Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield could be described as the epitome of a successful rock star. Aged only 20 he was a member of Zoot, a very popular band of its time. He’s had long-term success as a solo performer as well as an acting career in both movies and TV with his role in the soap General Hospital probably being his most noteworthy. While it hasn’t all been beer & skittles, he still tours extensively to this day. Not bad for a kid from suburban Merrylands in Sydney.

About

Rick Springfield was born Richard Lewis Springthorpe on the 23rd of August 1949 in Merrylands, NSW and spent his early years in England due to his Fathers military career. He was given a guitar as a present at age 13 and eventually left school early to pursue a musical career.

In 1969 he joined popular Australian band Zoot as a guitarist at age 20 and after a few years of success he started to chase a solo career. “Speak to the sky” was his first solo effort and went top ten in Australia prompting him to move to the U.S.

In 1981 he broke through with the classic hit “Jessie’s Girl”. Around this time he was offered various acting roles which eventually saw him take up a role in General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake while simultaneously touring with his music. The role in General Hospital was resurrected in 2005.

With a career stretching over 30 years Rick Springfield is very definitely a survivor. He has toured and recorded constantly over this time and certainly doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.

Videos

The astute amongst you will notice the bass player in this clip is none other than Peter “Izzy Foreal” Knox from the Zarsoff Brothers and the 69’ers

Recordings

• 1972 – Beginnings
• 1973 – Comic Book Heroes
• 1974 – Mission Magic
• 1976 – Wait For Night
• 1981 – Working Class Dog
• 1982 – Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet
• 1983 – Living In Oz
• 1984 – Hard To Hold
• 1985 – Tao
• 1988 – Rock Of Life
• 1999 – Karma
• 2004 – Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance
• 2005 – The Day After Yesterday
• 2007 – Christmas With You
• 2008 – Venus In Overdrive
• 2009 – My Precious Little One: Lullabies For A New Generation

Other Resources

• http://www.rickspringfield.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Springfield