Rick Springfield

Background

Richard Lewis Springthorpe, more commonly known as Rick Springfield, was born in Guildford, a western suburb of Sydney, Australia. His mother is Eileen Louise Evennett and his father is Norman James Springthorpe, who worked as an Australian Army career officer. His maternal grandparents were English. When he was a young boy he lived at the army camp with his family in Broadmeadows, Victoria, Australia. When he was 14 he watched the Beatles perform live at Festival Hall in Melbourne. Springfield was 13 when he began to learn the guitar and thereafter joined various bands in England, where his father was stationed from 1958 to 1963, and several more after returning to Australia.

In 1968, he was approached by bass guitarist Pete Watson to join his band Rockhouse, which later changed to MPD Ltd. When Springfield was 19 they toured South Vietnam to entertain the Australian troops. Another member of MPD Ltd. was drummer Danny Finley. After returning to Australia they formed the band Wickety Wak. They were joined by Phil Blackmore on the keyboard and Dick Howard. Rick continued to write and record music and in 1981 released his album titled “Working Class Dog,” which spawned the song ‘Jessie’s Girl,’ which went on to become a worldwide hit. The song peaked at number one for two weeks in the U.S. on the Hot 100 and the Augustalian Kent Music Report singles chart. Springfield gained further success with the follow-up albums “Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Yet” (1982) and “Living in Oz” (1983).

As an actor, he starred in the movie “Hard to Hold” and a television series titled “High Tide,” which aired from 1994 to 1997. He also had supporting roles in “Ricki and the Flash” (2015) and “True Detective” (2015). He portrayed Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama “General Hospital,” which aired from 1981 to 1983, from 2005 to 2008, and then returned in 2013 for the show’s 50th anniversary. He played a depraved version of himself in “Californication” (2009), and in 2010 he published his autobiography “Late, Late at Night: A Memoir.” In 2017, he starred as Pastor Charles in the “American Horror Story” episode titled ‘Winter of Our Discontent.’ He is currently working as a radio D.J. and plays 80s mixes on the morning show.