"Just Like Jesse James" is a song recorded by American singer and actress

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

for her nineteenth

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

'' Heart of Stone'' (1989). It was released as the third North American and second European single in October 1989, by

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

. The song was written by

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's " I Was Made for Lo ...

and

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

, and produced by Child. It was a December 1989 top-ten hit. The song's title is a reference to legendary Wild West bandit

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained st ...

. The title phrase previously appeared in Linda Ronstadt’s hit “ Poor Poor Pitiful Me”.

Song information

"Just Like Jesse James" peaked at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1989, becoming Cher's third top ten single from ''Heart of Stone'' in the US. It also peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

. The song was released in the UK in December 1989 and peaked at No. 11 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February 1990. Cher has stated during concert performances that she personally never much liked the song despite its successful chart performance.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

's Gary Hill later noted that this song isn't like the rest of the songs on the album, and called it an "effective

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

." The Daily Vault's Mark Millan described it as "

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

-tinged", adding that Cher "clearly reveled in singing, and although it's very 'wordy,' it recalls the days when Cher had great success in recording songs that told a story like '

Half-Breed Half-breed is a term, now considered offensive, used to describe anyone who is of mixed race; although, in the United States, it usually refers to people who are half Native American and half European/white. Use by governments United States I ...

', ' Dark Lady,' and '

Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" is a song by American singer and actress Cher from her 1971 seventh studio album '' Chér'' (eventually reissued under the title ''Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves''). Kapp Records, a division of MCA Records, released it as ...

'." David Giles from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' commented that it's "a better song than

If I Could Turn Back Time "If I Could Turn Back Time" is a song by American singer and actress Cher from her 1989 nineteenth studio album '' Heart of Stone''. It was released as the album's lead single in July 1989, by Geffen Records. The song was written specifically f ...

. This is Cher in her 'no nonsense' frame of mind as she lambasts her man. Forceful and dramatic; another big hit."

Live performances

Cher performed the song on the following concert tours: *

Heart of Stone Tour The Heart of Stone Tour was the second solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. The tour supported her nineteenth studio album, '' Heart of Stone''. A mini tour was set up in the summer 1989, and a second leg started in 1990. The tour ...

(only for a rehearsal) * Love Hurts Tour * Do You Believe? Tour * The Farewell Tour (sung on the first leg, the second leg and the final two shows of the tour) * Dressed to Kill Tour

Track listing

*US and European 7" and cassette single #"Just Like Jesse James" – 4:06 #"Starting Over" – 4:09 *European 12" and CD single #"Just Like Jesse James" – 4:06 #" I Found Someone" – 3:42 #"Starting Over" – 4:09

Personnel

*Cher: Vocals *Brenda Russell, Desmond Child, Diane Warren: Backing Vocals *

John McCurry John McCurry (born June 24, 1957) is an American musician and composer, a guitarist, songwriter and singer based in New York City. He has worked with many well-known musical artists, including Chicago, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Al ...

, John Putnam: Electric and Acoustic Guitars *Alan St. Jon: Keyboards *Hugh McDonald: Bass *Bobby Chouinard: Drums, Percussion

Production

*Arranged and Produced by Desmond Child *Recorded by Sir Arthur Payson; assisted by Bruce Robb *Mixed by Mick Guzauski *Mastered by Dan Hersch; supervised by David Donnelly *Published by Desmobile Music Co. Inc./SBK April Music Inc./Realsongs

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

Official Cher siteASCAP
{{authority control Songs about Jesse James 1980s ballads 1989 singles Cher songs Songs written by Desmond Child James–Younger Gang Songs written by Diane Warren Rock ballads 1989 songs Geffen Records singles Song recordings produced by Desmond Child Articles containing video clips