Peak
6
Weeks
27
Score
4,052
Chart Year
1982
This song is about the anticipation and excitement of a night out on the town. Joe Jackson wrote and recorded the Night And Day album in New York City, and the first side of the album describes various encounters with the city. "Steppin' Out" is the last song on side one, and takes us on a journey through Manhattan in a taxi. All the tracks on the album segue together, which is a casualty of digital, song by song downloads. The video featured a housekeeper pretending she was a Cinderella figure, and was filmed over one night in the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. This being 1982 and with MTV increasing in influence, Jackson made the video, but he wasn't happy about it. He told Time Out in 1984: "Rock 'n' roll is degenerating into a big circus, and videos and MTV are very much part of that. People who are seriously interested in making music as an end in itself are going to have to split away and forge a different path." According to the VH1 show Pop Up Video, the phrase "steppin' out" was coined in New York City in the 1930s. When Joe Jackson's marriage broke he moved to New York to record Night And Day. The title is from the Cole Porter song, and the album was designed to have the feel of 24 hours in New York City, with the first side representing "Day" and the second "Night." This was Joe Jackson's biggest hit in the US, but in the UK 1980's "It's Different For Girls" went one better peaking at #5. "Steppin' Out" received a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in 1983 but lost to "Rosanna" by Toto.
Now The mist across the window hides the lines But nothing hides the color of the lights that shine Electricity so fine Look and dry your eyes We So tired of all the darkness in our lives With no more angry words to say Can come alive Get into a car and drive To the other side Me babe, steppin out Into the night Into the light You babe, steppin out Into the night Into the light We Are young but getting old before our time We'll leave the T.V. and the radio behind Don't you wonder what we'll find Steppin' out tonight You Can dress in pink and blue just like a child And in a yellow taxi turn to me and smile We'll be there in just a while If you follow me Me babe, steppin' out Into the night Into the light You babe, steppin' out Into the night Into the light
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 21, 1982 | 88 | 38 |
| 2 | Aug 28, 1982 | 81 | 45 |
| 3 | Sep 4, 1982 | 75 | 51 |
| 4 | Sep 11, 1982 | 65 | 61 |
| 5 | Sep 18, 1982 | 61 | 65 |
| 6 | Sep 25, 1982 | 55 | 71 |
| 7 | Oct 2, 1982 | 46 | 80 |
| 8 | Oct 9, 1982 | 41 | 85 |
| 9 | Oct 16, 1982 | 35 | 91 |
| 10 | Oct 23, 1982 | 32 | 94 |
| 11 | Oct 30, 1982 | 27 | 99 |
| 12 | Nov 6, 1982 | 24 | 102 |
| 13 | Nov 13, 1982 | 14 | 112 |
| 14 | Nov 20, 1982 | 9 | 117 |
| 15 | Nov 27, 1982 | 8 | 118 |
| 16 | Dec 4, 1982 | 7 | 119 |
| 17 | Dec 11, 1982 | 6 | 120 |
| 18 | Dec 18, 1982 | 6 | 120 |
| 19 | Dec 25, 1982 | 6 | 120 |
| 20 | Jan 1, 1983 | 6 | 120 |