Working Class Dog

Working Class Dog
Working Class Dog
Studio album by Rick Springfield
Released	February 1981
Recorded	1980–1981
Studio	Sound City, Van Nuys, California
Genre	Power pop; pop rock;
Length	32:11
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Rick Springfield, Bill Drescher, Keith Olsen
Rick Springfield chronology
Singles from Working Class Dog
	"Jessie's Girl"; Released: February 1981; "I've Done Everything for You"; Released: March 1981; "Love is Alright Tonite"; Released: November 1981;

Professional ratings
Review scores
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.

Track listing

All tracks written by Rick Springfield except as indicated.

Side one
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

Side two
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 Sylvia"	4:43

25th anniversary edition
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

Album cover

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 music video for "Jessie's Girl". 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]

Personnel

Rick Springfield - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
Robben Ford - guitar
Neil Giraldo - guitar, bass
Gabriel Katona - keyboards
Jeff Eyrich - bass
Mike Baird - drums
Jack White - drums
Jeremiah Cox - French horn, background vocals
Tom Kelly - background vocals

Credits

Produced by Rick Springfield, Bill Drescher and Keith Olsen
Engineered by Bill Drescher, Chris Minto and Doug Pakes at Sound City
Mastered by Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Australia Albums (Kent Music Report)^[8]	33
US Billboard 200^[9]	7

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Position
US Billboard 200^[10]	38
Chart (1982)	Position
US Billboard 200^[11]	31

Certifications

Certifications for *Working Class Dog*
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.

References

^ Breihan, Tom (13 May 2020). "The Number Ones: Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 July 2023. ...he came out with Working Class Dog, an album of solidly punchy power-pop...
^ ^a ^b "Working Class Dog - Rick Springfield - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
^ "Rick Springfield - Taxi Dancing Original Version - Lyrics".
^ "Rick Springfield Reaffirms His Dog Obsession And Wins Fans' Hearts With Adorable Photo Evidence – AngusPost". Anguspost.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
^ Simmons, Charlety (25 August 1981). "Springfield brought dream from Down Under". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
^ "The Envelope: Hollywood's Awards and Industry Insider - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 289. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Rick Springfield Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1982". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Rick Springfield – Working Class Dog". Music Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
^ "American album certifications – Rick Springfield – Working Class Dog". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 September 2022.

[Breihan_2020-1] Breihan, Tom (13 May 2020). "The Number Ones: Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 July 2023. ...he came out with Working Class Dog, an album of solidly punchy power-pop...

[AM-2] "Working Class Dog - Rick Springfield - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

[3] "Rick Springfield - Taxi Dancing Original Version - Lyrics".

[4] "Rick Springfield Reaffirms His Dog Obsession And Wins Fans' Hearts With Adorable Photo Evidence – AngusPost". Anguspost.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

[5] Simmons, Charlety (25 August 1981). "Springfield brought dream from Down Under". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 27 February 2016.

[6] "The Envelope: Hollywood's Awards and Industry Insider - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

[7] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[aus-8] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 289. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[ac_Billboard200_Rick_Springfield-9] "Rick Springfield Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

[10] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

[11] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1982". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

[CanadaRick_SpringfieldWorking_Class_DogalbumCertRef-12] "Canadian album certifications – Rick Springfield – Working Class Dog". Music Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2022.

[United_StatesRick_SpringfieldWorking_Class_DogalbumCertRef-13] "American album certifications – Rick Springfield – Working Class Dog". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 September 2022.

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v t e Rick Springfield
Studio albums	Beginnings (1972) Comic Book Heroes (1973) Wait for Night (1976) Working Class Dog (1981) Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) Living in Oz (1983) Beautiful Feelings (1984) Tao (1985) Rock of Life (1988) Karma (1999) Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (2004) The Day After Yesterday (2005) Christmas with You (2007) Venus in Overdrive (2008) My Precious Little One: Lullabies for a New Generation (2009) Songs for the End of the World (2012) Rocket Science (2016) The Snake King (2018)
Soundtrack albums	Mission: Magic! (1974) Hard to Hold (1984)
Live albums	Stripped Down (2015)
Compilation albums	Playlist: The Very Best of Rick Springfield (2008)
Singles	"Speak to the Sky" "Jessie's Girl" "I've Done Everything for You" "Love Is Alright Tonite" "Don't Talk to Strangers" "What Kind of Fool Am I" "Affair of the Heart" "Human Touch" "Love Somebody" "Bruce" "State of the Heart"
Related articles	Discography The Red Locusts Zoot Mission: Magic! TV series (1973) The Morris Springfield Project

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