"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel. It was released on September 29, 1983, on his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983). The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl."
The 12" EP featured the tracks "My Life", "Just the Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" whereas some 7" single versions featured "Careless Talk" as a B-side.
According to an interview with Howard Stern, Joel had originally titled the song "Uptown Girls" and it was conceived on an occasion when he was surrounded by Christie Brinkley, Whitney Houston and his then girlfriend Elle Macpherson.
According to numerous interviews with Joel, the song was initially written about his relationship with Macpherson, but it ended up also becoming about his soon to be wife, Brinkley (both women being two of the most famous supermodels of the 1980s).
Joel also has said that the song was inspired by the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Although "Uptown Girl" was not as successful in the U.S. as previous single "Tell Her About It", it was still a big hit. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one in the United Kingdom, staying at that position for five weeks as his only number one hit in the country.
It was the second biggest selling single of 1983 in the United Kingdom behind only Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon", which Joel had knocked off the number one position on November 1, 1983.
The song was the 19th biggest-selling single of the 1980s in the United Kingdom, selling 975,000 copies. It has sold over 1.06 million copies as of 2017.
In the music video, Billy Joel plays an auto mechanic who attempts to impress a high-class uptown girl, whose car has arrived at the auto shop/gas station for gas, with the help of three other mechanics.
The title character in the music video was played by Christie Brinkley, whom Joel married two years later.
Different versions of the music video opening were produced, in which an auto mechanic is watching the end of Joel's previous hit "Tell Her About It" on a small television.
Then, depending on the version, the next image on the television is either a blank screen or the logo of the network or TV show the video was on.