50-398: David Ian " Joe " Jackson (born 11 August 1954) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Having spent years studying music and playing clubs, he scored a hit with his first release, " Is She Really Going Out with Him? ", in 1979. It was followed by a number of new wave singles, before he moved to more jazz-inflected pop music and had a Top-10 hit in 1982 with " Steppin' Out ". Jackson
100-501: A "soft seesaw rhythm of plunking guitar and bass"; the bass line, played by Jackson's longtime collaborator Graham Maby , has seen praise from critics. Steve Huey of AllMusic praises the rhythm section's performance for "immediately setting a vibe of cool indignation". The song's chorus, which has been described as "perfectly singable" and "strong and emotionally compelling", contains "clean guitars and tight bass and drum groove" accompanied by Jackson's "lush vocals". The song's bridge
150-529: A 2001 interview with the Irish Independent , Jackson said he was in a relationship with a male partner. Jackson had previously discussed his bisexuality in his autobiography A Cure for Gravity . His questioning of potential homosexuality and same-sex attraction is explored in the 1982 single " Real Men ". Jackson has actively campaigned against smoking bans in both the United States and
200-409: A Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2001 . In 2000, he released a follow-up album, Night and Day II . In 2003, he reunited his original quartet for the album Volume 4 , and a lengthy tour. In 2004, he contributed vocals to a cover of Pulp 's " Common People " with William Shatner for Shatner's album Has Been (produced by Ben Folds ). In 2005, he teamed up with Todd Rundgren and
250-442: A cappella doo-wop version, performances of which have both been released on Live 1980/86 . An a cappella version of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" was released as a single in 1988 in some European countries. Jackson attributes this tendency to rework his songs to jazz musician Duke Ellington , a musical idol of Jackson's for whom Jackson released a tribute album titled The Duke in 2012; he explained in an interview, "I
300-598: A cappella version reached number three on the Dutch Top 40 and number 17 in Belgium. Since its release, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" has appeared on compilation albums such as Stepping Out: The Very Best of Joe Jackson , Joe Jackson - Greatest Hits , and This Is It! (The A&M Years 1979–1989) . The song was also used in the 1998 romantic comedy film There's Something About Mary . "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" saw positive reception during
350-422: A classic of new wave . Sarah Larson of The New Yorker called the song one of Jackson's "brilliantly agitated New Wave masterworks", while an author for Billboard dubbed the song one of Jackson's "classics" and "old favorites". Paste Magazine also praised the song, saying, "Only Joe Jackson could turn a song so self-deprecating and sarcastic into something so peppy and upbeat". AllMusic's Huey praised
400-624: A cover version by some guy I used to know". When asked if audiences at his concerts interrupt to ask for "Is She Really Going Out with Him?", Jackson said, "I mean, that never really happens. I always play it anyway. It's fine with me. You always get a reaction for the best-known songs — that's obvious". "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" has been a mainstay of Jackson's live setlist since its release. Like many of Jackson's songs, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" has been rearranged in live concerts to align with Jackson's shifting musical interests. These reworkings include an acoustic rendition and an
450-407: A day later. On 18 January 2019, Jackson released the album Fool . Jackson said about the album on his website: "One of my inspirations for this album was the band I've been touring with on and off for the last 3 years. I've had many different line-ups but this one is special." Jackson and the band performed "Fabulously Absolute" on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show on 21 January 2019. Fool debuted in
500-399: A kind of funny song about gorgeous girls going out with monsters. It just started from there. It was just a funny song, or supposed to be funny. It was a great surprise to me when some people interpreted it as being angry. In another interview, Jackson recalled another incident where the lyrics to the song were misinterpreted. He explained that he was accused of racism by a black man because of
550-489: A lady that I used to know / She's married now or engaged or something so I am told". In a call and response , Jackson says "Look over there" and the band responds "Where?"; in live shows, the audience calls often provides the response, which Sarah Larson of The New Yorker recalled made Jackson laugh during a performance. "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" was initially released as a single in October 1978 with "You Got
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#1732802182581600-767: A list of the 100 best debut albums of all time. Some commercial success also followed, as the debut single " Is She Really Going Out with Him? " reached the top 40 in five countries, and No. 9 in Canada. The Joe Jackson Band released I'm the Man in 1979. The album followed a similar musical pattern, and received good, though not as strong, reviews. It did produce the single " It's Different for Girls ", which became Jackson's highest charting UK single, peaking at No. 5. Beat Crazy followed in 1980. Jackson also collaborated with Lincoln Thompson in reggae crossover. The Joe Jackson Band toured extensively until it broke up at
650-411: A pop star was hardly worth writing about. In 2004 the first-ever tribute album to Jackson, Different for Girls: Women Artists and Female-Fronted Bands Cover Joe Jackson , was released. Among the female artists covering Jackson was Joy Askew, whose album credits include Jackson's Big World , Live 1980/86 , Blaze of Glory , Laughter & Lust and Heaven & Hell . A brief presentation of
700-583: A staple of Jackson's live setlist. A live a cappella version released in 1988 was a top five single in the Netherlands. It has been described as one of the classics of the new wave genre, though Jackson does not consider it his best song. "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" was one of the first songs Joe Jackson recorded with the Joe Jackson Band, which included bassist Graham Maby , guitarist Gary Sanford, and drummer Dave Houghton. The song
750-585: A top 10 hit in Australia. By 1984, New York had become Jackson's home base. He recorded Body and Soul there, an album he later said was "from the point of view of a relative newcomer". Heavily influenced by pop , jazz standards and salsa , it had the US No. 15 hit single " You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want) ". In 1985, Jackson played piano on Joan Armatrading 's album Secret Secrets , and in 1986 he collaborated with Suzanne Vega on
800-628: Is associated with the 1980s Second British Invasion of the US. He has also composed classical music. He has recorded 21 studio albums and has received five Grammy Award nominations. Born in Burton upon Trent , Staffordshire, England, David Jackson spent his first year in nearby Swadlincote , Derbyshire. He grew up in the Paulsgrove area of Portsmouth , where he attended Portsmouth Technical High School. Jackson's parents moved to nearby Gosport when he
850-488: Is more piano-based, showing what Huey describes as "a glimpse of Jackson jazz training". Lyrically, the song contains a "string of priceless quips" about "boy/girl laws of attraction"; the opening lyric, "Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street", has been highlighted by Huey. Huey also praises Jackson for "capturing mood and meaning through minor detail" in lyrics like "From my window I'm staring while my coffee goes cold / Look over there (where?) / There, there's
900-498: The Australian ARIA Singles Chart. Comedic a cappella singing group Da Vinci's Notebook also recorded a cover of the song, which appeared on their album The Life and Times of Mike Fanning . The Raconteurs ' 2006 song " Steady, As She Goes " has been compared by some critics to "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" for its similar-sounding bass line. Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly compared
950-634: The Fever" as the B-side. The American single release instead included "(Do the) Instant Mash". This release of the single was unsuccessful on the charts, failing to reach the top 100 in either the UK or the US. Two follow-up singles, " Sunday Papers " and " One More Time ", were released, but neither charted. However, when the Look Sharp! album began to gain notoriety and British new wave music grew more popular in
1000-649: The United Kingdom, publishing a 2005 pamphlet ( The Smoking Issue ) and a 2007 essay ( Smoke, Lies and the Nanny State ), and recording a satirical song (" In 20-0-3 ") on the subject. Jackson's 1999 autobiography, A Cure for Gravity , was described by him as a "book about music, thinly disguised as a memoir". It traces his working-class upbringing in Portsmouth and charts his musical life from childhood until his 24th birthday. According to Jackson, life as
1050-703: The United States, a reissue of the single was released in July 1979 with the new catalogue number AMS 7459. The new release of the single saw much greater success than the initial pressing, reaching number 13 in Britain and number 21 in America. "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" was also a chart success in other nations, reaching the top 10 in Ireland and Canada and the top 20 in Australia and New Zealand. A live
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#17328021825811100-583: The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male . It reached number 6 on both the UK and the US charts. " Breaking Us in Two " reached number 18 in the US and number 59 in the UK. Jackson released a sequel to the album entitled Night and Day II in October 2000. In 1997, A&M released a digitally remastered CD manufactured in Europe. Not only were the tracks remastered, but "Another World" has an extra two bars in
1150-420: The album indicated: "Mr. Jackson himself has said: "I LOVE the idea of an all-female tribute album! Let them know I can't wait to hear it." Is She Really Going Out with Him%3F " Is She Really Going Out with Him? " is a song written and performed by British musician Joe Jackson . It was released in October 1978 as his debut single and was later included on Jackson's debut album, Look Sharp! The track
1200-408: The album was followed by a five-month tour. In 2015, Jackson announced the completion of his follow-up to 2012's The Duke via his official website. The album's title, Fast Forward , and track list were confirmed in addition to North American tour dates. The titular first single was released for streaming via his official SoundCloud page. The entire record was briefly posted before being taken down
1250-523: The city and I had a hot love affair and now we're just friends, but we still have to see each other to remain friends. Today I live in Berlin. The New York I knew in late '81 and '82 is gone." Jackson currently resides in Berlin; he also owns homes in New York and Portsmouth. Jackson was married to his wife Ruth for two years, but the marriage ended in divorce and was later called a "disaster" by Jackson. In
1300-780: The end of 1980, when Houghton, weary of touring and fame, left the band. Though Maby would continue to work with Jackson in the following decades, the full band would not reunite until 2004's Volume 4 . In 1981, Jackson produced an album for the British power pop group the Keys . The Keys Album was the group's only LP. After the Joe Jackson Band disbanded, Jackson recorded Jumpin' Jive , an album of old-style swing and blues tunes. It included songs by Cab Calloway , Lester Young , Glenn Miller , and Louis Jordan . The album and associated single release were credited to "Joe Jackson's Jumpin' Jive". Jackson's 1982 album, Night and Day ,
1350-471: The girls could possibly see in the guys". Jackson recalled, "It wasn't based on a specific incident or anything like that ... I tried to write a funny song around that title, and that’s about all there was to it, really". Though the song was written to be comical, it has been interpreted by some critics as angry, earning Jackson the tag of "angry young man". He said of the song's origins in an interview: I heard that phrase somewhere and I thought that could be
1400-413: The intro. The crossfades for the songs were also re-created. In 2003, A&M released a deluxe version of the album with a bonus disc consisting of live tracks, demos, and songs Jackson recorded for the 1984 film Mike's Murder . All tracks are written by Joe Jackson, except where noted In 2003, A&M released a remastered deluxe edition of Night and Day . All tracks were 96K/24-bit remastered from
1450-573: The name of the album, this version of the song is an in-studio recording, like all the others on the album. American alternative rock band Sugar Ray recorded a cover of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" on their album In the Pursuit of Leisure . This version reached number 19 on the US Billboard Adult Top 40 Tracks and was used as the theme for the short-lived sitcom I'm with Her . Chuck Taylor of Billboard reviewed
1500-417: The newly formed Joe Jackson Band released their debut album, Look Sharp! The band consisted of Jackson, Gary Sanford on guitar, Graham Maby on bass, and David Houghton on drums. A mix of rock, melodic jazz, and new wave , it mined a vein similar to contemporaries Elvis Costello and Graham Parker . The album enjoyed wide critical success: in 2013, Rolling Stone magazine named Look Sharp! number 98 in
1550-533: The single " Left of Center " from Pretty in Pink ' s soundtrack . Jackson's next album was Big World , with all-new songs recorded live in front of an audience instructed to remain silent while music was playing. Released in 1986, it was a three-sided double record; the fourth side consisted of a single centering groove and a label stating "there is no music on this side". The instrumental album Will Power (1987), with heavy classical and jazz influences, set
