Rick Springfield
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| Rick Springfield | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Richard Lewis Springthorpe | |
| Born | August 23, 1949 (age 57) | |
| Origin |  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
|
| Genre(s) | Rock, Pop | |
| Occupation(s) | singer, songwriter, actor | |
| Years active | 1967 - present | |
| Website | Official site | |
Rick Springfield (born Richard Lewis Springthorpe on August 23, 1949 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is a songwriter, musician and actor. He is most famous for his 1981 #1 hit single, "Jessie's Girl" which became a Grammy Award-winning landmark of 80s pop-rock and helped established the emerging music video age.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Born Richard Lewis Springthorpe, Springfield grew up in a military family, and moved as his father was posted to various military bases throughout Australia and Great Britain. Springfield started playing piano at age 9. He began playing the guitar at age 13, and writing songs at 14.
[edit] Musical career
In 1967, Springfield dropped out of high school to begin his professional music career. His first appearance in a band was as a singer/guitarist in the band Rock House. In 1968, the band changed the name to MPD, Ltd, then embarked on a tour of Vietnam to entertain the troops stationed there.
In 1969, when Springfield returned to Australia, he formed a band named Wikety-Wak. Later that year, he joined the band Zoot. Zoot became one of the most popular Australian groups of the late Sixties. Another notable member of Zoot was Beeb Birtles, who, in 1975 went on to form the Little River Band. In May 1971, when Zoot broke up, Springfield began a solo career. He had a #1 hit single in Australia, "Speak to the Sky."
Springfield relocated to Hollywood, California in 1972. Capitol Records signed him, and he recorded his first album Beginnings. "Speak to the Sky" was re-released as a single in the US, and charted as #72 in the Billboard Top 100 for 1972. Exposure on American Bandstand, as well as being regularly featured in teen fan magazines like 16 magazine and Tiger Beat, sparked interest amongst teenage girls. In 1973 a Saturday morning cartoon called Mission:Magic was centered around Springfield and ran for one year, with a soundtrack album also released.
Because of an unsubstantiated rumor that the record company was paying people to purchase the album, radio stations became suspicious and they stopped playing Springfield.[citation needed] He was subsequently dropped from the Capitol Records label. However, in 1973 he was signed by Columbia Records, who released his second album Comic Book Heroes (1974). It was hailed as a "concept record", received very good reviews from Rolling Stone Magazine, but it failed to chart. He was dropped from that label as well. Plans to release an album entitled Springfield were also scrapped.
In 1976, Springfield released a third album Wait for Night under the Chelsea Records label. While Springfield was out touring to promote the album, the record company went bankrupt, and the album fell off the charts. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Springfield performed in various clubs on the Sunset Strip and throughout Los Angeles, but was unable to maintain a career at the top of the charts.
[edit] Acting career
Because of various issues regarding the management of his recording career and uncertainty with immigration paperwork, Springfield decided to branch off into acting.
Springfield had starred in the cartoon series Mission: Magic, produced by Filmation in 1973, where he appears in the animated format, along with the teacher Miss Tickle and her teenaged students.
In 1978, He became one of the last contract actors signed to Universal Studios, and appeared in several guest roles including The Incredible Hulk and The Rockford Files. He had a successful acting career, beginning with a brief role as Zac in the 1978 movie Battlestar Galactica. He also had a small recurring role on the soap opera The Young and The Restless.
In 1981, Springfield became a soap opera star on General Hospital. He played the role of Dr. Noah Drake from 1981 through 1983, while simultaneously going on tour with his band.
In 1984, Springfield made one full length feature film "Hard to Hold".[1] It was considered a box office failure, but the movie did produce a successful soundtrack with a top ten song "Love Somebody." Despite the fact that he plays a young rock star in the movie, in real life Springfield was already in his 30s, had become a husband and father, and was growing uncomfortable with the teen idol image he portrayed.
Throughout the 1990s, Springfield acted in several made-for-TV movies, and appeared in television shows such as Suddenly Susan. In 1992, he starred in the suspense detective series Human Target. From 1994 to 1996, he also starred in another detective series, High Tide.
In addition to the roles on television and in film, Springfield also acted in musical theatre. In 1995, he was a member of the original Broadway cast of the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe.[2] This Tony Award nominated musical featured the songs of rock & roll songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. From February 2001 through December 2002, Springfield performed in EFX Alive![3]at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada to critical acclaim.
Rick Springfield also played the role of Nick Knight in the original Forever Knight TV movie, a role later taken up by Geraint Wyn Davies.
In December 2005, Springfield returned as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital.[4] His run was subsequently extended, although he remains a guest star and not a full cast member.[5]
[edit] Dr. Noah Drake
In Springfield's current run on GH, his character is a recovering alcoholic and widower who is trying to patch things up with his estranged son, Dr. Patrick Drake (actor Jason Thompson, who strongly resembles Springfield). Noah was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, but his life was saved when his son donated part of his own liver to him. In the current storyline, Noah is trying to assist Patrick with his ambivalent feelings about giving up womanizing, in order to pursue love-interest Dr. Robin Scorpio.
[edit] Return to music
Although his achievements are not well recognised in his homeland, Australia, Springfield has long maintained a large and loyal fan base in the United States, Canada, and Japan. His many career achievements include a Grammy Award, four platinum albums, twenty US Top 100 singles and seventeen Top 40 hits including a US #1 and #2 single. After a few albums with some hit singles, Springfield's lack of critical acceptance slowed his career, though he continued releasing albums on the RCA label throughout the 1980s.
In 1981, Springfield returned to music with the album Working Class Dog. Most notable on this album were the smash hit singles, "Jessie's Girl", which went to #1 on the Billboard charts, and "I've Done Everything for You" which was written by Sammy Hagar.
Springfield won a Grammy in 1982 for "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for "Jessie's Girl". Springfield was also nominated for a second Grammy in 1982 and a third Grammy in 1983.
His subsequent release in 1982, Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, also contained a string of top 40 hits, including the #2 hit "Don't Talk to Strangers" and the ballad "What Kind of Fool Am I?"
His 1983 release, Living in Oz, contained more serious subject matter, a more hard-rock sound, and more technological sound. The album went platinum on the strength of the hits "Human Touch", "Souls", and "Affair of the Heart". That same year he won an American Music Award for "Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist along with John Cougar Mellencamp.
His 1984 single "Love Somebody" (from the soundtrack album to the Hard to Hold movie he starred in that year) was his last top ten hit in the U.S. to date.
Springfield was one of several performers who participated in the Live Aid charity concert. After releasing the album Tao in 1985, Springfield chose to take a break from recording to spend more time with his family, and to deal with the depression that had affected him since his adolescence.[citation needed]
In 1987, Springfield returned to the studio and released the album Rock of Life. The next year, he was seriously injured in an ATV accident. Since he was unable to play the guitar for six months, the planned tour to promote his album was cancelled. It would be nearly a decade before Springfield would return to the studio to record the albums Sahara Snow (1997) and Karma(1999).
From 1999 onward, he has held several concert tours throughout North America.
In 2005, Springfield released his latest album, The Day After Yesterday - a collection of his covers of "songs [he] wish[es] [he] had written."
On April 28, 2006, Springfield performed a medley of his hits at the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards, and received an enthusiastic response, which included a standing ovation from his acting peers.
Springfield's latest release is a live concert DVD entitled Live in Rockford.
[edit] Personal life
In 1974, Springfield dated and lived with then 15 year old actress Linda Blair. He considered it his first "grown up" relationship, despite nearly 10 years difference in their ages.[6][7]
He has been married to Barbara Porter since October 27, 1984. They met in 1980 while she was working as a receptionist at the recording studio where he recorded his 1981 album Working Class Dog. They have two sons: Liam, born in 1985, and Josh, born in 1989.
In September, 2000, Springfield was arrested for alleged spousal abuse. He spent one evening in jail and was released the next morning on $50,000 bail. He was never convicted, and charges were dropped. Later, Springfield and his wife issued a joint statement to the press saying that they are happily married and will continue to raise their children together'[8]
In 2006, after nearly 34 years of residing in the United States, Springfield became an American citizen. He still retains Australian citizenship as well.
