Making a drastic change to your musical style in the middle of a successful career isn’t always the best idea. Joe Jackson did just that in 1982 with the album Night and Day, and he ended up with the biggest hit of his career, thanks to the single “Steppin’ Out.”
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What is the song about? And how did it reflect changes in Jackson’s life, most notably his new location? Here’s how Joe Jackson did some “Steppin Out” of his comfort zone, and thrived because of it.
A New Waver Branches Out
Joe Jackson came charging out of the gate in 1979 with a pair of albums that immediately stamped him as a new wave singer/songwriter to watch. He was lumped in with fellow UK “angry young men” Elvis Costello and Graham Parker as artists who could wax eloquent and articulate in the midst of a frenetic musical assault.
But Jackson soon began to try and branch out a bit, feeling hemmed in by the labels attached to him by the music press. His 1980 album Beat Crazy found him adding different textures to his music, but even he later admitted that he and his backing musicians were caught a bit betwixt and between on the record.
The move toward more of an elegant, throwback sound on his 1982 album Night and Day wasn’t completely out of the blue, in retrospect. In 1981, he released a covers album called Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive that tackled songs from the first half of the 20th century. That album didn’t get too much publicity, but it certainly anticipated what was to come when Jackson returned the next year with an album of original songs.
Biting the Big Apple
After going through a divorce, Jackson relocated to New York City in the early 1980s. The city would play a large part in Night and Day, the album he released in 1982. The songs essentially tell a story of the ups and downs of a typical 24-hour period in the city. He told The Wall Street Journal “Steppin’ Out” was meant to capture the excitement of a night on the town:
“I took a sublet in the East Village and went out to jazz and Latin clubs. One of the first songs I wrote was ‘Steppin’ Out’. I was inspired by New York. I envisioned playing a diverse range of keyboards. I wanted them to conjure up the dazzle of neon lights and the feel of cabbing from club to club to take it all in. It would be a romantic ballad set to a disco beat. As soon as I finished the music, I wrote the words. I thought of a couple who had just fought and were making up. They were telling each other, ‘Let’s forget it and take advantage of the city. Let’s just throw ourselves into the night.’”
Considering the song was released just as the New Romantic movement, with its brazen synths and robotic rhythms, was taking off, the jazzy feel of “Steppin’ Out” might not have seemed like a good fit. But audiences ate up Jackson’s gleaming keyboards and smooth vocals, as the song hit the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic.
What is the Meaning of “Steppin’ Out”?
The title is a play on the standard “Steppin’ Out With My Baby,” but the couple at the heart of Jackson’s songs have seen a bit more heartache and pain. (Or at least they’re admitting to it.) That’s why the narrator hopes the city can act as a kind of balm. Look and dry your eyes, he tells his companion after describing the beauty of the lights.
We / So tired of all the darkness in our lives, Jackson sings to begin the second verse, hinting at how they’ve gone a bit off the rails. They’ve also lost their zest for life: We / Are young but getting old before our time. But he knows that there’s hope out in the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle: Don’t you wonder what we’ll find / Steppin’ out tonight.
We’ll be there in just a while, he promises his date. If you follow me. Joe Jackson asked his audience to follow him back into another era of music on “Steppin’ Out,” and what a triumphant gambit that turned out to be.
Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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