Chuck E.'s in Love

"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, the song became her biggest hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 list.[1]

"Chuck E.'s in Love"
Single by Rickie Lee Jones
from the album Rickie Lee Jones
B-side	"On Saturday Afternoons in 1963"
Released	April 28, 1979
Length	3:31
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Rickie Lee Jones
Producer(s)	Lenny Waronker, Russ Titelman
Rickie Lee Jones singles chronology
"Chuck E.'s in Love" (1979) "Young Blood" (1979)

"Chuck E.'s in Love" is track 1 on Side One of the Rickie Lee Jones LP, on which it runs 3 minutes and 28 seconds. It is Side A on the single; the B-side is "On Saturday Afternoon in 1963".

Inspiration

Jones and her lover/fellow songwriter Tom Waits 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. When Waits took the call, Weiss explained that he was in Denver, and that he had moved there because he had fallen in love with a cousin there. When Waits hung up he announced 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," the twist ending is fictional; Jones was never the girl with whom Chuck E. was in love.[2]

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1979) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 15 Canada RPM Top Singles[4] 5 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[5] 31 Ireland (IRMA)[6] 19 New Zealand (Listener)[7] 5 UK Singles Chart[8] 18 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[9] 4 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary 20 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[10] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1979) Rank Australia[11] 132 Canada[12] 64 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 63 U.S. Cash Box[14] 24

References

1. "Chuck E.'s in Love - Rickie Lee Jones". Billboard., April 28, 1979
2. Gavin Richard, Is Tiny Dancer Really Elton's Little John?: Music's Most Enduring Mysteries, Myths, and Rumors Revealed Three Rivers Press, 2006, pp. 138-139.
3. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
4. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1979-07-21. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
5. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1979-08-11. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
6. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Chuck E's In Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
7. Flavour of New Zealand, 15 July 1979
8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 289. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
9. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
10. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 14, 1979
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "1979 Top 200 Singles". RPM. Vol. 32 no. 13. Library and Archives Canada. December 22, 1979. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
13. Musicoutfitters.com
14. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1979". Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2019.