[edit] Albums
- Beginnings (1972) #35 US
- Comic Book Heroes (1973)
- Mission Magic (1974)
- Wait for Night (1976)
- Working Class Dog (1981) #7 (US) RIAA Certified Platinum 12/2/81
- Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) #2 (US) RIAA Certified Platinum 5/11/82
- Living in Oz (1983) #12 Billboard Top 200 Albums (US) RIAA Certified Platinum 9/30/83
- Hard to Hold (1984) #16 Billboard Top 200 Albums(US) RIAA Certified Platinum 7/10/84
- Beautiful Feelings (1984) US #78 (Recorded in 1978)
- Tao (1985) #21 Billboard Top 200 Albums (US)
- Rock of Life (1988) #55 Billboard Top 200 Albums (US)
- Sahara Snow (1997)
- Karma (1999) #189 US
- The Greatest Hits ALIVE (2001)
- Platinum & Gold Collection: Rick Springfield (2003)
- Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (2004) #8 Billboard Top Independent Albums
- Written in Rock--Anthology (2005)
- The Day After Yesterday (2005) #197 The Billboard Top 200 Albums (US), #16 Billboard Top Independent Album
- Live in Rockford (2006) DVD concert
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US MSR | US A.C. | UK Singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Speak to the Sky" | 14 | - | - | - | Beginnings |
| 1972 | "What Would the Children Think" | 70 | - | - | - | Beginnings |
| 1974 | "American Girls" | 98 | - | - | - | Comic Book Heroes |
| 1976 | "Take a Hand" | 41 | - | - | - | Wait for Night |
| 1981 | "Jessie's Girl" | 1 | 10 | - | 43 | Working Class Dog |
| 1981 | "I've Done Everything for You" | 8 | - | - | - | Working Class Dog |
| 1981 | "Love Is Alright Tonight" | 20 | 40 | - | - | Working Class Dog |
| 1982 | "Don't Talk to Strangers" | 2 | 11 | 30 | - | Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet |
| 1982 | "What Kind of Fool Am I" | 21 | - | - | - | Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet |
| 1982 | "I Get Excited" | 32 | - | - | - | Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet |
| 1983 | "Affair of the Heart" | 9 | 23 | - | - | Living in Oz |
| 1983 | "Human Touch" | 18 | 34 | - | 23 | Living in Oz |
| 1983 | "Souls" | 23 | - | - | - | Living in Oz |
| 1984 | "Love Somebody" | 5 | - | - | 95 | Hard to Hold |
| 1984 | "Bop 'Til You Drop" | 20 | - | - | - | Hard to Hold |
| 1984 | "Don't Walk Away" | 26 | - | - | - | Hard to Hold |
| 1984 | "Taxi Dancing" | 59 | - | 16 | - | Hard to Hold |
| 1984 | "Bruce" | 27 | - | - | - | Beautiful Feelings |
| 1985 | "Celebrate Youth" | 26 | - | - | 80 | Tao |
| 1985 | "State of the Heart" | 22 | - | - | - | Tao |
| 1988 | "Rock of Life" | 22 | - | - | 83 | Rock of Life |
| 2004 | "Beautiful You" | - | - | 28 | - | Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087384
- ^ http://www.theatredb.com/QShow.php?sid=s0498
- ^ http://www.igoshows.com/reviews/review43.html
- ^ http://www.soapcentral.com/gh/news/2005/1017-springfield.php
- ^ http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/lifestyle/sfl-ghspringfielddec20,0,7071440.story?coll=sfla-features-headlines
- ^ http://www.nndb.com/people/007/000024932
- ^ http://www.rickspringfield.net/biography.html
- ^ http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news/12040360
[edit] External links
- RickSpringfield.com
- Official myspace page
- Rick Springfield at the Internet Movie Database
- Rick Springfield interview
- NPR Interview
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since April 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | 1949 births | Living people | Australian male singers | Australian musicians | Australian singer-songwriters | Soap opera actors | Australian television actors | Australian film actors | Naturalized citizens of the United States | American singer-songwriters | Grammy Award winners
