Joe Jackson - Steppin' out, analysis of a pop classic 

Joe Jackson is so underrated, good choice - always thought he was awesome.

Steppin is actually pretty much electronic song: drums are from Korg drum machine, bass is programmed on synth. Only piano and clockenspiel are acoustic.

“Don’t underestimate the power of pop music.” You couldn’t be more right Mr. George. 😁

Joe Jackson is a singular talent in pop music. No one is quite like him. I wasn’t aware of those live versions. I’m checking them out right now. Thank you so much! Subscribed!

Steppin' Out isn't his first hit. The two albums he released in 1979, Look Sharp! and I'm The Man, had several hits. "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" was his first single and first top 20 hit in the UK.

That haunting bassline -unforgettable.

Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him" is a masterpiece

Great video! I saw him live the first time a month ago! His new record is absolutely beautiful too.

I love the song stepping out by Joe Jackson. I was just watching the song before watching your video. I love the tuxedos in the video. Makes me remember when I was a kid in the early 80’s. Thanks for posting 😊.

Thanks for this. Steppin' Out is my favourite music track. I've listened to it umpteen times & still love it. Joe's a musical genius, no doubt about it.

Thanks for this about JJ. I have met him this year back stage in Zurich during his tour. He signed an album I have from him. Something he does almost never. Great Artist. He goes almost to the end during his concerts, never seen an Artist who gives so much during an concert. My respect for him

JJ is sadly under rated. I’ve been a huge fan since his 1st album, and have been following his extremely varied and phenomenal musical genius. Saw him live just a couple years ago; such a great show. Every album is worth a listen. 🎶🎶🎶

I went to Joe Jackson's concert in the UK on Saturday night (yes, 2 days ago). He and his 3 other band members gave us an exceptional evening and an incredible performance, in a huge venue (Symphony Hall, Birmingham) but still quite awe inspiring and totally impressive. He is still a brilliant musician and singer and his band members were true professionals, and the whole show was greatly entertaining. His first hit was actually "Is She Really Going Out With Him" in 1979, and "Steppin' Out" was also a hit for him, but in 1982. He performed both of these songs (besides many others) in the show, but ended with "Steppin' Out" in its original "ballad" version, rather than the released "disco" version of 1982, and rather like your more elaborate performance here. Well done for recognising that distinction, demonstrating it so well and sharing it with us here. Many thanks and please keep up the good work ...

WOW! That was an awesome analysis and you are awesome too. I love Joe Jackson and he is timeless. I'm subscibing! THANKS!

this kind of artist has that talent to archive not just a song, if through the song make a game of sounds that never tire u, 80's had that magical envoirment,thanks SO much for describe us this classic.

Been a fan of Joe Jackson since I first heard 'Is She Really Going Out With Him' in 1979, he's a great performer/songwriter. I'm a great fan of Graham Maby too, Joe's go to bass player who underpinned Joe's songs on his first 3 albums with the 4 piece band. As many comments mention, Joe is underrated mainly because of the diverse music the writes that don't get the airplay it deserves. I've seen Joe Jackson live from 1980 to present day, he never disappoints even when he rearranges some of his songs to how he now feels they should sound 30 years after they were recorded....

I’ve been a huge fan since the late 70s. Joe Jackson is one of the most eclectic artists out there!

Thank you so much for this video. I grew up in the late 70's and through the 80's and Steppin' Out was one of my favorite songs of that era.

I came to US in 1982 and heard steppin' out from television on my first week after I arrived in US. I think it was M TV. I could not understand any of the English language lyrics, however I was fascinated by the beautiful piano melody, chords, base sound, rhythm, and Joe's singing style. Thank you for detailing out his masterpiece.

i was in grammar school when i first heard this song and all of us kids thought it was a children's song. we could dance to it for hours and it was great theme music for being busy as a bee.

Thanks alot - He`s underrated indeed! Your video just got me listening to the "Night & Day" album ovr & over again. :D Btw, your improvisation of "Stepping Out" was tremendous that gave me goosebumps all the way!!!

Oh, haven't heard Joe Jackson in years! So good! Definitely a richness to it even if it's categorized as "pop". I just heard a song from way back (and much different from this) but it reminded me of a great singer, Edwyn Collins "A Girl Like You". Amazing voice. Was watching Lucifer on Netflix - that show has a great soundtrack! Down the rabbit hole I go!

Hey Vaughn! Thank you so much for this as it not only brought it back but inspired me to have a go at the song myself. I'm a Martin Gore inspired songwriter and musician from Victoria Canada and really love this content! Cheers!

Hey, the song sound perfectly a little more slowly for me, like you did in this video!! Well done.

Thank you so much for posting this. Now I’ve listened not only to your brilliant elucidation but to all the links, as well. Made a perfect and beautiful end to my Thanksgiving day. I’m so grateful.

Actually Stepping was his second and last hit single hitting 6th in UK. First was "It's Different for Girls" which hit 5th 1979. BUT his last album Fool is a surprise hit in UK making no 13 and 25 in USA!

Parts of that Tokyo piano accompaniment you played sounds so much like ‘Life’s What You Make It’, which isn’t a bad thing. I’ve always loved Joe Jackson and think he has been universally underrated.

The song has a bell like sound that always pulls my attention to stepping out .

This song made quite an impression on me as a small child in the early 80s. I haven't heard this in forever. The musicality of this and bands like level 42 from around this time period are really impressive. You can tell there was a lot of formal training. Probably in jazz.

I just discovered your channel today - I've since watched 10 videos. 😎 I like that you mentioned 'Stripped' as one of your favorite DM songs - mine too. Maybe in the future you can do an in-depth breakdown of your personal faves from each DM album. I think it would be heavily discussed as it's a difficult process to choose just one. Are you a fan of Jan Hammer's work by any chance? Like Alan Wilder, I feel that he never received his just due, not even for his sheer brilliance on 'Miami Vice.' Everyone should subscribe to his You Tube channel! Anyhow, cheers to you and keep up the good work - much appreciated.

Joe Jackson is my favourite artist of all time, and in my opinion the most underrated musician that’s ever existed. Every album is completely unique, from Look Sharp!, I’m The Man and Beat Crazy’s new wave brilliance, to Night & Day’s synthesiser filled and Latin influence, Body & Soul and Big World were super 80s, Blaze of Glory is one of the best albums of all time, and Laughter & Lust is a pop masterpiece. And that’s only from 79-92. He still creates incredible music and is a genius. Thanks for having an analysis of JJ, there’s way too few of them on the internet. (However ‘Is She Really’ was his first hit, back in 79!)

Joe Jackson was a star in the 70's New Wave his first hit was Sunday Papers

Night & Day was the first real music I fell in love with in 1982 when I was 8.

I was a teen when this first came out and I was listening to more electronic stuff then so this stood out for me. But in recent years this song has grown on me even more

Another interesting artist is Alan Parsons

I just saw Joe Jackson in February. A birthday gift to myself. Being quite a bit older than you ... Steppin' Out was not his first hit. You have to go back to 1979 and his Look Sharp album. Is She Really Going Out With Him was his first hit. This tour I saw him on was kind of a 40 anniversary of that first album. The cool thing was he played Steppin' Out using the original drum machine he recorded it with . They had to rig it into the modern sound system but it worked brilliantly.

Joe Jackson is sooooo underrated! I really like the album with this song on it, which is mostly not necessarily synthesizer related, but it is a trademark of new wave. I like his early work, especially the song “Is She Really Going Out With Him”

All of the albums are worth a listen… so eclectic so brilliantly written and performed. Big World was recorded in front of a live audience but you wouldn’t know it; the audience was warned of any noise and they’d be ejected!! He wanted the ambiance of the live forum and he got it!!! Genius!!!