Joe Jackson (musician) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1600-675: The song as "the song Jackson is most remembered for", Maginnis called it "the track that put Joe Jackson on the musical map", and Lifton said it has "proven to be his best-known song". Jackson later wrote, "People still occasionally tell me that this song is the best thing I've ever done. I'm certainly not ashamed of it, and I thank them, but I have to admit I sincerely hope they're not right". In another interview, Jackson said of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" and his 1982 hit " Steppin' Out ", "I wrote them, so I'm biased, and I think they're pretty good. Those songs have been around for so long, and I've played them so many times, it's almost like doing
1650-448: The song favourably, saying that McGrath "infuses it with his consistently likeable brand of hand-waving posturing", though Will Levith of Ultimate Classic Rock named the song one of the worst covers ever released and said "the song just misses the heart and soul of the original completely". Australian pop punk band Kid Courageous released a version of the song as the first single from their album Dear Diary , reaching number 25 on
1700-678: The song was recorded with American producer David Kershenbaum in August 1978 after Jackson was signed to A&M Records . According to Jackson, the song originated from when he heard the title. Jackson claimed that he had first heard it on a song by the Damned , who had gotten it from the Shangri-Las ' song, " Leader of the Pack ". From there, he came up with the basis for lyrics for "a funny little song about watching couples and wondering what
1750-438: The song was released on a bonus CD for Jackson's 2003 album Volume 4 , performed by a reunited Joe Jackson Band; this reunited lineup also performed the song live on Later... with Jools Holland in 2003. Personnel per Look Sharp! liner notes. American ska punk band Goldfinger included a recording of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" on their 1998 cover album Darrin's Coconut Ass: Live from Omaha . Despite
1800-430: The song's "caustic yet charming witticisms", while the same website's Tom Maginnis called it "the lead salvo from one of the stand out albums of the late 70's New Wave/Pop era". Dave Lifton of Ultimate Classic Rock ranked the song Jackson's second best, highlighting the song's bass line, chorus, and call-and-response. The song has been described by critics as one of Jackson's most remembered tracks; Paste described
1850-568: The song's opening lyric "Pretty women out walking with gorillas down my street", which the man had thought was about black men dating white women. Jackson concluded, "And no matter what I said he wouldn't believe me, and as far as he was concerned that was what it was. So, I mean, really, what can you do? (Laughs) I always feel like my lyrics are very clear, but what can I say?" "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" has been described by critics as "snotty piano pop" and "the sound of New Wave boiled down into three minutes and 35 seconds." The song contains
1900-596: The stage for things to come later, but before Jackson left pop behind, he released two more albums, Blaze of Glory (which he performed in its entirety during the subsequent tour) and Laughter & Lust . In 1995, Jackson contributed his version of "Statue of Liberty" on a tribute album for the English band XTC called A Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC . In the late 1990s, Jackson expanded into classical music; he signed with Sony Classical in 1997 and released Symphony No. 1 in 1999, for which he received
1950-452: The string quartet ETHEL for a tour of the US and Europe. A dedicated smoker , he gave up his New York apartment in 2006 partly in protest over the ascendancy of smoking bans , and made the Berlin neighbourhood Kreuzberg his new home. It was there that he recorded, with longtime collaborators Graham Maby and Dave Houghton, his eighteenth studio album, Rain ( Rykodisc , January 2008);
2000-421: The time of its initial release; Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post called the song "prime New Wave material" and "one of the best reasons for flipping on the car radio this summer". Cash Box said that it has "a pop-reggae beat, accentuated by the steady bass line, bursting into a catchy pop chorus" and uses minimal instrumentation. Since then, "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" has been recognized as
