“Hey Jealousy” by Gin Blossoms

"Hey Jealousy" first turned up in 1989 on Dusted, the Gin Blossoms' debut album, in an early version of the song that would carry the band for years. Lead guitarist Doug Hopkins wrote it, and it's heartache wrapped in a sing-along: chiming, jangling guitars and a big bright chorus that sounds sunny even when the title says otherwise.

The band produced this first take themselves with Rich Hopkins, with Eric Westfall engineering. Robin Wilson and Jesse Valenzuela share the vocal credit, Hopkins and Valenzuela handle the guitars, and Bill Leen on bass and Phillip Rhodes on drums keep it rolling at an easy, open-highway clip.

The band recorded it again for their 1992 album New Miserable Experience, and that version became their signature song, reaching 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993 and going gold in the US. By then Hopkins was gone, fired from the band before that record came out.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.