Rick SpringfieldBiography
Rick Springfield (born Richard Lewis Springthorpe; 23 August 1949) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, and actor.
He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single “Speak to the Sky” reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States. He had a No. 1 hit with “Jessie’s Girl” in 1981 in both Australia and the US. He received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for “Jessie’s Girl”. He followed with four more top 10 US hits, “I’ve Done Everything for You”, “Don’t Talk to Strangers”, “Affair of the Heart” and “Love Somebody”. His two US top 10 albums are Working Class Dog (1981) and Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet (1982). As an actor, he portrayed Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital, from 1981 to 1983 and during 2005 to 2008 and 2012, returning in 2013 for the shows 50th anniversary with son/actor Liam Springthorpe. In 2010, Springfield published his autobiography, Late, Late at Night: A Memoir.
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (later known as Rick Springfield) was born in South Wentworthville, a western suburb of Sydney, on 23 August 1949. Springfield is the son of Norman Springthorpe, an Australian Army career-officer, and Eileen. He has an older brother, Mike Springthorpe. Due to his father’s Army career, the Springthorpe family moved to London, where they lived between 1960 to 1962. The family moved back to Australia in June 1962, where they settled in the Melbourne suburb of Ormond.
In October 1984, Springfield married his longtime girlfriend, Barbara Porter, in his family’s church in Australia.
When being interviewed about his autobiography Late, Late at Night, Springfield admitted that he dated while married, and that it was a problem that he has overcome. He mentioned dating Linda Blair, Demi Moore, Connie Hamzy, Morgana Welch and Geraldine Edwards, the inspiration for Penny Lane in Almost Famous, as well as others.
In 1985, when his first son was born and after the release of his Tao album, Springfield took a break from his musical career to spend more time with his family, and to deal with the depression that had affected him since his adolescence. Springfield had also battled depression in the 1970s, when the serious illness of his father (who died on 24 April 1981) and career troubles caused him to “hit the wall” and contemplate suicide.
A new feature documentary titled “An Affair of the Heart: The Journey of Rick Springfield and his Devoted Fans” was filmed in 2010 and started on the film festival circuit in the spring of 2012.
He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single “Speak to the Sky” reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States. He had a No. 1 hit with “Jessie’s Girl” in 1981 in both Australia and the US. He received the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for “Jessie’s Girl”. He followed with four more top 10 US hits, “I’ve Done Everything for You”, “Don’t Talk to Strangers”, “Affair of the Heart” and “Love Somebody”. His two US top 10 albums are Working Class Dog (1981) and Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet (1982). As an actor, he portrayed Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital, from 1981 to 1983 and during 2005 to 2008 and 2012, returning in 2013 for the shows 50th anniversary with son/actor Liam Springthorpe. In 2010, Springfield published his autobiography, Late, Late at Night: A Memoir.
Richard Lewis Springthorpe (later known as Rick Springfield) was born in South Wentworthville, a western suburb of Sydney, on 23 August 1949. Springfield is the son of Norman Springthorpe, an Australian Army career-officer, and Eileen. He has an older brother, Mike Springthorpe. Due to his father’s Army career, the Springthorpe family moved to London, where they lived between 1960 to 1962. The family moved back to Australia in June 1962, where they settled in the Melbourne suburb of Ormond.
In October 1984, Springfield married his longtime girlfriend, Barbara Porter, in his family’s church in Australia.
When being interviewed about his autobiography Late, Late at Night, Springfield admitted that he dated while married, and that it was a problem that he has overcome. He mentioned dating Linda Blair, Demi Moore, Connie Hamzy, Morgana Welch and Geraldine Edwards, the inspiration for Penny Lane in Almost Famous, as well as others.
In 1985, when his first son was born and after the release of his Tao album, Springfield took a break from his musical career to spend more time with his family, and to deal with the depression that had affected him since his adolescence. Springfield had also battled depression in the 1970s, when the serious illness of his father (who died on 24 April 1981) and career troubles caused him to “hit the wall” and contemplate suicide.
A new feature documentary titled “An Affair of the Heart: The Journey of Rick Springfield and his Devoted Fans” was filmed in 2010 and started on the film festival circuit in the spring of 2012.
Edited by Pho3nix- on 26 Mar 2013, 20:56
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