Rick Springfield facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield in 2014
Born	Richard Lewis Springthorpe (1949-08-23) 23 August 1949 (age 75) Guildford, New South Wales, Australia
Citizenship	Australia (1949–present) United States (2006–present)
Occupation	Singer musician actor songwriter record producer
Years active	1962–present
Spouse(s)	Barbara Porter ​ (m. 1984)​
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	Rock power pop hard rock pop rock
Instruments	Vocals guitar keyboards
Labels	Sparmac RCA Capitol Warner Gomer Frontiers

Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was part of the pop rock band Zoot from 1969 to 1971. After that, he started his solo music career.

His first solo song, "Speak to the Sky", was a top 10 hit in Australia in 1972. When he moved to the United States, he had a huge No. 1 hit with "Jessie's Girl" in 1981. This song won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. He then had four more top 10 hits in the US: "I've Done Everything for You", "Don't Talk to Strangers", "Affair of the Heart", and "Love Somebody". Two of his albums, Working Class Dog (1981) and Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982), also reached the top 10 in the US.

As an actor, Rick Springfield starred in the movie Hard to Hold (1984) and the TV show High Tide (1994–1997). He also played Noah Drake on the daytime soap opera General Hospital for many years. He appeared in other TV shows like Supernatural and American Horror Story. In 2010, he wrote a book about his life called Late, Late at Night: A Memoir.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Rick Springfield was born Richard Lewis Springthorpe on 23 August 1949, in Guildford, New South Wales, Australia. His father was an officer in the Australian Army. When Rick was 14, he saw the Beatles perform in Melbourne, which was a big moment for him.

He started learning guitar at age 13. He joined different bands in England, where his family lived for a few years, and then more bands after returning to Australia. In 1968, he joined a group called Rockhouse, which later changed its name to MPD Ltd. They even toured Vietnam to entertain Australian soldiers.

Joining Zoot and Early Solo Success

In 1969, Rick Springfield joined the band Zoot as the lead guitarist and singer. The band was known for wearing pink satin outfits as a publicity stunt. Rick wrote some of Zoot's songs, including "Hey Pinky" and "Freak". Zoot also had a hit with a rock version of The Beatles' song "Eleanor Rigby". The band broke up in 1971.

After Zoot, Rick signed with Sparmac Records and released his first solo song, "Speak to the Sky", in October 1971. It became a No. 5 hit in Australia. He then recorded his first album, Beginnings, in London. In 1972, he moved to the United States. "Speak to the Sky" was released in the US and reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Rick released his second album, Comic Book Heroes, in 1973. He was often seen as a teen idol, like other popular singers at the time. From 1973 to 1974, he even starred as himself in an ABC-TV cartoon series called Mission: Magic!, where he sang an original song in each episode.

Becoming a Global Star

Rick Springfield kept writing and recording music. In 1981, he released the album Working Class Dog. This album included the huge hit song "Jessie's Girl". "Jessie's Girl" became a No. 1 hit in both the US and Australia and earned Rick a Grammy Award. The album Working Class Dog also did very well, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

He continued his success with albums like Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) and Living in Oz (1983). In 1984, Rick starred in his own movie, Hard to Hold, and recorded the soundtrack. The soundtrack had a top 10 hit, "Love Somebody". He released another album, Tao, in 1985. That same year, he performed at the Live Aid charity concert.

Rick took a break from recording music for a while but continued to release new albums between 1985 and 2020. In 2020, he was featured on a song called "Jessie's Girl 2" by the band Coheed and Cambria, which was a sequel to his original hit. In 2021, he started hosting a radio show on Sirius XM called 'Working Class DJ with Rick Springfield'. Also in 2021, he teamed up with Russell Morris to form The Morris Springfield Project, and they released an album called Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz.

Acting Career

Rick Springfield started his acting career in 1977 with a role on The Six Million Dollar Man. He also appeared in shows like The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and Wonder Woman. In 1978, he played Zac in the pilot episode of the original Battlestar Galactica TV series.

Playing Dr. Noah Drake

In 1981, Rick became a big star on the soap opera General Hospital, playing the role of Dr. Noah Drake. He took this role because he didn't expect his song "Jessie's Girl" to be such a huge hit. But when "Jessie's Girl" went to No. 1, Rick was touring with his band while also acting on the show. The success of his song helped make General Hospital even more popular. He played Dr. Noah Drake from 1981 to 1983 and returned for special appearances from 2005 to 2013.