Great video and analysis of Joe Jackson, a brilliant talent! 😂

I can dig self taught musicians more than trained. They tend to be more from the heart. They arent just making a mathematical pattern. Their soul is bare. Not saying if you know what you are doing you have no soul, but feeling in music, to me, outshines a formula Any day.

Joe Jackson is great. I love “Breaking Us In Two.”

I loved Steppin' out! That bassline... It always stood out especially in '82.

Just watched all of the related link videos, too. Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo was the venue where I saw DM for the first time (Black Celebration tour). Lovely coincidence! Thanks for 'digging up this forgotten gem'. My friend who went to DM gig with me also went to see Joe Jackson gig. I guess I missed out...

I was about 10 when I first heard JJ. Been a fan since. Love his newer rearrangements too. Great video. 🙏

Holy cow! I was just learning this song on piano yesterday and now you have a video on it! Great job man! 😃 I appreciate your work

I have always liked Steppin’ Out. There are some great remakes of this track: the Japanese group Fantastic Plastic Machine has remade Steppin’ Out with a Bossa Nova beat with smooth vocals for the French Hôtel Costes series of lounge music mixes. Ben Folds Five has also remade this song too. Nothing like the original though. Another great video!

I think we're nearing a point where kids can appreciate Joe. ive been a rabid fan for years but his intricacies and sophisticated style caused my plight to fall on deaf ears. Joe is just fukn brilliant.

One of my favorite JJ songs is "You can't get what you want till you know what you want". Still though, I remember seeing "Steppin' Out" video on MTV's Greatest Hits quite often (one of the hosts was Paul King as far as I can remember) and I was totally hooked on his music, I truly liked the romantic atmosphere of this promo, a young couple dating in NYC... Excellent...

3:08 there goes the classy Vaughn warm kindness. :) I always feel the utmost respect for piano players in bars and such. I actually admire them as I'm a rather poor player and I know the talent, discipline and hard work that takes to be a great player.

I love Joe Jackson, this was actually my first introduction to Joe

Back in 82..sitting in my one bedroom Dublin garret..this was my vinyl anthem on Friday/Saturday nights as I headed out with my £11.52 with the hope of pulling a bird!!! But when you have youth...alles moglich!!!

Brilliant this tokyo live performance 👍very lovely, atmospheric, even creepy.. never heard this name before but now it's a real push to listen to his other tracks. I hope he's not a musician of one hit. Thanks for introducing, mate ✌

Steppin out used to play relentlessly in the early 80s....loved this song

Great vid but just wondering if a yazoo video might be in the works. Really love to see a break down of upstairs at Eric’s or something like that!

One of my favorite songs. I usually create the baseline in a sequencer then play the piano part live.

I think Vince Clarke is a genius.A Little Respect I think is a for me in the top ten pop of all time.

Want to hear and see something wild: Look for Joe Jackson and Todd Rundgren performing While My Guitar Gently Weeps with a string quartet.

I enjoyed this clip, bu the Erasure mention and video pulled me in for the subscription. Well done indeed.

From a JJ fanatic, Essential Albums: Look Sharp I'm The Man Beat Crazy Jumpin' Jive Soundtrack to "Mike's Murder" Night and Day Big World Body and Soul Blaze of Glory Laughter and Lust Night Music Heaven and Hell Night and Day II Rain Fool There's more greatness but these are the absolute must-haves. They represent a body of work unrivaled, in my opinion, by any living artist. Take time to savor each album. It is not hyperbolic to suggest that within this music are songs that rank amongst the finest ever written.

One of my favourite songs of all time is Music by John Miles.

