| "Steppin' Out" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork for UK vinyl releases; other editions that use this artwork have various B-side tracks | ||||
| Single byJoe Jackson | ||||
| from the albumNight and Day | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | August 1982 (US) 22 October 1982 (UK) | |||
| Recorded | January 1982 | |||
| Studio | Blue Rock, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:23 (album version) 3:43 (single version) | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter | Joe Jackson | |||
| Producers |
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| Joe Jackson singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Steppin' Out" onYouTube | ||||
"Steppin' Out" is a song by English musicianJoe Jackson, originally included on his 1982 albumNight and Day.[7] The song, inspired by Jackson's time inNew York City, was his highest-charting single in the United States, where it peaked at number 6 on theBillboard Hot 100. It reached the same position in Jackson's native UK.
The song is about the anticipation and excitement of a drive out around the town.[8] Released as a single in early August 1982, it became Jackson's biggesthit in the United States, peaking at No. 5 inCashbox magazine and No. 6 on theBillboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks from December 11, 1982, to January 1, 1983.[7][9][10]
It also reached No. 4 onBillboard'sHot Adult Contemporary Tracks and No. 7 onBillboard'sAlbum Rock Tracks.[11] The song was released as a single in the UK on 22 October 1982.[12] It became Jackson's second biggest hit on theUK singles chart, where it reached No. 6 in December 1982.[7] Only "It's Different for Girls", which reached No. 5 in the UK in 1980, did better.[13]
During his 2019 tour for the albumFool, Jackson stated he played all the instruments on "Steppin' Out" – with the exception of session drummer Larry Tolfree, who added a real snare drum and cymbal hits.[14] The rest of the song's drum beat was programmed into a 1979Korg KR-55drum machine, the original of which Jackson used on the 2019 tour to play the song.[14]
Themusic video for the song, directed bySteve Barron, featured a blonde, attractive hotel maid fantasising that she is aCinderella figure. It was filmed over one night in theSt. Regis Hotel inNew York City during the summer of 1982. The video used the shorter single version instead of the full album version.[8] According to an interview withTime Out, Jackson made the music video against his wishes. "Rock 'n' roll is degenerating into a big circus, and videos andMTV are very much part of that," he said.[15]
"Steppin' Out" earned twoGrammy nominations in1983, forRecord of the Year andBest Male Pop Vocal Performance.[16] The song lost toToto's "Rosanna" andLionel Richie's "Truly", respectively.
AllMusic journalist Chris True praised the song as a "mélange of simple piano hooks, rudimentary electronic treatment and classic vocal pop, with a rhythm track that is quaint in its simplicity and driving enough to invoke images of the big city at night".[17]
In 2015,Pitchfork Media placed "Steppin' Out" at 153 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1980s."[18] In 2022,Rolling Stone ranked it 93 on their list "100 Best Songs of 1982".[19]Glide Magazine ranked it as Jackson's second best song.[20]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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...on "Steppin' Out"—Jackson's biggest-ever hit—he makes synth-pop seem as sophisticated and sultry as Cole Porter.
...some of the biggest synth-pop hits of the day...Joe Jackson's "Steppin' Out,"...
