Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Joe Jackson (1979) 10/21/21

Music critics have described Today's "Great Song of 1979" as "snotty piano pop," which I think is hilarious, but accurate.

It's also been called "the sound of New Wave boiled down to 3:35," and that's probably even more accurate.

"Is She Really Going Out with Him" by Joe Jackson is a song about beautiful women who date unattractive men. Some people thought he wrote the song in a fit of anger, but to quote Joe:

"I heard that phrase somewhere and I thought it could be 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 other interviews, Joe said the title came from the opening line of the 1965 song, "Leader of the Pack" by Shangri-Las. (Check the link below.)

Oddly enough, the song (Joe's debut, by the way!) was first released in October of 1978 to almost universal apathy.

Joe's record label (A&M) proceeded to follow it up with two other singles that also went nowhere.

Then, in a somewhat strange decision that actually paid off, A&M re-released it in July of 1979, and this time, it charted in several countries...including Canada, where it reached #9 on the Top 40, The UK, where it reached #13, and the US, where it topped off at #21 on the Hot 100.

Most rock historians agree those numbers reflect just how popular New Wave music had become in such a short time.

In any event, this cute and quirky little slice of fun became a "Great Song of of 1979!"

"Is She really Going Out with Him?" by Joe Jackson:

For reference, Here are the Shangri-las: