy Joel.
• Produced by Phil Ramone.
• Recorded at A&R Recording.