Rick Springfield facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rick Springfield
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 group Zoot from 1969 to 1971. After that, he started his solo music career.

His first solo song, "Speak to the Sky", became a top 10 hit in Australia in 1972. When he moved to the United States, he had a number one hit with "Jessie's Girl" in 1981. This song was popular in both Australia and the US. He even won a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for it.

Rick Springfield had four more top 10 hits in the US. These included "I've Done Everything for You" and "Don't Talk to Strangers". 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, Springfield starred in the movie Hard to Hold in 1984. He also appeared in the TV series High Tide from 1994 to 1997. He played Noah Drake on the TV show General Hospital for many years. 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. He was born in Guildford, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. His father, Norman James Springthorpe, was an officer in the Australian Army.

When Rick was young, his family lived at an army camp in Broadmeadows, Victoria, Australia. He was 14 years old when he saw the Beatles perform live in Melbourne. This experience likely inspired his love for music.

Learning Guitar and Early Bands

Springfield started learning to play the guitar when he was 13. He joined different bands in England. His father was stationed there from 1958 to 1963. After returning to Australia, Rick joined more bands.

In 1968, he joined a group called Rockhouse. The band later changed its name to MPD Ltd. In October of that year, when Rick was 19, they toured Vietnam to entertain Australian soldiers.

Joining Zoot

In September 1969, Springfield became the lead guitarist and singer for the band Zoot. Other members included Beeb Birtles, Darryl Cotton, and Rick Brewer. When he joined Zoot, the band had a special theme: "Think Pink—Think Zoot."

The band members wore pink satin outfits. This helped them get attention and attracted many teenage fans. However, it also made it harder for them to be seen as serious rock musicians. Zoot had a hit song with their cover of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" in 1971. The band broke up in May 1971.

Starting a Solo Career

After Zoot, Springfield signed with Sparmac Records. He released his first solo song, "Speak to the Sky", in October 1971. It became a top 5 hit in Australia. Rick recorded his first album, Beginnings, in London.

He then moved to the United States in mid-1972. In August 1972, "Speak to the Sky" was released in the US. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. His album Beginnings was the first of seven of his albums to reach the top 40 in the US.

Challenges and Success

In 1973, Springfield signed with Columbia Records. He released his second album, Comic Book Heroes. He was promoted as a teen idol, similar to other popular singers at the time. From 1973 to 1974, Springfield also starred as himself in the ABC-TV cartoon series Mission: Magic!. He wrote and performed a song for almost every episode.

His single, "Take a Hand", reached the US top 50 in 1976. This song was from his album Wait for Night. However, the record company he was with closed down soon after. In the late 1970s, he focused more on acting.

Springfield performing in Boston in 2011

Springfield continued to write and record music. In 1981, he released the album Working Class Dog. This album included the song "Jessie's Girl", which became a huge worldwide hit. It reached number one in the US and Australia. Rick won a Grammy Award for this song in 1981.

Working Class Dog also reached number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Another popular song from the album was "I've Done Everything for You". He had more success with his next albums, Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982) and Living in Oz (1983).

In 1984, Springfield starred in his own movie, Hard to Hold. He also recorded most of the songs for the movie's soundtrack. The soundtrack included a top 10 hit, "Love Somebody". In 1985, he released his album Tao, which had hits like "State of the Heart". That same year, he performed at the Live Aid charity concert. He then took a short break from recording music.

Between 1985 and 2020, Springfield released nine more studio albums. In 2020, he was featured on the Coheed and Cambria song "Jessie's Girl 2". This song was a sequel to his 1981 hit. In 2021, he started hosting a weekly radio show called 'Working Class DJ with Rick Springfield' on Sirius XM. Also in 2021, he formed The Morris Springfield Project with Russell Morris. Their album, Jack Chrome and the Darkness Waltz, reached number 34 on the ARIA Charts.

Acting Career

Springfield started his acting career on the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man in 1977. He also appeared on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and Wonder Woman. In 1978, he played Zac in Saga of a Star World, which was the pilot episode for the original Battlestar Galactica TV series.

Becoming a Soap Opera Star

In 1981, Rick Springfield became a star on the soap opera General Hospital. He played the role of Dr. Noah Drake from 1981 to 1983. At the same time, his song "Jessie's Girl" became number one.

The success of his song helped the TV show's ratings. The fame from the show also helped sell more copies of his song. He returned to General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake in 2005 and again in 2013.

Movies and Other TV Roles

In 1984, Springfield starred in the 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.

Springfield also acted in musical theater. In 1995, he was part of the original Broadway cast of Smokey Joe's Cafe. From 2000 to 2002, he performed in EFX Alive! in Las Vegas. He appeared in several episodes of Californication in 2009, playing a different version of himself.

He has also appeared in episodes of Hawaii Five-0 and Hot in Cleveland. In 2015, Springfield played Greg alongside Meryl Streep in the film Ricki and the Flash. He had a recurring role on True Detective as Dr. Irving Pitlor. In 2016, he was cast in Supernatural, playing Vince Vincente and Lucifer. In 2017, he appeared on American Horror Story: Cult.

Personal Life

Rick Springfield has openly shared his experiences with depression. He has dealt with it for many decades. He wants people to have hope and know that difficult times can pass. He has spoken about how he is an example of overcoming dark moments.

In October 1984, Springfield married Barbara Porter. They met when she was working as a receptionist at a recording studio. They have two sons, Liam (born 1985) and Joshua (born 1989). In 1985, after his first son was born, Rick took a break from music. He wanted to spend more time with his family and focus on his mental well-being.

On 2 March 2006, Rick Springfield announced that he had become a US citizen. He practices Transcendental Meditation and is a pescetarian, meaning he eats fish but no other meat.

Memoir

Springfield's autobiography, Late, Late at Night: A Memoir, was released in 2010. In October of that year, it reached number 13 on The New York Times Best Seller list. In May 2014, he published a novel called Magnificent Vibration, which also became a New York Times Best Seller.

In August 2012, Late, Late at Night was named one of "The 25 Great Rock Memoirs of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine.

Awards and Recognition

Rick Springfield has received several awards for his music.

Go-Set Pop Poll

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

King of Pop Awards

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

Grammy Awards

On 9 May 2014, Rick Springfield received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This honor recognized his important contributions to music.

Discography

Filmography

Films

Television

Images for kids

• 

  Springfield during the shock/denial/anger/acceptance tour in 2004

See also

In Spanish: Rick Springfield para niños