Chuck E.'s In Love
Encyclopedia
"Chuck E.’s In Love" is a song by American singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones
. Released in 1979
on her eponymous debut album, Rickie Lee Jones
from Warner Bros. Records
, the song became her biggest hit, going to number 4 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100
list.
"Chuck E.’s In Love" is Track 1 on Side 1 of the Rickie Lee Jones LP, on which it runs 3:28 minutes long. It is Side A on the single; the B-side is “On Saturday Afternoon in 1963”.
spent a lot of time hanging out with their friend Chuck E. Weiss
at the seedy Tropicana Motel in Los Angeles. Eventually Weiss, affectionately referred to as "Chuck E." disappeared. Later Weiss called the apartment where Jones and Waits lived. Waits took the call, at which time Weiss explained the reason for his disappearance, he was now in Denver, and had moved there because he had fallen in love with a cousin in Colorado. Waits hung up, then explained to Jones, "Chuck E.’s in love." Jones liked the sound of the sentence and wrote a song around it.
Although toward the end of "Chuck E.’s In Love" the lyrics state, "Chuck E.’s in love with the little girl singing this song," that twist ending is fictional, Jones was never the girl with whom Chuck E. was in love.
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones is an American vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards.-Childhood:...
. Released in 1979
1979 in music
See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...
on her eponymous debut album, Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones is an American vocalist, musician, songwriter, and producer. Over the course of a three-decade career, Jones has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, blues, pop, soul, and jazz standards.-Childhood:...
from Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, the song became her biggest hit, going to number 4 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
list.
"Chuck E.’s In Love" is Track 1 on Side 1 of the Rickie Lee Jones LP, on which it runs 3:28 minutes long. It is Side A on the single; the B-side is “On Saturday Afternoon in 1963”.
Inspiration
Jones and her lover/fellow songwriter Tom WaitsTom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
spent a lot of time hanging out with their friend Chuck E. Weiss
Chuck E. Weiss
-History:Chuck E. Weiss grew up in Denver, Colorado, where his parents owned a record store . Through his parents, and by spending time at the local blues bar Ebbett's Field, he met Lightnin' Hopkins. Lightnin' was impressed with his drum playing and took him on tour, where Weiss had the...
at the seedy Tropicana Motel in Los Angeles. Eventually Weiss, affectionately referred to as "Chuck E." disappeared. Later Weiss called the apartment where Jones and Waits lived. Waits took the call, at which time Weiss explained the reason for his disappearance, he was now in Denver, and had moved there because he had fallen in love with a cousin in Colorado. Waits hung up, then explained to Jones, "Chuck E.’s in love." Jones liked the sound of the sentence and wrote a song around it.
Although toward the end of "Chuck E.’s In Love" the lyrics state, "Chuck E.’s in love with the little girl singing this song," that twist ending is fictional, Jones was never the girl with whom Chuck E. was in love.