Other Roles in Film and TV

In 1984, Rick starred in his own movie, Hard to Hold. He also played the main role in the TV series Human Target in 1992. From 1994 to 1997, he starred in the TV series High Tide.

Rick has also acted in musical theater. In 1995, he was part of the original Broadway cast of Smokey Joe's Cafe. He also performed in the show EFX Alive! in Las Vegas from 2000 to 2002.

More recently, Rick Springfield has appeared in several popular TV shows. He played a different version of himself in Californication (2009). He also had roles in Hawaii Five-0, Hot in Cleveland, and True Detective. In 2015, he appeared in the movie Ricki and the Flash with Meryl Streep. In 2016, he played two characters, Vince Vincente and Lucifer, in the TV series Supernatural. In 2017, he was Pastor Charles in American Horror Story: Cult.

Personal Life

Rick Springfield married Barbara Porter in October 1984. They met when she was working as a receptionist at the recording studio where he was making his Working Class Dog album. They have two sons, Liam (born 1985) and Joshua (born 1989). After his first son was born, Rick took a break from his music career to spend more time with his family.

Rick has spoken openly about dealing with mental health challenges since he was a teenager. He wants to share his experiences to help others know that difficult times can pass and that there is hope.

In 2006, Rick Springfield became a citizen of the United States. He also practices Transcendental Meditation and is a pescetarian, meaning he eats fish but not other meat.

His Books

Rick Springfield's autobiography, Late, Late at Night: A Memoir, was released in 2010. It became a best-seller on The New York Times list. In 2014, he published a novel called Magnificent Vibration, which also made The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine named Late, Late at Night one of "The 25 Great Rock Memoirs of All Time".

Songs About Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield has been mentioned in other songs!

• In 1985, Jimmy Hart recorded "Eat Your Heart Out Rick Springfield". This song is about someone who feels like Rick Springfield is a rival for his girlfriend's attention because she admires Rick so much. The song mentions "Dr Noah Drake" and "Jessie's Girl".
• Jonathan Coulton recorded "Je Suis Rick Springfield" in 2011. It's about an American man in France who pretends to be Rick Springfield to impress a French girl.

Awards and Honors

Rick Springfield has received several awards for his music and career.

Go-Set Pop Poll

The Go-Set pop poll was an annual award voted on by readers of the Australian pop music magazine Go-Set.

• 1970: Best Guitarist (2nd place), Best Composer (5th place)
• 1971: Best Guitarist (Won), Best Songwriter/Composer (4th place)
• 1972: Best Male (3rd place), Best Newcomer (4th place), Best Songwriter/Composer (2nd place), Best Album for Beginnings (2nd place), Best Single for "Hooky Jo" (10th place)

King of Pop Awards

The King of Pop Awards were voted on by readers of TV Week magazine in Australia.

• 1971: Best Lead Guitarist (Won)
• 1972: Most Popular Australian Musician (Won)

Grammy Awards

• 1982: Best Rock Vocal Male Performance for "Jessie's Girl" (Won)
• 1983: Best Rock Vocal Male Performance for "I Get Excited" (Nominated)
• 1983: Best Pop Vocal Performance Male for "Don't Talk to Strangers" (Nominated)
• 1984: Best Rock Vocal Male Performance for "Affair of the Heart" (Nominated)

On 9 May 2014, Rick Springfield received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his amazing contributions to music.

Discography

• Beginnings (1972)
• Comic Book Heroes (1973)
• Mission: Magic! (1974)
• Wait for Night (1976)
• Working Class Dog (1981)
• Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982)
• Living in Oz (1983)
• Hard to Hold (1984)
• Beautiful Feelings (1984)
• Tao (1985)
• Rock of Life (1988)
• Sahara Snow (1997)
• Karma (1999)
• Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (2004)
• The Day After Yesterday (2005)
• Christmas with You (2007)
• Venus in Overdrive (2008)
• My Precious Little One: Lullabies for a New Generation (2009)
• From the Vault (2010)
• Songs for the End of the World (2012)
• Rocket Science (2016)
• The Snake King (2018)
• Orchestrating My Life (2019)
• The Red Locusts (2021)
• Jack Chrome & the Darkness Waltz (2021)
• Working Class Dog (40th Anniversary Live) (2022)
• Springfield (2023)
• Automatic (2023)

Filmography

Films

Television

Images for kids

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  Rick Springfield during a tour in 2004

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  Rick Springfield before a performance in Boston in 2011

See also

In Spanish: Rick Springfield para niños