Synopsis

Billy Joel plays a downtown auto mechanic who becomes captivated by Christie Brinkley's glamorous uptown woman. She arrives at the garage in a chauffeured Rolls-Royce, drawing the attention of Joel and his fellow mechanics, who break into energetic choreography while continuing their work. Surrounded by pin-up posters, tools and car parts, Joel tries to win her over with his performance. By the end, the class divide has disappeared: Brinkley joins him on a motorcycle as they ride away together.

Factoids & Trivia

• Christie Brinkley appeared in the video while she and Billy Joel were dating. They married on March 23, 1985, making the clip an early document of their relationship.

• The video was filmed in New York in 1983 and uses a deliberately theatrical version of a working-class garage, complete with synchronized dancing, automotive tools and exaggerated service-station imagery.

• Brinkley's arrival in a Rolls-Royce visually establishes the contrast between the "uptown" woman and Joel's mechanic character.

• Joel's motorcycle escape with Brinkley became one of the most recognizable closing images in his video catalog.

• Billboard reported that the production cost $80,000, with an additional $20,000 in favors.

• The song itself was part of Joel's 1983 project An Innocent Man, which paid tribute to the pop, R&B and doo-wop styles he admired from the 1950s and 1960s, particularly the sound associated with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.