"Jessie"
Single by Joshua Kadison
from the album Painted Desert Serenade
ReleasedApril 1993 (1993-04)
Length5:19
LabelSBK
Songwriter(s)Joshua Kadison
Producer(s)
Joshua Kadison singles chronology
"Jessie"
(1993)		 "Beautiful in My Eyes"
(1994)
Music video
"Jessie" on YouTube

"Jessie" is a song by American singer-songwriter Joshua Kadison, released in April 1993 by SBK as the debut and lead single from the singer's first album, Painted Desert Serenade (1993). The song did not become a hit in continental Europe until 1994 and in the United Kingdom until 1995. "Jessie" became a top-10 hit in Austria, Denmark, and the Netherlands. The song's music video was directed by Piers Plowden.

Content

The song describes the narrator's tumultuous relationship with a woman named Jessie. The person named Jessie in this song was rumoured to be Sarah Jessica Parker,[1] but this has never been confirmed and, in a 2018 appearance on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live, Sarah Jessica Parker was asked about the song, and whether it is about her, and she responded with surprise, saying "I don't know who that person is... I've never met this person... That never happened, to my recollection. I'm pretty clear about who I dated." In 1997, she married actor Matthew Broderick.[2] In a 1994 interview with Los Angeles Times, Kadison told about the song, "It's a song that a lot of people can relate to. Everybody's heart has been broken by somebody they'll always love. That's what this song is about.. It taps into a feeling that's buried in so many people."[3]

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Bryan Buss noted that it is "about the searching title heroine and the hopeful, needing narrator who gets sucked into her longing, he paints vivid portrayals of troubled and hopeful dreamers. With lyrics like "Jessie, paint your pictures/'bout how it's gonna be/by now I should know better/your dreams are never free," Kadison taps into the wanderer in all of us."[4] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that the singer "indulges in a worldly, intelligent brand of storytelling that aims to place him among late luminaries Jim Croce and Harry Chapin. Poignant piano ballad actually is more along the lines of early Billy Joel. Sophisticated, complex production".[5] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report complimented the "beautiful melody and catchy chorus" of the song.[6]

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton commented, "Quite why everyone was so keen for this to be a hit I am unclear, its a pretty enough romantic ballad but nothing extremely exciting."[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media said that it "could tear down walls like "Walking in Memphis" did for Marc Cohn."[8] Alan Jones from Music Week described it as an "extremely attractive piano-led, mid-tempo ballad", noting that "along with a warm vocal style (two parts Billy Joel to one Jim Croce) Kadison has a fine melodic sense, and this lyrical song deserves to be heard."[9] John Kilgo from The Network Forty felt that a "soulful bluesy delivery exemplifies the main strength of newcomer Joshua Kadison, who reaches new heights with this electrifying piano ballad."[10]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Jessie" was directed by Piers Plowden.[11]

Track listing

  • CD single
  1. "Jessie" (edit) – 4:19
  2. "Jessie" (album version) – 5:18
  3. "When a Woman Cries" – 3:31
  4. "All I Ever Ask" – 4:39

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States April 1993 Adult contemporary radio SBK [39]
May 1993 Top 40 radio
United Kingdom February 14, 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [40]
United Kingdom (re-release) April 17, 1995
  • CD
  • cassette
 [41]

References

  1. ↑ "Radio". swr.de. May 14, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  2. ↑ https://www.songfacts.com/facts/joshua-kadison/jessie Songfacts entry on Jessie.
  3. ↑ "'Jessie' helps Marc Cohn find success as a folkie". The Vindicator. February 12, 1994. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  4. ↑ Buss, Bryan. "Joshua Kadison - Painted Desert Serenade". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  5. ↑ Flick, Larry (May 22, 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 110. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  6. ↑ Sholin, Dave (September 17, 1993). "Gavin Picks: Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 62. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  7. ↑ Masterton, James (April 23, 1995). "Week Ending April 29th 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  8. ↑ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. March 19, 1994. p. 9. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  9. ↑ Jones, Alan (February 5, 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 20. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kilgo, John (September 17, 1992). "Mainstream: Music Meeting" (PDF). The Network Forty. p. 20. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Jessie (1994) by Joshua Kadison". IMVDb.com. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  13. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  14. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2256." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 33. August 13, 1994. p. 10. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 28. July 9, 1994. p. 17. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Europe Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. April 30, 1994. p. 21. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (17.02.1994 – 23.02.1994)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). February 17, 1994. p. 20. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  21. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Jessie". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Joshua Kadison" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  23. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  24. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie". Top 40 Singles.
  25. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  26. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie". Singles Top 100.
  27. ↑ "Joshua Kadison – Jessie". Swiss Singles Chart.
  28. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. January 29, 1994. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. January 8, 1994. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Pop Airplay". Billboard. January 8, 1994. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1994". austriancharts.at (in Austrian German). Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  33. ↑ "1994 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. p. 12. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1994" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Jaarlijsten 1994" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1994" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  38. ↑ "1994 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-68. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  39. ↑ Borzillo, Carrie (May 21, 1994). "Slow Build Pays Off for SBK's Kadison". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 21. p. 73. The first single, 'Jessie,' which was serviced to AC in April 1993 and to top 40 the next month...
  40. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. February 12, 1994. p. 21.
  41. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. April 15, 1995. p. 31.
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