JANE WIEDLIN - RUSH HOUR

Released: May 1988

Charts:  UK: #12    US: #9 

Released in 1988 as the lead single from her second solo album “Fur”, “Rush Hour” became Jane Wiedlin’s biggest solo hit, peaking at No. 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 12 in the UK, and No. 8 in Ireland. Backed with the album track “End of Love”, the song remains a bright, infectious slice of late-’80s pop — combining buoyant melodies with Wiedlin’s distinctive voice and quirky charm.

A founding member and guitarist of the pioneering all-female band The Go-Go’s, Wiedlin had already helped define early ’80s new wave. But with “Rush Hour,” she give pure, joyful pop sensibility, stepping into her own as a solo artist. The track was co-written and produced with Peter Rafelson, a longtime collaborator.

Reflecting on its creation, Wiedlin explained: “Peter and I had a great chemistry for writing. We’d write songs really quickly — definitely under an hour — which I always think is the mark of a good song, when it just flows out of you. I’d been driving around L.A. and getting stuck in traffic, thinking how the phrase ‘rush hour’ sounds like it should mean the opposite of what it does. It sounds exciting, but really, it’s a drag. So I played around with the idea that it could make a fun song title. I took it to Peter, and we just whipped that puppy out.” 

Wiedlin’s love for classic pop craftsmanship shines through in “Rush Hour.” She has often cited 1960s bubblegum pop — artists like The Archies and Tommy James & The Shondells — as major influences, and this single captures that same breezy spirit and irresistible hook-driven appeal.

The music video offers a playful twist on the song’s title. Rather than depicting literal traffic, it features Wiedlin performing intercut with serene, whimsical footage of her swimming with dolphins — a lighthearted visual that mirrors the song’s joyful tone and oceanic sense of freedom.