

So in an attempt to put the debate of who this track is about behind us, here is what seems to have actually gone down. Which of these women is “Uptown Girl” really about? And this was definitely the more-significant of the two romances, as they actually went on to marry in 1985 and remained so for nine years. In fact it is Christie who plays the role of the “uptown girl” on the music video itself. So the popular understanding is that this song is actually an ode to Miss Brinkley from Joel, which for the record appears to be the way the singer himself interprets it. When it did come out, by that time Billy was then dating Christie Brinkley. However Billy Joel and Elle Macpherson only had a brief, one-year relationship that ended in 1982, before this track was released. Now as alluded to earlier, Billy is indeed an opportunist. So he took advantage of the luck he experienced meeting these three beautiful ladies by initiating a relationship with Elle Macpherson. And considering that the tune is indeed named “Uptown Girl”, many people contend that it is actually about Macpherson. So anyway, they all approached Joel one day in the Caribbean while he was playing his piano. And this entire experience moved him in such a way that he wrote a song called “Uptown Girls” apparently about them, which later became “Uptown Girl”. But also interesting to note is that at the time Whitney was also an up-and-coming model, thus explaining why she would be chillin’ with Ella and Christie. Now with that being established, it is also said that this song is about a particular lady. Billy Joel conceived it upon simultaneously and unexpectedly meeting Elle Macpherson, Christie Brinkley and Whitney Houston (1963-2012). The first two personalities you may already recognize as being famous models. So this track isn’t necessarily a love song as in its lyrics, in their entirety, aren’t really about him adoring this lady. Rather they are more centered on the possibility of the two of them being together. Or all things considered, you can say that he is trying to convince the uptown girl to date him, considering he’s in love with her and all. And in realizing that she is actually searching for a guy like himself, he’s “gonna try” to get her. Or stated otherwise, he feels that he is exactly what she is looking for.


So Billy sees an opportunity. That is to say that he is attracted to this lady.
