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Working Class Dog

1981 studio album by Rick Springfield

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.
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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 number one 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.

01Track listing

All tracks written by Rick Springfield except as indicated.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(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 Hagar3:17
Side two
No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
11."Easy to Cry" (previously unreleased)3:33
12."Taxi Dancing" (original version, previously unreleased)3:35
13."Jessie's Girl" (demo version)3:11

02Album cover

The album cover features a picture of a Bull Terrier dog dressed in a white shirt with a black tie. 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. The 2011 Jonathan Coulton song "Je Suis Rick Springfield" makes reference to the album cover. Ronnie died in 1994.

03Personnel

04Credits

05Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1981) Peak
position
Australia Albums (Kent Music Report) 33
US Billboard 200 7

Year-end charts

Chart (1981) Position
US Billboard 200 38
Chart (1982) Position
US Billboard 200 31

06Certifications

Certifications for Working Class Dog
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) 2× Platinum 200,000^
United States (RIAA) Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Watch videos about Working Class DogExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Working Class Dog, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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