Sometimes you just have to turn your unrequited lust into a worldwide smash hit. Therapy through creativity. And world domination.

Rick Springfield grew up Australian. The chances of achieving rock stardom in America are small enough for Americans, but for Australians the odds reside in the quantum realm. Nearly invisible. Rick, however, had good looks (it doesn’t hurt) and a real talent for writing catchy pop songs. He even scored a surprise hit in 1972 with his debut single, “Speak To The Sky,” reaching the US Top 20, but the populace soon wrote him off as a good-looking (okay, sometimes it can hurt you) teenybopper novelty.

Rick continued to make albums throughout the 70’s, but even in his native Australia he soon fell off the charts. In order to supplement his income and keep his name alive, Springfield turned to acting, making brief appearances in many popular American shows of the day. And that’s where things stood in 1980 when Rick signed up for a class on how to make stained glass. Hey, it’s healthy to have hobbies.

This class also contained a guy Rick knew named Gary, as well as Gary’s girlfriend. He barely exchanged more than a few words with Gary’s girl but she made an indelible impression with her across-a-crowded-room hotness, and Springfield, lonely and loveless, was struck. And stuck. He couldn’t make a move on his friend’s girl! There are rules. So he did what artists have done since the beginning of time and attempted a little creative catharsis.

Now, channeling your lusty emotions into making stained glass doesn’t exactly provide a satisfying emotional release, so Rick broke out his guitar and unleashed his pent up feelings through the power of rock. He couldn’t use real names, so the song he wrote almost bore the title “Randy’s Girl,” but thankfully he found a better name when recording the track for his upcoming album, Working Class Dog. 

Springfield didn’t expect his new album to be a success. He made albums for the love of it more than the expectation of suddenly scoring hits, especially in the US. As a result, he figured he needed a job, and in 1981 agreed to take a prominent role on the daytime soap General Hospital. Although the show had struggled in the late 70’s, the marriage of two of the characters later that year led to the most-watched soap opera episode in TV history. 1981 was a good year to be a member of the cast.

And if you were a member of the cast, 1981 was also a good year to have an album out. Released in February, sales began slowly for Working Class Dog and its first single, now titled “Jessie’s Girl,” but as Springfield’s acting career took off, so too did his music career, and his pleading rock & roll paean to his object of lust hit #1 in late summer.

The identity of “Jessie’s Girl” remains a mystery. Springfield kept quiet about the inspiration behind the song for years, and by the time he did finally reveal the story, he’d forgotten the name of his muse and no muse ever came forward.

So be funny and cool with the lines. Ain’t that the way love’s supposed to be … with Rick Springfield?