RICK SPRINGFIELD
The son of an army officer, Australian rocker
Rick Springfield first picked up the guitar at the age of
13. He became interested in music while living in England in
the early 60s and, upon returning to Australia, began playing in
bands. In the band Zoot, Rick wrote several hits, as well as
a hit cover of 'Eleanor Rigby'.
Rick went solo after Zoot’s breakup in 1971, and garnered his first U.S. success the following year with a re-recording of his Australian hit
"Speak to the Sky" (Capitol, 1972, #14).
Rick’s skill as a songwriter evolved over the next few years as
evidenced by his next two album, Comic Book Heroes and Mission
Magic, the later being the soundtrack for the Saturday morning cartoon series of the same name starring Rick as a rock-n-roll troubleshooter.
Each episode featured one of Rick’s original tunes.
Rick's next album was the masterful Wait For Night, which unfortunately
was abandoned promotionally when the parent record label collapsed in 1976. A breakthrough came when Rick was able to secure a recording contract with RCA on the strength of his next batch of demos. In the midst of recording what would become the quintessential pop album
Working Class Dog, for his RCA debutl, Rick was cast to play the young, eligible Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital in 1981.
Rick became one of the show’s most popular cast members in it’s history, Rick’s popularity skyrocketed, setting the stage for the imminent release of
Working Class Dog later that year. Powered by 3 Top 40 hits including the classic the classic
No. One Hit "Jessie's Girl", and the Top Ten follow-up
"I've Done Everything for You", as well as the party-starter,
"Love is Alright Tonite", Working Class Dog enjoyed multi-platinum smash success, and Rick eagerly left his first major TV role behind to fully focus on his first love of music when television taping conflicted with his sold-out tour schedule.
The follow-up album, Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, again reached
multi platinum certification after its release in 1982, spawning the smash hit
"Don't Talk to Strangers". Both
multi platinum albums featured nods to Rick’s story of hard work and perseverance on their cover art as portrayed by his beloved canine companion, Ronnie. 1983's
Living in Oz took an edgier stance musically, spawning the Top Ten Hit
"Affair of the Heart", as well as the crowd pleasinghit
"Human Touch". When Springfield made his big screen debut in 1984 for the movie
Hard to Hold, the soundtrack found Rick with another Top Five hit,
"Love Somebody".
Rick’s prolific recording career continued to flourish.
There was Tao in 1985, followed by Rock of Life, in
1988. Rick then took a hiatus.
In 1997, he collaborated with Tim pierce and Bob Marlette and
released
Sahara Snow in 1997. The following year saw the
release of Karma as well as Rick’s return to the concert stage
to the delight of his legions of fans who made sure his shows were
sell outs.
Greatest Hits Alive came in 2001 and shock/denial/anger/acceptance (2004)
put Rick back on the road. The "Shock Tour" culminated with a raucous concert in Rockford, IL filmed in high-definition for forthcoming broadcast and DVD release/
Fans got their first taste of songs from Rick’s latest CD,
The Day After Yesterday. at the show.
With sales of well over 19 million records and 17 Top 40 hits to
his credit, Rick has performed for millions of fans throughout his
career. Rick continues to play 100 shows a year, sharing his love of
performing and amazing talent with energetic shows by this
fantastic rocker, who shows no signs of slowing down!
