Working Class Dog | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 1981 | |||
Recorded | 1980–1981 | |||
Studio | Sound City, Van Nuys, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 32:11 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Producer | Rick Springfield, Bill Drescher, Keith Olsen | |||
Rick Springfield chronology | ||||
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Singles from Working Class Dog | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Working Class Dog is the fifth studio album by Australian rock musician Rick Springfield, released by RCA Records in 1981. The album was certified Platinum in the United States and eventually sold over three million US copies. It produced Springfield's biggest career hit with the #1 million-selling song, "Jessie's Girl". Springfield was awarded the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male.
The album was re-released on CD in 2006 as a "25th anniversary edition" with three bonus tracks.
All tracks written by Rick Springfield except as indicated.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Love Is Alright Tonite" | 3:28 | |
2. | "Jessie's Girl" | 3:14 | |
3. | "Hole in My Heart" | 3:12 | |
4. | "Carry Me Away" | 3:01 | |
5. | "I've Done Everything for You" | Sammy Hagar | 3:17 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
6. | "The Light of Love" | 2:43 |
7. | "Everybody's Girl" | 2:59 |
8. | "Daddy's Pearl" | 2:37 |
9. | "Red Hot & Blue Love" | 2:57 |
10. | "Inside Silvia" | 4:43 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Easy to Cry" (Previously unreleased) | 3:33 |
12. | "Taxi Dancing" (Original version, previously unreleased [3] ) | 3:35 |
13. | "Jessie's Girl" (Demo Version) | 3:11 |
The album cover features a picture of a Bull Terrier [4] dog dressed in a white shirt with a black tie. [5] The dog was Springfield’s pet named Ronnie, and he briefly cameoed in the song’s music video. Ronnie would later be featured in the cover art of his owner’s next album Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet . Working Class Dog‘s cover (credited to Mike Doud) was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Album Package" in 1981. [6] The 2011 Jonathan Coulton song "Je Suis Rick Springfield" makes reference to the album cover. Ronnie passed away in 1994. [7]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [12] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [13] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Richard Lewis Springthorpe, known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut single, "Speak to the Sky", which reached the top 10 in Australia in mid-1972. When he moved to the United States, he had a No. 1 hit with "Jessie's Girl" in 1981 in both Australia and the US, for which he received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. He followed with four more top 10 US hits: "I've Done Everything for You", "Don't Talk to Strangers", "Affair of the Heart" and "Love Somebody". Springfield's two US top 10 albums are Working Class Dog (1981) and Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982).
Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975, consisting of Englishman Graham Russell and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). With record sales of 100 million worldwide, they had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, "Lost in Love" (1979), "All Out of Love", "Every Woman in the World", "The One That You Love", "Here I Am", "Sweet Dreams", "Even the Nights Are Better" and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" (1983). In Australia, they had four top ten placements with "Love and Other Bruises" (1976), "All Out of Love", "Every Woman in the World" and "The One That You Love". Their highest charting studio album, The One That You Love (1981) reached number ten in both Australia and the US. The group, which relocated to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, has included many members, with Hitchcock and Russell at the core. The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) inducted Air Supply into their Hall of Fame on 1 December 2013, at the annual ARIA Awards.
The Gambler is the sixth studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers, released by United Artists in November 1978. One of his most popular, it has established Rogers' status as one of the most successful artists of the 1970s and 1980s. The album reached many markets around the world, such as the Far East and Jamaica, with Rogers later commenting "When I go to Korea or Hong Kong people say 'Ah, the gambler!'". The album has sold over 5 million copies.
Street Songs is the fifth studio album by American musician Rick James, released in April 1981 on Gordy Records. It contained two of James's biggest hits: the singles "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak".
"Jessie's Girl" is a song written and performed by Australian singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album Working Class Dog, which was released in February 1981. The song is about unrequited love and centres on a young man in love with his best friend's girlfriend.
Crossroads is a 1988 music collection box set of the work of Eric Clapton released by Polydor Records. The set includes his work with the Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends and Derek and the Dominos, as well as his solo career.
