Rick Springfield was born Richard Lewis Springthorpe in 1949 to a father who was a colonel in the Australian Army. He spent most of his childhood in Melbourne, Australia and his teen years in England. He returned to Australia to pursue a career in music, forming his first band, The Rock House. He later joined the popular Australian teen band Zoot, and finally progressed on to be a solo singer. Rick had a top hit in Australia with Speak to the Sky in 1971, which got the attention of record companies in America. He then made the tough decision to leave his sick father and go on to try his luck in Hollywood.
Under the new name Rick Springfield, he produced his first US album called Beginnings, with the help of Steve Binder and Robie Porter. It made it into the top 20s but quickly dropped off the chart. Rick's second album was Comic Book Heroes with Columbia Records. In 1974, he created the music for and starred in an animated series called Mission Magic. Eventually, Rick began to take acting classes to support his music career. In 1976, he recorded the album Wait for Night, but unfortunately the Chelsea label it was recorded on collapsed soon after the release.
In 1980 he recorded Working Class Dog on a miniscule budget. It was then that he met Barbara Porter, who was working as a receptionist at the time. She later became his wife. Rick auditioned for the soap opera General Hospital and got the part of Dr. Noah Drake in early 1981. Shortly after, RCA released his album.
Rick's next album was Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet, which was recorded during any hours he had off from taping General Hospital. On his days off, he toured. In 1982, Rick's hard work and talent payed off when he was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal. By 1983 he was released from his contract at General Hospital to focus on his music. Living in Oz signaled a new Rick with a tougher look mirrored in his songs. The album went multi-platinum with three hits in the top 20s.
In 1984, Rick and Barbara Porter got married in Australia. Rick released his album Tao shortly after, and he toured with the album in 1985. His first son, Liam, was born in October after the tour ended.
Rock of Life was released in 1988, which tells of the difficulty of marriage, parenthood and the search for the meaning of life. Rick suffered injuries during a motorcycle accident, and the promotional tour for the album was cancelled. He was out of the public eye during his recovery, and it was during this time that his second son, Joshua, was born in March of 1989.
Rick made a comeback in 1993 and started writing a new album. In 1994, he was offered a role in High Tide, shot in New Zealand and then San Diego and Santa Barbara. It lasted for three seasons. Sahara Snow was released in July 1997, a collaboration between Rick, Bob Marlette, and Tim Pierce. In 1998, Rick began to tour again, promoting his new album, Karma which was released in April 1999. The success was beyond expectations.
In December 2000, he announced that he was taking up the lead role in EFX, a Las Vegas show at the MGM Grand, following the departure of Tommy Tune. As if this wasn't enough, he released a live album, called The Greatest Hits Alive, that same year. And in 2004, he released the album shock/denial/anger/acceptance. Springfield plans to continue touring on his weeks off from EFX Alive. His concerts are sure to entertain!