Love your videos!

his other huge 80s tune "You can't get what you want" is worth revisiting as well, especially the extended version... made the US top 20 in 1984

thanks for this video. i know about Joe Jackson. In that years i was heavy in HIGH ENERGY MUSIC. Bronski beat, erythmics, the flirts, man2man, Divine hazell dean, mike mareen, their was a lot artists. i have a son who lives in Bramley, UK. Wills Reygan. he can play any musical instrument. and he have about 13 songs recorded, at a studio, where he was working. he is a program engineer by career. he had doing everything by himself on that 13 songs. (covers of other artists)

I always thought exactly the same, Joe Jackson is very underrated, even when there are great albums like the soundtrack of Tucker. As a teenager I used to think that Steppin´out and Photographic has a very similar rythm.

Thank you for the analysis. You're a brilliant keyboard artist and musician yourself. Joe Jackson is amazing. Watch the video Joe Jackson - Steppin' Out (Live at the London Palladium 17/04/2019). I like when he moves his jaw side to side as he's singing, adding an extra touch to the great song. Steppin' Out has an infectious sound and beat which makes it terrific. The rhythm and melody are amazing.

If one can read music and has an iPad, you then have every song at your fingertips!! Play on!!🎶🎶🎶

Thanks for the education on JJ, I love his songs but didn’t know who it was! I would still love a Goldfrapp Felt Mountain breakdown mate, then......Moloko! Cheers

As already mentioned - I knew Jackson from his first two albums and this single was a change in style. I prefer listening to the 12 inch just because of the walking synth bass line intro that underpins the groove of the song.

Steppin out is just wonderful. I like it more and more each time I hear it. Really good choice for a song analysis. Have you heard Is she really going out with him? That's a really great song to play on piano and the middle 8 is incredible. I'm classically trained I did grade 5 up to grade 5 piano and theory and I still don't understand half of what the music theory is. You play a lot better then a some classically trained pianists I've seen. The thing is playing a song accurately is a skill but Ive found a lot of trained piano players struggle with the emotional weight that certain songs need.

As in everything else, there is real music and then there is imitation, noise and just rubbish. Timeless music does not need fanatics and cults to outlive generations. It just is and one is immediately drawn to it, no matter the style. I suppose because art is true human heritage, some forms are just perfect and cannot be improved, no matter the age or technology. Its effect on us is often subliminal and innate but our recognition of beauty is there, even if at times we don't or don't want to acknowledge it. Millions of people flock each year to prominent historical landmarks, artefacts and classical performances of all genre, even though they may be centuries old. And BTW, you are a gifted keyboard player. Academic papers can help but they are not a replacement for natural talent. Many, in spite of formal training, would kill to have that kind of confidence on a piano. Keep well.

and thanks for your educated, tasteful reflection on Joe's thing.

Great to have this channel Vaughn. Haven't listened to Joe Jackson for ages, but did have one of his albums on vinyl back in the early 80's. I feel the live versions of this tune might well be the originally conceived version(s) of the song rather than the radio pop version (that I never really enjoyed). His 86 live version in particular is a treat and so much more engaging. Btw I've been on an "Alan Wilder-fest" for a few months now, really discovering his contribution to Depeche Mode and his production brilliance. Thought someone out there must be discussing how Alan Wilder's departure affected the Mode's sound, typed into RU-vid "Depeche Mode without Alan Wilder" and to my amazement you'd put up your video entitled with the same description only a couple of weeks prior! Have since watched all the others and now subscribed. I've got some thoughts about Alan I'd like to share but will put them in that video rather than this one, plus other comments on the other videos as I get the chance.

Joe studied music at a high level (in London) and had vast knowledge of a wide range of music, including jazz, Latin and classical.

Wow man,I agree completely, this song made me a fan of Joe, other than "is she really going out with him", Joe has an amazing pool of wonderful songs

Stepping Out....by far one of the BEST songs to hit the open city highway at night with a really good sound system. Better if on a nice fast comfortable sport tour motorcycle like a Kawasaki Concours or nice FJR.

Different for girls was a great track too Peace ✌️ out people

this was one of my first fav songs in my childhood! love the 1986-live version. sounds a bit Tears for Fears-esque

i remember when he was getting regular airplay on MTV back in the day.

Steppin' out is a great song, but not really a representation of Joe Jackson's back catalog. It was more like Joe Jackson's new wavish one off. Almost how like "Money For Nothing" isn't a fair representation of Dire Straits. It was also a massive hit, way larger than chart performance would have you think. It was on heavy rotation and on many 80's mix tapes, like they used to make every year in the 80's. It was on way more main stream heavy rotation than DM ever had in the 80's, even People Are People (at least in North America). I guess only people who were listening to pop music back then understand that. Anyway, my point is while people your age "discovered" joe jackson years after his commercial peak, this song was so entirely ubiquitous that EVERYONE at least knew this song, if not really the name of the guy that made it. Kind of like the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star".

this probably isn't your cup of tea so no worries, but I feel like the new Rammstein record has a lot of nice electronic/synth parts. but I understand if that isn't something you'd want to touch upon on your channel. another interesting thing is Rammstein's cover of Stripped

Very nice. Nicely sung too.

I play a guitar a little bit, so piano always seemed to me like a "royal" instrument, the one for the elites (is it due to the size? I don't know). So, naturally, I am not familiar with many great pianists. So thank you for intoducing me to Joe Jackson, I might want to check out his discography. Those live versions of a song gave me goosebumps. It reminds me when rock bands do an acoustic version of their songs. In some cases acoustic version of a rock song can have the same impact, if not more, as a studio version. I guess it's like peeling of extra layers and getting to the core. If the core of a song is strong, it will work. Hell, even Megadeth did several their songs acoustic! Check it out here in RU-vid, it's quite interesting. Ok, I've wrote enough, thanks for the video! P.S. Looking forward for more videos about piano greats!

Great piano playing and vocals sir

Brilliant song! Thanks for sharing this!

What an exceptional video.

Have you done any deep dives on Bruce Hornsby? Another beautiful piano player

Joe Jackson es un maravilloso músico y siempre acompañado por su hermano musical Graham Maby.

Somehow, the fact that this is a DANCE song is lost in the analysis. The arpeggiated bassline carries so much of the song's power and drive. Anyone listening to it on a decent stereo, let alone in a dance club, understands that immediately. Without the concise, insistent groove beneath, we see how quickly this pop masterpiece descends into rambling lounge music.

I love the chords on this song.

If you haven't already? Look into Howard Jones, and Thomas Dolby. Joe Jackson has another great song. I can't remember the name Damn it. Something like Be my #1. It is bloody brilliant!

Love me some Joe Jackson. So underrated. Did you hear Rain? That’s a great album.

I agree about Erasure. I saw them play their songs acoustically live and preferred that to their synth versions from then on even though I love my synths and keyboard bands.

great vocals, I love the original Joe Jacskon version. Good job 👍👍👍

Man, I just got goose bumps at 10:20

Speaking of pop pianists.. any plans on doing an analysis on Ben Folds?

Are you playing the Emaj7 in the chorus? It really sells the tune IMO. The moment of E natural resolving to Gbmaj6 (voices as Ebm7/Gb). Not trying to be technical but I don’t think I heard the Emaj7. Could be wrong.

Most of the biggest hits Joe Jackson is known for, in the UK at least, pre-date Steppin' Out. Although I regard Steppin' Out as his best song.

His first hit was years before on hit album Look Sharp!

I listen to First Wave Sirius radio, and they play Joe Jackson all the time. Yes, he has that New York style of piano playing like Billy Joel. While I'm not a big fan, he is surely a wonderful piano player. There's something to be said when he so beautifully plays Steppin Out live. When it's done well, it is nice to hear a popular song improvised a little. Variation on a theme so to speak. Sometimes, I even like it better than the original. Sometimes. For being self taught, you play ballads pretty good. You have a feel for melody. I'm thinking you are a Scorpio Sun sign? Lol. take care.

Next video: in-depth analysis of Machine Gun by The Commodores