2050-603: The top 20 album charts in Holland, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. In the US, it debuted at No. 25 on Billboard' s Top Album Sales Chart. In the UK, it entered the Indie Albums Chart at No. 13. Jackson spent a number of years living in New York City, which served as an inspiration for his 1982 song "Steppin' Out". In a 2018 interview, Jackson said "I don't like New York much these days. It's as if
Joe Jackson (musician) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2100-493: The top five in both the United Kingdom and United States, Jackson's only studio album to do so in either country. The album has been certified gold in the UK and US, and achieved platinum status in Canada. It has sold over one million copies. The album pays tribute to the wit and style of Cole Porter (and indirectly to New York City). The track " Real Men " pointed obliquely to the city's early-1980s gay culture. " Steppin' Out " earned Grammy Award nominations for Record of
2150-441: The two songs and declared "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" to be the better song, saying, " 'Steady' proves [Jack] White 's non- Stripes chops (he's not allergic to bass after all!), but Jackson's track is a stone classic". Citations Sources Night and Day (Joe Jackson album) Night and Day is the fifth studio album by English musician Joe Jackson , released on 25 June 1982 by A&M Records . It reached
2200-615: Was ... inspired by Ellington's own philosophy, which he thought the same way about his music – he constantly rearranged and reinvented his own compositions. Sometimes in quite radical ways". A live version of "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" recorded at the Hammersmith Palais appeared as the B-side on Jackson's 1981 " Beat Crazy " single. Other live renditions have appeared on Two Rainy Nights , Live in Germany 1980 , and Live at Rockpalast . Another live version of
2250-524: Was a teenager. He learned to play the violin but soon switched to the piano, and prevailed on his father to install one in the hall of their Paulsgrove council house . Jackson began playing piano in bars when he was 16, and won a scholarship to study musical composition at London's Royal Academy of Music . Jackson's first band, formed in Gosport, was called Edward Bear, later renamed Arms and Legs. The band broke up in 1976 after two unsuccessful singles. He
2300-426: Was his only studio album to chart in the UK and US Top 10, peaking at No. 3 (UK) and at No. 4 (US). Two singles released from the album, " Steppin' Out " and " Breaking Us in Two ", were US top 20 hits. The tracks " Real Men " and " A Slow Song " referred obliquely to New York City's early 1980s gay culture, critiquing its exclusiveness and asking for a slow song in the disco respectively. "Real Men" also became
2350-408: Was immediately popular with the band; Jackson recalled in his autobiography, "Everyone liked it. It was catchy, they said, and had the makings of a hit. I wouldn't know a hit, I protested, from a hole in my head. I liked all my songs, and if I'd written a hit it was by accident. But I appreciated the enthusiasm, and something else, too: a growing feeling that I was up to something". The final version of
2400-582: Was one of the first Jackson recorded with his new backing band, a band he would perform with for his first three albums. Written as a humorous commentary on women dating unattractive men, the song contains a prominent bass line and a chorus praised by critics as memorable. Jackson has since stated that the song's reputation for being angry was untrue. On its initial release, the single was commercially unsuccessful and failed to chart. Two follow-up singles, " Sunday Papers " and " One More Time ", were also chart failures. However, when "Is She Really Going Out with Him?"
2450-485: Was rereleased in 1979 after Jackson's reputation and new wave music grew in popularity, the single saw more attention and became a chart success. This second release reached the top 20 in the UK and top 30 in the US, becoming one of Jackson's highest-charting singles worldwide. Since then, the song has been praised as one of Jackson's greatest and most famous and has been covered by multiple artists. The song has appeared on several of Jackson's compilation albums and remains
2500-458: Was still known as David Jackson when he joined Arms and Legs, but picked up the nickname "Joe" based on his perceived resemblance to the British television puppet character Joe 90 , a genius child spy. Jackson legally changed his name to Joe at age 20. Jackson then spent some time performing on the cabaret circuit to make money to record a demo. In 1978, a record producer heard Jackson's demo tape and signed him to A&M Records . The next year,
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