Crimes of Passion is the second studio album by American singer Pat Benatar, released on August 5, 1980, by Chrysalis Records. It is Benatar's first album to feature Myron Grombacher on drums, beginning a long tenure in her band that would last into the late 1990s.
Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet is the sixth studio album by Australian rock musician Rick Springfield, released by RCA Records in 1982. The album was certified platinum in the United States, and produced three top 40 singles: "Don't Talk to Strangers", "What Kind of Fool Am I" and "I Get Excited" (No. 32). "Don't Talk to Strangers" and "Calling All Girls" also received considerable album rock airplay, charting at No. 11 and No. 4 respectively.
Living in Oz is the seventh studio album by Australian rock musician Rick Springfield, released on 30 March 1983, by RCA Records. The album was quickly certified Platinum in America.
Baby It's Me is the eighth studio album by American singer Diana Ross, released on September 16, 1977, by Motown Records. It peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 7 on the R&B album chart. The album was produced by producer Richard Perry. The LP yielded one top 40 hit, "Gettin' Ready for Love", reaching number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Other charting singles released from the album include "You Got It" and "Your Love Is So Good for Me", the latter receiving a Grammy nomination.
Borderline is the fourth studio album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. Released in 1996 on Arista Records, the album produced five singles on the Hot Country Songs charts for the duo: the Number One hit "My Maria", the #2 "I Am That Man", the #13 "Mama Don't Get Dressed Up for Nothing", another #1 in "A Man This Lonely", and finally "Why Would I Say Goodbye" at #8. Borderline was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA.
Tao is the tenth studio album by Australian musician Rick Springfield. It was released on 27 March 1985, by RCA Records.
Hard to Hold is the eighth studio album by Rick Springfield released in March 1984, by RCA Records as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album includes the U.S. Top 5 hit "Love Somebody", Top 40 hits "Don't Walk Away" and "Bop 'Til You Drop", plus minor hit "Taxi Dancing". In addition to Springfield appearing on the soundtrack, there are three tracks from other artists; "When The Lights Go Down" by Graham Parker, "Heart Of A Woman" by Nona Hendryx, and a live version of "I Go Swimming" by Peter Gabriel. The album was later remastered by Steve Hoffman for the Razor and Tie reissue label.
Defying Gravity is the sixth studio album by Australian country music artist Keith Urban. It was released on 31 March 2009 via Capitol Records Nashville. The album produced five singles, released between 2008 and 2010 respectively.
"I've Done Everything for You" is a song written and performed by Sammy Hagar, and released as a single in 1978. A version by Rick Springfield in 1981 became a top 10 hit in the US. In addition to recorded versions by Hagar and Springfield, the song has been performed and recorded by numerous bands, including Buckcherry.
Rock of Life is the 11th studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Rick Springfield, issued by RCA Records in 1988. The record peaked at a modest No. 55 on the Billboard album chart, selling approximately 350,000 copies in United States. It was the least successful of Springfield's RCA album releases.
Ronnie Dunn is the debut solo studio album by American country music artist Ronnie Dunn. It was released on June 7, 2011, by Arista Nashville. The album was Dunn's first release of solo music in nearly 25 years; he released three singles in the 1980s without issuing an album.
Playlist: The Very Best Of Rick Springfield is a compilation album by Rick Springfield, released by RCA Records in 2008. This collection was originally released with the title We Are the '80s in 2006 but was re-released with the "Playlist" title in 2008, containing the same songs and running order. Both are essentially an upgrade to Springfield's similar Greatest Hits (1989), adding two additional tracks.
Beautiful Feelings is the ninth studio album by Australian musician Rick Springfield, recorded in 1978. At the height of Springfield's popularity, Mercury Records released the album in 1984 with the musical portions re-recorded and without Springfield's involvement. The one track on the album to obtain some recognition was "Bruce", which was previously released and failed to chart in 1980, but charted and peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. The album reached number 78 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Re-Dunn is the fourth solo studio album by country music artist Ronnie Dunn. The album was released January 10, 2020, via LWR. The album is a 24-song project that features covers that have left an impact on Dunn, with him calling it a "passion project".
...he came out with Working Class Dog, an album of solidly punchy power-pop...
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