"Jessica" was co-written by Betts and Dudek, although only Betts receives credit. Betts first created the song as an experiment, to test whether or not he could write a song that could be played with just two fingers, in honor of Gypsy jazz guitar virtuoso Django Reinhardt, who played with two left fingers due to severe burns. When his baby daughter Jessica entered the room and began bouncing around to the melody, Betts attempted to capture her mood with the song. Dudek created the song's bridge when Betts became frustrated with the piece. Dudek was disappointed when he was told he would only be recording the acoustic guitar opening, as Betts felt Dudek performing the harmonies to both "Ramblin' Man" and "Jessica" would lead critics to assume he was a member of the band. Leavell also contributed heavily to "Jessica", mostly on the arrangement.