Jamie

Album: Weezer (The Blue Album) (1994)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo wrote this song for and about Jamie Young, the band's first lawyer, whom they'd met after signing to Geffen records in 1993. Although band lawyers are typically compensated very well for their time, Cuomo felt that Young was going above and beyond to help the band and protect their interests.
  • Another song that was influenced by Young was called "Mrs. Young," written by original Weezer bassist Matt Sharp. The title of that song was later changed to "Please Let That Be You" and the track was recorded by Sharp's side project band The Rentals in 1993.
  • This song was the B-side to Weezer's massive hit "Buddy Holly." Early on, frontman Rivers Cuomo didn't want "Buddy Holly" released as a single and didn't even want to include it on the band's self-titled debut album in 1994. After some convincing by producer and Cars frontman Ric Ocassek, Cuomo agreed to put the track on the album.
  • This song was recorded by Dale Johnson, a student at Layola Marymount who was taking a class in music recording and sound engineering. Johnson worked with Weezer to record the tune for one of his class projects. The track was recorded live on April 15, 1993 with no overdubs.

    Johnson recalled that the band was happy with his version but added: "I never entirely was completely satisfied. I mean, there's only so much you can do with a live take and only a few hours! Rivers seemed to be really amazed when I told him I only got a B+ on the project."
  • This song was first delegated to the DGC Rarities, Vol. 1 compilation album after some convincing from A&R man Todd Sullivan. At first, the band was concerned that their live version of the song was not good enough to be released on an album full of studio tracks from other DGC artists. Sullivan eventually convinced Weezer that the take had an amazing feel and that the world needed to hear it.
  • This is one of the few officially released Weezer songs that features originally guitarist Jason Cropper before he was replaced by Brian Bell. The band recorded the song with the intention of it being their first 7", but for some reason it was never released as a single.

Comments: 1

  • João Pedro Flores from Rio De Janeiro, BrasilOne of the best and favorites weezer's songs to me, sad that was removed from spotify
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A Timeline

"Stairway To Heaven" Lawsuit: A TimelineSong Writing

Untangling the events that led to the "Stairway To Heaven" lawsuit.