Was there really a "Jessie's Girl"?

The 80's classic Jessie's girl was released in the Australia by Rick Springfield in 1981, and in the UK in 1984.  If you ever wanted to know the history behind the song, read on.  It turns out that Springfield was enrolled in an stained glass class where he met a guy named Gary, who was also there with his girlfriend.  It was Gary's girlfriend that Rick found himself to attracted to, although he was never properly introduced to her.  

Initially, Rick had planned to use Gary's name for the song, but first changed the name to Randy, and then later to Jessie because the liked the way the name fit.  Why did he spell it like the female spelling of the name?  Rick was a fan of football player Ron Jessie, and he did not really give the spelling much thought.  It wasn't until later that Springfield realized that the spelling of "ie" was the female version of the name, and that the song should have been called "Jesse's Girl".

Although people have tried to find "Jessie's Girl" over the years, efforts have been unsuccessful.  And Rick definitely has a sense of humor about the entire thing, as is evidenced by this very funny parody of the song performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2015: